LaGrange County residents producing their
own electricity and selling excess to NIPSCO
From the LaGrange News, October 6, 2006
A 2.5 KW grid tie solar system, installed by Leon Bontrager of Home Energy in Goshen, produces most of the electrical energy needed by the home of Glendola Burkey and Lewis Piepenbrink. This system is the first of its kind in LaGrange County. Home Energy has installed another grid tie system in Goshen and is working on a large commercial system for a new medical building in Goshen. These systems provide an uninterrupted power supply, making them suitable for hospitals and other health care facilities.
This technology is just starting to appear in Indiana, although it has already been utilized for many years in other states. Each system is custom-made for the project and takes advantage of net metering, meaning all excess energy is given back to the customer. Net metering became available to Hoosiers in October 2004 and this LaGrange residence is only the second system to work in conjunction with NIPSCO.
The system payoff time is between 18-20 years, depending on the lifestyle end electrical use of the owner. However, financial reasons are not the main concern of Lewis and Glendola. “For us, the satisfaction of producing a renewable energy source is the selling point,” said Glendola.
“We all need to help combat global warming and air pollution, as well as become less dependent on foreign oil,” Lewis stated. “Our solar energy system does not add to resource depletion, a problem we feel is getting fast out of control.” Additionally, the homeowners are taking advantage of a tax credit available from the federal government.
Interest in solar power has increased dramatically in the wake of escalating weather, and growing concerns over energy security. Burkey and Piepenbrink want to do their part in helping out the present worldwide energy crisis.
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The solar system consists of solar panels mounted outside on a tracker, electrical components in the basement of their home, meters outside the home, and a battery backup that will provide emergency power if the utility power goes down. The dual axis tracker on which the panels are mounted automatically tracks the sun year round north to south and daily east to west. The solar panels take rays from the sun and produce direct current, which is converted by an inverter into 120VAC alternating current, providing the house with power.
Through the grid tie system, excess power created by the system is sold to NIPSCO. If the system does not provide enough power to carry the loads, the power is bought from the utility company. Meters outside of the home record incoming and outgoing power, which results in either a monthly bill or credit from NIPSCO.
Besides producing their own electricity, Lewis and Glendola have replaced their old furnace with a new high efficiency gas furnace and high efficiency air conditioner, as well as using fluorescent bulbs throughout the house. They are planning on adding a new high efficiency gas water heater in the near future.
Burkey and Piepenbrink’s home, located at 1895S 600W in Topeka, will be open for a public tour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 7, during the National Solar Homes Tour. Other local sites on the tour are 60728 CR 27 in Goshen (self-installed hot water system); 1807 Mayflower in Goshen (hot water system installed by Michiana Solar); 716 S. 11th St. In Goshen (grid-tied photovoltaic system installed by Home Energy); 10980 CR 32 in Goshen (Home Energy - local installer for solar panels, inverters, wind generators); and Merry Lea Environmental Center on Wolf Lake (center for ecological studies, 10kW wind generator and a 4.8 kW photovoltaic unit).
The 11th annual American Solar Energy Society’s tour consists of thousands of solar-powered homes and buildings in 44 states. This tour offers an opportunity to see how others are putting reliable solar power and other energy efficient technologies to work. Those who would like a map of the local homes featured in the tour can send their e-mail address to leonb@homeandmobileenergy.com. For more information on solar power systems, contact Leon Bontrager of Home Energy at (574)825-4800.
For more information and pictures on their solar installation, click here.
