Big Kahuna
Solar Soon Come
We have finally been approved from our condo association to install our solar. It took a copy of the new VI Law and two smart board members voting yes to allow us:
§1156. Prohibited Conveyances for Solar and Wind Systems
(a) Any covenant, condition, or restriction contained in any deed, contract, mortgage, security instrument, or other instrument pertaining to a conveyance, sale or transfer of real property or interest therein which prohibits or unreasonably limits the installation or use of a solar or wind energy shall be void and unenforceable.
(b) A covenant, condition, or restriction is considered “unreasonable” for the purpose of this chapter if the covenant, condition or restriction increases the cost and expense of the solar or wind energy system to its owner or user, or it decreases its efficiency, or otherwise effectively discourages the installation or use of a solar or wind energy system.
Full law can be found here: http://www.vienergy.org/menubar/Act7075.pdf
I had already put our deposit down with Solar Jeff from St. John 
He’s delivering all the solar stuff next week. So here’s what we got cookin’:
1. Solar Pool Pump: We’re buying 3 – 200 Watt PV panels from Pro Forma Solar in St. John and a Lorentz DC Pool Pump, Controller, DC Disconnect with lighting arrestor.
Solar Jeff (Jeff Smith) will be installing everything. The solar panels are wind rated for 140MPH.
A 2HP/240 Volt pool pump costs about a dollar an hour to run. Depending on the size of the pool, our 3 panels will create DC electricity that is fed through a control module to a DC pump. When the sun shines the pump runs. This “direct drive” operation requires no batteries or inverter.
I figure we’ll save somewhere around $200-$250/month in WAPA costs
2. Solar Water Heater: I’m buying the 80 Gallon Tank and 4×10 Solar Panel from Altona Trading and Solar Jeff will be installing. Here’s how it works (click to enlarge):
And here is the 4×10 panel:
Solar water-heating provides one of the best return on investment of any alternative energy option.
Operating a 240 Volt water-heater is a very inefficient use of electricity. With our abundance of sunlight here in the islands, solar thermal collection is the logical choice. As much as 20% of a typical residential electric bill can be saved in this way. The best solar water-heater is a PV-powered, open-loop circulation system. Water stored in a tank in the pump-room is passed through a thermal collector panel on the roof by means of a low-voltage circulation pump.
I figure we’ll save about $95-$125/month from my WAPA bill
Between the two solar options we should save $295-$375/month! Currently our average WAPA Bill is $580/month so I’m hoping to see a 50% reduction.
The total costs after rebates for both options is $7,600 and at an assumed savings of $325/month we should have payback in 23 months
We’ll keep you posted on actual numbers after the systems are installed.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
