A $16 Electric Bill, Clean Energy, And A Comfortable Life

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http://stonington.patch.com/articles/a-16-electric-bill-clean-energy-and-a-comfortable-life

A $16 Electric Bill, Clean Energy, And A Comfortable Life

The Pollins Of Ledyard Talk About Their Solar PV System

Stewart Pollin had just taken a swim in his backyard pool when I arrived to see his solar photovoltaic system. The night was muggy. He said, “Let’s go inside, in the air conditioning. I’ll show you the inverters on the way in.”

Electrically powered air conditioning seemed a bit incongruous for this Gallup Hill Road household that relies on 42 roof-mounted solar photovoltaic panels for most of its electricity. But Pollin said, “We put air conditioning in after we got the panels.”

The two 9-kilowatt-hour systems, installed in 2006 and 2008, cost the Pollins about $25,000—or half the total cost. The rest, the state of Connecticut’s clean energy rebate program paid using money collected through clean energy surcharges residents pay with our electric bills.

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No longer is solar PV a weird technology suited only to “early adopters.” The Pollins live a typical life. They use a dishwasher, washer and dryer, and full-sized refrigerator. (They heat their water off their oil-fired furnace.) Pollin, an electrical engineer, and his wife, Patty, a school counselor at Ledyard Middle School, said the adjustment to solar was easy. (They have four children, the youngest now in college, the others on their own. One of their sons worked for a solar installer for a while.)

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