Solar panel options presented at library

There are about 500 solar panel installations in Indiana, and 110 are in the Bloomington area.

The Southern Indiana Renewable Energy Network organized a “Going Solar” presentation Tuesday night at the Bloomington branch of the Monroe County Public Library.

“We noticed that there was precious little solar adoption in the community and we felt a personal responsibility to reduce our carbon impact,” Terry Usrey, SIREN member,said. “We’re a grassroots organization. We help with installations and offer informal training and education.”

SIREN has given presentations in Bloomington and the surrounding area for the past two years.

The presentation explained the costs and benefits of installing renewable energy systems in homes and businesses. It centered on photovoltaic solar arrays.

PV systems work when the sun shines on solar panels and solar radiation is absorbed by silicon creating a direct current, Usrey said. The direct current is converted to alternating current and fed directly to the breaker system.

Usrey said if one uses a grid-tied system, net metering allows you to feed electricity back into the grid if your panels produce a surplus.

SIREN recommends a home energy audit to determine the annual household electricity usage. From there, they recommend covering 50 percent of their energy needs with solar panels and reduce the other 50 percent of their electricity consumption through conservation.

SIREN member Darrell Boggess compared the cost of installing solar panels to buying a home.

“There is a high fixed price up-front like buying a home, but it’s better than renting a house or renting electricity from the utility company when rates can increase without notice,” Boggess said.

Boggess said he used SIREN’s 50-50 method.

“The 50-50 plan made us more aware of our energy consumption, and we were able to cut it down significantly,” he said. “Now we have a surplus.”

Amie McCarty, director of sales and marketing for solar energy systems at Mann Plumbing, said Bloomington is a “solar oasis.”

“The people here are open to new technologies and sustainable lifestyles,” McCarty said.

Mann Plumbing began installing solar water heating systems in 2008, but they have since expanded to photovoltaic solar systems, McCarty said.

“The first year or so the plumbing side of our business supported the solar side,” McCarty said. “The decreasing price along with the growing overall familiarity helps solar to seem more reasonable and less weird.”  

Follow reporter Brianna Meyer on Twitter @brimmeyer.