Kerr Residence 2003 tour

These dedicated environmentalist home-owners have made every attempt to do without any "brown" electricity. "Brown" electricity comes from non-renewable resources. When the Kerrs recently bought their 1920's era house, they switched all the electric appliances to gas, even the cooking range and clothes dryer. Light bulbs were changed to efficient compact fluorescent and the refrigerator is the most efficient model they could find.

After all that, they installed a 2 kW photovoltaic (PV) system on the garage roof. The idea was to make the meter run backward during at least the sunny part of summer.
Solar savings: about 1600 kWh/year, this is more than 50% of their electricity use. The PV system is a grid tied system that connects directly into the utility wires serving the home. This type of PV system does not need batteries to store excess solar electricity. All excess electricity goes into the utility grid and runs the meter backward by selling electricity to utility company.

Their interest in hi-tech solutions like photovoltaic is complimented by their organic garden and their worm composting bin.

The Kerr's PV system is a grid connected (no battery) system that feeds electricity into the grid. You can think of it as running the meter backwards, but their new meter shows both what they buy and what they sell. Since the installation of their PV panels in 2001, the Kerrs have tracked their energy consumption by reading their meters on a montly basis. They have have a separate meter that just measures what the panels have produced.. They track the monthly production and compare that to their regular electric meter.

Features
· 1920 home
· Renewable energy: photovoltaic system
· Energy efficient appliances
· Energy efficient lighting
· Worm compost bin

Solar System Details
System Type: PV (solar electric)
Size: 2 kW, Siemens
Appliances: SunFrost
Solar Installer: Mr. Sun Solar

Solar Savings Saves over 50% of total electricity use or 1600 kWh/year. The idea was to sell excess to the utility company especially during the sunny summer months.