The Roanoker - September / October 2018 - 60

TH E H OME S IS S U E

Power

0w

Day

129.5 kw/h
6.047 Mw/h

Total

0V

An inverter unit monitors
the current from solar
panels and converts it
alternating current.

For her personally, she is
serious about going solar on
her Botetourt home if she can
possibly swing it. "I think it's
important to walk the talk," she
says.

HOW IT WORKS

Homeowners who will bring
i n t h e m o s t e n e r g y f r om
their systems have a large,
uninterrupted, South-facing
expanse. This positions them to
collect the sun's rays the most
directly, for the longest amount
of time each day.
An inverter, located either
on the back of every panel or
mounted in a home's utilit y
room or on an exterior wall,
ta kes t he d irect cu r rent
har vested by the panels and
converts it into a lternating
current. In turn, that energy
powers a homeowner's lights,
air conditioning, refrigerator
and stove.
Appalachian Power, which
provides energy to the Western
third of Virginia, lists 821
customers in Virginia as having
signed on to receive solar credits
from their power systems. This
60

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

122V

number has been steadily rising over the past several years, says
spokesman John Shepelwich.
"There's just this intrinsic value," Sutch says. "If you grow a tomato
from your garden, there's a sense of pride. You say, 'I produced this
tomato right here.' You never think about the cost of the water or the
seed. A lot of people like the idea of being energy self-sufficient. If
you've got the technology to generate energy on your property and
do it in a cost-effective way, why not?"
Ninety-nine percent of solar systems nationwide are "grid-tied,"
meaning homes with solar panels do not store any of the power they
collect. They either use it or send it back to the energy company for
a credit on their bill. These homes are still connected to their areas'
grids, which provide for their electrical needs whenever their solar
system cannot.
Homeowners who have solar panels say they could not be easier
to use.
"It's zero maintenance, basically," says Chad Braby, a Grandin
Court homeowner who installed his system in 2013. "Out of sight,
out of mind. ... Maybe once a year I'll go up and hose down the
panels, get the pollen off them."
Braby, like Bailey, has an engineering background and is committed
to doing his part to reverse global warming. He had hoped to construct
a larger system on his roof but when his installer crunched the numbers,
four panels were all it made sense to put in place.
"At the end of the day, it's a small step," Braby says. "But I've got
a tiny little power plant that's producing clean power; my tiny power
plant is putting power back into the grid."
With inverter technology improving, Braby is considering adding
more panels, even though shade will keep them from gathering as much
sun as they might. South Roanoke's Bailey, too, would like to add on.
Solar United's Sutch says that reaction is common. "I have never
had one person in my whole career who has said to me: 'I regret
going solar.'"
"This just keeps growing and growing." I
TheRoanoker.com

ORIGINAL IMAGE COURTESY OF RUSSELL BAILEY, ILLUSTRATION BY JULIANNE RAINONE

200kw
http://www.TheRoanoker.com
The Roanoker - September / October 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - September / October 2018
