Information from Solaris Thermal, LLC
Hilltop Handspun yarns are now created with clean energy from PV solar electricity and solar hot water.
Lucy has always lived with a personal commitment to reducing her impact on the environment. She even makes some of her own natural dyes from flowers grown in her organic garden. In 2010 she decided to take control of her energy usage. While the original construction of the building was far above code and the home was quite tight there were some weatherization improvements needed and Lucy was able to take advantage of the Efficiency Maine Weatherization incentive. An air source heat pump was installed to provide heating and cooling. The oil boiler got a cold start upgrade and remains, along with the wood stove, as backup heat source. 14 Photovoltaic panels with Enphase micro inverters are designed to provide 2.4kw of electricity and give clean energy to the heat pump. In addition a 16 tube Sunda solar hot water system provides for domestic needs and hot water for the dye process.
In the first 3 months of operation Oct 2010-Jan-2011, despite lots of snow, the PV system was on track to exceed the expected annual electrical output.
-2.4 Kw Photovoltaic Solar Electric System with Enphase micro inverters
-14 Moser Baer 210kw panels
-16 Sunda evacuated tube Solar Hot Water system
-Mitsubishi Air Source Heat Pump provide heating and A/C
-existing boiler has become heating backup & we added a cold start to increase efficiency
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