With the continually lowering costs of solar energy, we’ve seen things like schools and music festivals looking to cut energy expenses by capturing energy from light.
Now, that cost-cutting is being used to attract tenants to an apartment complex that has outfitted itself with solar panels both on the rooftops of its buildings, as well as atop the covered parking stalls. The result is a massive cut in the energy bills of the people who call that place home.
This tactic could be something interesting to follow in the future as similar businesses could soon be looking to offer reduced energy costs as a draw to customers or clients. There’s also the aspect of the sense of pride that many people take these days in using environmentally friendly energy such as solar power.
And seeing as how costs of such undertakings are only going to continue to go down, we’re likely to only see more such projects in the future. And that’s without even considering the possibilities of using mobile charging devices for some of the gadgets we might normally have plugged into the wall. Through both capturing more solar energy and harnessing ambient light, we’re going to see even more of our power needs going off the grid!
Check out this article that details the solar project at the apartment complex, complete with some intriguing numbers about its success so far!
__________
The 641 solar panels installed atop Bonne Terre Village Apartments’ carports last year have generated more than 150,000 kilowatts of electricity, according to property managers.
Houma’s two mixed-income apartment communities for the elderly were retrofitted with the photovoltaic solar panels in late 2011 as part a national property developer and managers’ renewable energy initiative.
The panels generate about 147 kilowatts of power per hour in direct sunlight, covering the cost of 50 to 60 percent of the buildings’ hall lights, elevators, air-conditioning systems and other power-operated amenities, said Tim Talley, HRI Properties facilities manager.
The installation is part of a project at six residential facilities in Shreveport, New Orleans and Houma that are run by HRI Properties. The $10 million project, paid for by HRI, is expected to produce about 1.4 million kilowatt hours of solar energy per year from all its properties.
HRI representatives said it is the largest solar installation in the state.
The property owners pay a fixed rent equal to roughly 75 percent of the electricity savings, Talley said.
Melissa Ardoin, property manager of the apartments, said she isn’t sure of the exact savings, but she and the other 115 Bonne Terre residents are enjoying it.
“It’s working real well,” Ardoin said. “It’s keeping the cost down for the housing meters, and the residents are enjoying the covered parking.”
It’s saving at least a couple hundred dollars a month for residents’ power bills, she said.
__________
Check out the rest of the article here: http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20130218/ARTICLES/130219653/-1/living?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar