“Solar is really a great financial investment because it can pay for itself in a relatively short time,” says Stanley, whose company provides solar consulting, system design and installation. He notes that installed systems start at about $19,000.
Solar allows customers to create their own electricity and lower their overall utility bill, Stanley says. In addition, they can sell unused energy back to their local electric utility in the form of credits. Moreover, the long-term maintenance costs are low compared with other energy sources, he says.

“I certainly have customers that are very environmentally conscious and put in solar specifically for that reason, but most of them do it because they’ve analyzed the numbers and recognized that they can get a strong return on their investment in a short period of time,” Stanley says. “For them, the environment is a fringe benefit.”

This practical approach is one reason why Shockoe Solar is thriving in a down economy. The company, begun in 2008, had gross revenues of $540,000 last year and now has five employees. Stanley says that he already has signed contracts worth over $600,000 this year, and he expects that several pending projects that are awaiting financing will push company revenue over $1 million in 2010.

Stanley, who holds a Class A contracting license, spent years building and renovating high-end homes. “When people think of solar, they’re thinking panels and plugs, but it’s really a construction project,” he states, noting that installations can also involve clearing trees, digging holes and trenches and pouring concrete.

Stanley says that while most of his clients are homeowners, he has begun to make inroads into the commercial market. His customers include a veterinary clinic and a large grocery distribution center. His goal is to convince more businesses of the bottom-line justification for solar. “It will take some education for some people to see this as more than a novelty and really a smart business move,” he says, noting that some businesses are willing but can’t get loans. “However, I think it will catch on sooner than later because electric rates are only going to keep rising, and the cost of solar is coming down.”

Original post:  http://www.virginiabusiness.com/index.php/news/article/bottom-line-still-rules-in-solar-decisions

Shockoe Solar from Bernie Stanley on Vimeo.

System:  8.9 kW roof mount
Module:   Schott Poly 220
Inverter:  Enphase Micro-Inverter
Mounting:  S-5! Mounting system

See what the system is doing on this public link:

http://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/Scvu2674

Schott solar panels mounted on residential roof

S-5 mounting bracket holding Schott solar panel

BLACKSBURG — Imagine the house of the future.

If it gets too hot outside, the house reduces the need for air conditioning by drawing its shade panels.

When temperatures drop in winter, high-efficiency insulation panels slide in place to conserve heat.

In fact, this house could brew your morning coffee and turn on your favorite music before you get out of bed.

Welcome to LumenHaus, Virginia Tech’s newest solar-powered “smart house” and the university’s entry in the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon.

The name comes from “lumen,” meaning “power of light,” and “haus,” a nod to the Bauhaus architectural movement that inspired the new prototype.

The 800-square-foot LumenHaus is a broad stepping evolution from the original Solar House design that won Virginia Tech high marks in the 2002 and 2005 Solar Decathlons.

The new design incorporates two years of work from dozens of students in various fields of study.

Powered by double-efficient solar panels and heated and cooled with geothermal heat pumps, the house is designed to maximize the use of natural light and expand the living space to the outdoors using expansive decks. The new prototype also uses computer automation to save energy and create a more comfortable living space, architecture professor and project faculty adviser Joe Wheeler said.

One particularly interesting feature was created by computer-science students, who wrote an iPhone application to remotely monitor and control the structure’s energy use.

Forget to turn off the oven? Irritated that the computer and the television are sucking electricity while you’re at work? With LumenHaus, you can switch them off using your iPhone, Wheeler said.

The original solar house was designed by former Tech architecture graduate students Bryan Atwood and Brett Moss.

While LumenHaus is “a totally new design . . . on the other hand, we like to think of it as the evolution of the past project. We don’t start over, we just continue to develop the concept,” Wheeler said.

The team moved the new house from the Virginia Tech campus to the Blacksburg Square Shopping Center, where it will be on display until Sept. 1, when the team departs for Washington. Once in the capital, the house will go on display at the National Building Museum until October, when the decathlon begins.

In June, the team will load LumenHaus on a ship for transport to Madrid, where Virginia Tech will compete with teams from around the world. LumenHaus is one of two U.S. entries accepted this year to Solar Decathlon Europe, university architecture spokeswoman Heather Riley-Chadwick said.

The $350,000 project was funded primarily through corporate sponsorships, Wheeler said.

Prototypes are generally expensive as they require lots of trial and error. But the team is working on making LumenHaus more affordable.

“Market viability is one category in the decathlon,” Wheeler said.

Found @ http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/article/HOUS19_20090818-211802/286802/