Clyde Moore: Sun shines on my solar system

I’ve said before, I love our big, gorgeous Winter Park oak trees. Almost all the time.

I curse them just a bit when all those tiny leaves start falling, and I think how much easier the ones farther north are to rake. And, I confess, I’ve been prone to whine like a baby each time I get into a 78-degree pool in the middle of summer, nearly a top temperature for us.

Our pool was actually warmer in summer in Atlanta. Why? A combination of a dramatically shifting sun (the pool gets full sun in the winter, of course) and that glorious tree canopy, which completes the setting of our backyard.

Well, I’m here to tell you there’s more to solar than Solyndra. We started talking with a number of local companies about possibilities for boosting the water temp and zeroed in on a natural gas heater and solar panels. We started the process two years ago and now regret dragging our feet.

Brad Launs, with Everything Solar, should have gotten tired of talking to us over that period but didn’t. Finally, in late May, we pulled the trigger. Brad says it was due to the time of year, the “ambient air temperature” he speaks of, but our water temperature climbed 10 degrees in a day. We’ve gone from whining about the cold temperature to having to admit once or twice that it’s been too warm.

“When I do this I underpromise and overdeliver,” he says. “And the reason I do that is that if we’re installing this thing in February, the two to three degrees is going to be what I say. Then, coming into March or April, it’s going to be warmer outside, your ambient outside temperature is hotter, so you’re going to get a higher rate of recovery.”

For more information on Everything Solar, visit www.poweredbydaylight.com or call 407-545-3590.

Brad’s currently in the process of putting in a full solar electric system at his own house and looks forward to the day when he can provide excess energy back to the utility company. Most systems installed by Everything Solar are pool or solar water heating, estimating around 3,000 systems for each. But he’s helped install complete “PV” – photo voltaic – systems in about 25 homes.

My other half tends to do his homework, and as I spoke with Brad recently, I realized that much more what a good decision we’d made. The panels used by Everything Solar for installs such as ours are different than other products in that they do not lie directly on the roof, instead sitting in a “sled” which eliminates abrasion to the roof and prevents water damming, collecting and causing potential leakage. Brad says his company has never had problems with such issues.

He said such panels caused a lot of problems for homeowners during the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005, with collapsed roofs. “We didn’t have any issues like that because, first of all, the panel we use has six fewer holes in the roof per panel. If you have six panels, you’ve got 36 fewer holes in your roof right off the bat with the panel we use.”

In addition to suffering a hurricane better, Everything Solar can also help provide power during the power outages that follow, which those of us who’ve been through those, uh, dark periods, can truly appreciate. “We take the critical appliances that you want running – you want the a/c running, you want the refrigerator running, a light in the bathroom for one and a half hours a day, the TV on for maybe three hours a day – so what you do is take the amp hours from those appliances and you calculate. If you’re going to have them on for this many hours a day, do you want it on for a week and a half, two weeks?” he says. “If a hurricane hits, you’ve got power for that.”

States such as Florida, communities such as Winter Park are a natural for solar, but Brad surprises me when he says, “Germany is probably the most solarized country in the world – 30 percent of Germany is solarized. That’s almost saturation point. Look at the climate in Germany. The climate in Germany is ridiculous; it’s like Michigan where I’m from – cloudy and rainy. They generate a lot of power with it over there and they do well. So the Sunshine State, out west, Phoenix, Nevada, California, all that makes sense.”

Yes, no more whining from me.

Local Luv'n Local

If you’re on Facebook, I’m trying to do something positive for local artists and local art-LUVers alike! Facebook.com/WinterParkLUVsArt is a page where local artists can promote their art, and local art lovers can see new art from a variety of local artists. It’ll be a central place on Facebook, online to go to and celebrate art! If you’re an artist, simply ‘Like’ the page and message me — I’ll add you as an administrator. You’ll then be ready to post your art, Local appearances, exhibitions and more. Winter Park loves art … and this is going to be the online place to see it locally!