Solar home: All the energy minus the utility bill

Click to Enlarge Tom and Diane Rochester’s home in Greeley is completely powered by solar energy. Solar panels on the roof of their home collect energy from the sun, which is used to heat their water and power their home. BRET HARTMAN / bhartman@greeleytribune.com Browse Our Galleries

Rebecca Boyle, (Bio) rboyle@fortcollinsnow.com
July 22, 2007

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The unforgiving blaze of the July sun might punish those of us who want to walk dogs, run trails and live without air conditioning.

But Tom Rochester can watch television because of it, or swim in his pool, or cook dinner.

The sun powers his house in west Greeley, which is good because the electric bill would be huge otherwise in a 5,800-square-foot home.

As it is, however, Rochester's house makes far more energy than it consumes. And it's the mother of all science experiments for the retired eighth-grade science teacher.

"It's kind of easy to make a small little bungalow energy self-sufficient, but I wanted to see if you could take a big house, with a lot of space to heat and a pool, and do it all with solar ... and I think we've done it," he said.

Solar power is one form of renewable energy that, like wind, is especially abundant in Colorado. Gov. Bill Ritter extolls the state's veritable year-round renewable resource when he talks about the "new energy economy" he wants to germinate here.

Rochester wanted to go solar to reduce his carbon footprint and help conserve natural resources. He also wanted to save money in the long run, after making a big up-front investment. Plus, it's cool -- he's a science teacher, after all.

"This was kind of a grand experiment for me," he said.

The custom-built house is for sale now because the Rochesters realized it was way too big for two people -- their 13 grandkids only visit so often, and Tom's wife, Diane, has difficulty cleaning the huge space because of arthritis. Their next, smaller house will be retro-fitted with solar equipment.

They've been enjoying it for the past seven months, however.

Tom, Diane, and their dog Jody moved into the house, 7906 Skyview St. in Poudre River Ranch, on Dec. 20, the day the winter blizzard started. Their moving truck got stuck in the street and they had to live without furniture for a while.

The snow caused other problems, too -- it covered the house's photovoltaic panels. That equipment is what converts the sun's energy into electricity.

"We had a miserable solar winter," Tom Rochester said.

But July has been much better.

On a recent weekday, Rochester checked two meters that were tracking the level of electricity the sun's rays generate. One read 4,100 watts and the other said 3,973 watts. That's about 8 kilowatts for the whole house.

To put that in perspective, consider that a typical household light bulb uses between 40 and 100 watts of electricity. Eight kilowatts is a lot of power, and the Rochester house is generating 450 kilowatt-hours a month in excess of consumption.

Rochester measures all this like any good science teacher would: With spreadsheets, charts and graphs.

"It's just enough for me to say, 'Yeah, it really works,' " he said.

The house is designed so you can actually see it work, too. It is almost like a monument to the sun.

A vast sunroom facing southwest has space for an exercise pool and more than 16 windows to let sunlight flood in.

In the winter, sunlight is at a lower angle and enters the windows to warm the tile floors and pool. As heat is generated, air vents draw heat off the vaulted ceilings and distribute the warmth throughout the house.

Besides that, an array of 58 solar panels collect the sun's rays to generate hot water and electricity.

Ten solar collectors on the garage roof are used to heat the house's water. A 600-gallon steel tank in the basement stores all the water, and copper tubes inside the tank keep it warm. It actually gets too hot to use -- about 180 degrees Fahrenheit -- and must be mixed with cooler water.

Just in case, there's also a backup hot water heater, which is powered by solar energy. It's been shut off since February.

Two weeks ago, an inspector from Xcel Energy came by to check the gas meter, wondering why the gas has been off for three months despite the home being occupied. Diane had to explain that it was a solar home.

Rochester gets animated talking about the home's energy efficiency. The appliances are low energy users, and compact fluorescent bulbs brighten the areas where sunlight can't reach.

He wants other northern Colorado residents to join the movement, for environmental and personal reasons. More homes would drive up the value of his, and solar homes would use less coal- and gas-fired energy, helping the environment.

"I know I'm not going to make much difference as an individual, but it makes me feel better," he said.

Solar home owner says costs now pay off later

An obvious question about solar energy technology is the cost -- for some, it may be prohibitive.

But Tom Rochester, whose west Greeley home is powered by the sun, has plenty of figures to show that it more than pays off in the end.

Rochester paid $84,000 for the photovoltaic system, which derives electricity from the sun's rays. But he got a rebate from Xcel Energy in the amount of $45,000, plus a $2,000 tax rebate. His house is larger than most, however, so a similar system on a 2,000 square-foot house would cost substantially less.

Rochester has paid $478 so far this year for all his utilities, including water -- and it would have been $140 less than that if he hadn't started watering his lawn a lot in June.

Over time, those energy savings will pay back the part of the home's mortgage that includes the solar equipment.

Rochester estimates that within 15 years, the system will be paid for and actually making money for the home. Plus, the home's equity will increase.

"It's a no-brainer to me," he said. "I'm flabbergasted when people say, 'Oh, that's a good idea.' Well, do something about it."