Rountree Architects - Articles, Connecticut, Vermont, Solar Architeture, Home Builders, Designers, Green Energy

Imagine what it would be like not to pay a big electric bill each month, or how comforting it would be to know that if the power goes off, you will not lose heat, water and other vital services in your home.

John Rountree, a Westport-based architect and solar design consultant for Solar Works of Montpelier, Vt, has been interested in solar electricity and how best to use this clean, pollution free energy effectively in every day life for years.

Rountree's quest is now being realized. As of last week, one-third of the electricity needed to power his South Compo Road home and office is being supplied by the sun, converted to home use by photovoltaic cells. "I have just installed the 'grid-tied' photovoltaic system made by Solar Works which makes my house the first house in Fairfield Country to be partially powered (in this way) by the sun," Rountree said.

Rountree mounted 12 cell panels on the south side of the roof which will produce about 1200 watts AC for his house during sunlight hours. Any excess power made by the cells is sold back to the utility company. The house is powered by the utility company at night.

The Solar Works system Rountree chose is supplying one-third of the electricity used in his 1,200 square foot house and is saving him one-third of his electric bill while also providing a back-up energy source in the event of a power-failure. "Critical loads" such as the refrigerator, furnace, water pump and a couple of plugs will stay on.

Rountree, a registered architect since 1986, said he first became intrigued with solar electricity while a student at Syracuse University in the early 1980s. "Solar electricity was first developed in the '50s to power satellites and space ships," he explained. "You can't have a gas engine up there, or coal, or oil — you can't run power lines out there. Solar cells do it all."

Solar cells are made of melted down silicon with metallic fingers applied to it. When the sun hits the cell, a positive charge is created on one side and a negative charge on the other. Electrons are released which flow from one side to the other creating a circuit of electricity, a current, which runs through these metallic fingers.

"I also store power in eight batteries in the basement," Rountree said. "When the power goes down, they automatically provide emergency power for about two days."

Another advantage of solar power, besides saving money and having an easy source of emergency power, according to Rountree, is that no harmful emissions or pollution are produced. But the solar system is expensive to install, around 10 cents a watt, meaning a partial system like Rountree's would cost about $10,000; a complete system to power an average-sized house would cost about $40,000.

"There is a house in Maine that is completely off the grid. It can be done. That is what I would like to see for all houses eventually — that they are electrically self-sufficient."

Rountree and Solar Works have started an initiative called "Solar for Connecticut Schools," a non-profit group that works with the Department of Environment Protection, United Illuminating and the state Board of Education. Its mission is to raise private funds to install photovoltaic systems on 10 public schools throughout the state.

"It would be an educational tool to help teach the children and the community about solar energy," he said. "We hope to have this accomplished by the spring of 2000."