'The Sun Also Rises': Funeral Home Adopts Solar Power To Lower Costs
Verona, NJ - Prout Funeral Home in Verona, New Jersey, a third-generation family business in a conservative, tradition-bound industry, is believed to be the first in the state and the Northeast to flip the switch and install a clean, complete solar electric power technology in its 82-year-old facility. Funeral Director Robert J. "Bob" Prout, a lifelong environmentalist, says the pollution-free system, which converts sunlight into electricity, is saving his firm a bundle, keeping his clients' costs lower and helping to preserve the environment.
The 50-year-old Prout, who drives a hybrid car, is no stranger to conservation and the environment, having served on conservation committees and shade tree commission for more than a quarter century. He's been involved in the Soil Conservation District for the state for 25 years and has a long history with the Boy Scouts of America. "Conservation is not a new revelation," he says. "If we had started using solar energy 30 years ago, after the last gas crisis, we would not be so dependent on foreign oil today. But, more importantly, it is the right way to go for the health of our environment."
Prout estimates that he is cutting his electricity bill from $800 to $1,000 a month down to $350, which is what the utility, Public Service Electric & Gas, charges for its equipment on site. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities offers the best solar electric incentive program in the nation, thanks to a combination of rebates, tax credits and utility buybacks. The installation of the system costs about $340,000, of which 60 percent is paid by New Jersey rebates, and Prout financed the $140,000. Utilities in the state must have a minimum of 4 percent of their energy from renewable sources. They don't have the option of windmills, solar or hydro-electric, but they can buy electric generated by solar power from firms such as Prout.
In most homes, the electric meter outside spins one way -- bringing in electricity. But in this case, the meter spins both ways. When Prout generates more energy than it consumes, the excess can be automatically sold back to PSE&G. "It's called net metering," explains Prout. "The utility buys credits from small producers, like me. For every thousands kilowatt hours I produce, the BPU issues me a green certificate which can be auctioned off to the utility. Each certificate is worth $200 to $250. So, I estimate that this will bring in another $8,000 to $10,000 a year in cash over and above the reduction of my bill from the $10,000 to $12,000 a year range to zero. And, there is a tremendous tax credit."
Atop the funeral home there are 114 solar panels each measuring 3 by 5 feet and weighing 33 pounds, which are made by British Petroleum Solar, Frederick, Maryland. When the sunlight strikes a panel, it frees positive and negative particles to create current. "Those panels produce 17 kilowatts," he point out. "Guaranteed for 25 years, the panels convert sunlight directly into electricity (DC current) and a series of six inverters in the basement convert that electricity into ordinary household current (AC).
Prout plans on working with local schools on a lesson plan about alternative energy sources, in which, after a few days of classroom discussion, the youngsters would come on a field trip to the home's display.
SOURCE: Prout Funeral Home