Looking at Alternative Energy in a New Light

Want to monitor the status of your solar hot water tank? There’s an app for that, and Tim Sullivan is taking full advantage of it to show people just how cool his solar hot water tank really is.

The app, developed by Apple and available for most smart phones, shows the temperature for both the solar panels as well as the water tank itself.

"You could be out with friends and family, and you fire up your phone and say, 'Check out how much hot water we’re making,'" says Sullivan about the app.

As the beneficiaries of one of the first installations conducted by SEA Solar Store of a system of this kind, having a solar hot water tank made Sullivan and partner Candace Perreault "feel like the cool kids" in the neighborhood. Indeed, the decision to go solar is one they’re both satisfied with and eager to share with others.

"While the system was being installed, one of our neighbors walked by and told us how awesome she thought it was," recalls Sullivan. "And she actually ended up getting one of her own three months later."

Unfortunately, Sullivan knows not everyone is as easy to influence. He recalls many people asking how long the system would take to pay for itself – something which Sullivan sees as a no-brainer.

"It starts making hot water immediately," exclaims Sullivan. "So it’s already paying for itself."

However, Sullivan attests that "it’s not just about saving money, it’s about not burning oil," something that the solar hot water tank allows him to do even in the middle of a cold, rainy day in January.

"It’s still 50 degrees in the tank, when it’s probably only 32 on the ground," he says.  

One of Sullivan’s favorite aspects of the system is its production on overcast days when the weather is far from ideal, an efficiency that makes the tank so user-friendly.

While Sullivan is a self-proclaimed technology nerd, he says you don’t need to be tech savvy to be able to operate the system. 

Developed by Wagner, a company Jack Bingham of SEA Solar Store is helping to get off the ground in the area, Sullivan’s system is one he felt comfortable with from the get-go. Indeed, Sullivan has known Bingham for a while, and said that, along with introducing him to the top of the line product, Bingham also made the whole buying and installation process incredibly easy.

"I can’t say enough about Jack and his team," gushes Sullivan.

The SEA Solar Store offers customers a wide range of alternative energy systems, along with information on the importance of energy efficiency and conservation. SEA Solar is also a business partner of the Green Alliance, an organization of local businesses and consumers hat are working to create a more sustainable community. Through the Green Alliance, SEA Solar Store offers members a $250 discount on solar hot water or solar PV systems and 10% off all in-store items under $500.

For his part, Bingham has seen a lot of households become addicted to renewable energy systems and monitoring them the way that Sullivan has, and he thinks it’s fantastic.

"I had one woman tell me that when she and her husband get home every day, the first thing they do is check their monitor, before they even say, 'Hi, honey, how are you?'" Bingham says with a laugh. "It’s what I call the 'energy virus.' Once they’ve installed the system, they’ll watch it like a hawk, and then they want to do more like it. It’s great because they get inspired and they want to do more of those things."

Bingham also sees it as a learning tool for kids, who can also take part in monitoring their family’s energy use.

"It becomes a game where they can say, okay, we saved this much this month, how much can we save next month?" he says.

While Bingham disagrees with Sullivan that the monitoring systems are easy enough for anyone to install, he is confident that new technologies are being developed that will change that, providing Sullivan’s iPhone app as an example.

"We’re going to see more and more monitoring services that are made for the average consumer," Says Bingham. "Hopefully it will be a real game-changer."

• For more information about SEA Solar Store, visit www.seasolarstore.com
• For more information about the Green Alliance, visit www.greenalliance.biz