Mason Habitat Goes Solar
Mason County Habitat for Humanity recently completed their 12th home. This year the home also includes a roof mounted Solar PV (photovoltaic) system, the first solar home in the city of Mason.
The house, located at 1315 Morrow Street was constructed to the latest green building standards and, most importantly, to the energy requirements specified in the current 2012 building code.
The solar system consists of fourteen solar panels mounted on the south facing roof. It has a combined output of 3.5KW. Each panel has its own micro inverter that produces 230V AC and that power is then fed into the electrical box in the house.
Because the solar system is directly connected to the electrical system of the city, it is termed “Grid Tie”. This produces power for the home during the day, and pushes the excess power to the city of Mason power grid creating a power credit for the homeowner
The size of the system was based on calculations and data from other habitat homes. It produces enough energy during a year to offset the homeowner’s electrical usage.
The purchase and installation of this solar system was made possible through private donations from various individuals, in kind donations from Hill Country Solar, and the hard work of Mason County Habitat for Humanity volunteers under the leadership of Keith Kaan.
Stephanie Sparks and her three children are the owners of the new Habitat home. She signed the Interconnected Agreement with the city of Mason on Tuesday, June 11, 2014. Since her home is all electric and 100% of the power comes from the sun, it is considered net-zero and Stephanie’s electric bill will average $0.
John Palacio - City Manager, Keith Kaan - Habitat home designer and building supervisor, Cathy Terrell - Habitat administrative assistant and three representatives of Hill Country Solar were present when Stephanie Sparks and John Palacio signed the Interconnection agreement. Following the signing, the solar system was tested then put into production Mode.
Thanks to the city of Mason for their support in setting up the necessary Interconnection Agreement that allows residents of Mason to connect solar systems to the electrical grid of the city.
For more information about Mason County Habitat for Humanity and their GREEN building projects please visit our Habitat website at www.masoncountyhfh.org .
A big thank you to all who made this momentous occasion possible.