Technicians For Sustainability: Tucson Solar System Installers: Solar Hot Water, Rainwater Harvesting, and Solar Electrical Power

Green Valley Residence

Tiernay — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:07:00 +0000

For this homeowner, solar was a no-brainer: “Solar power is the only way to go.” For them, getting solar “was a completely enjoyable experience. All [TFS] personell were professional, polite and pleasant at all times. Work was done quickly and efficiently.” They are especially pleased with their system since it “works beautifully and saves money.”

Tucson Church Saves with Solar

Tiernay — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:55:05 +0000

Tucson, AZ- April 17, 2012- St. Philip’s In The Hills Episcopal Church is celebrating the completion of their solar power system. Installed on three covered parking structures, this project was made possible by a generous gift from dedicated parishioner Dr. Donna Cosulich. The solar system allows the church to save money and make a public statement about their commitment to being responsible stewards of the world. It will serve as an example to the parishioners that protecting the environment is simple, practical and cost effective.

St. Philip’s dedication to solar power and the environment is not a new commitment. The St. Philip’s Green Team has been investigating and enacting ways for the church to ‘green’ their image since 2005. The Green Team was founded by Dr. Cosulich who passed away this January after seeing solar become a reality for St. Philip’s. The Green Team’s goal is to “explore the wonder of our world, addressing our roles as citizens and people of faith as we wrestle with potential global climate change.” In addition to supporting the new solar system, the Green Team sponsors educational forums on environmental topics, publishes a “green tips” brochure and has many other programs designed to bring attention to ways parishioners can make small changes to ‘green’ their lives.

Bruce Plenk, Solar Energy Coordinator for the City of Tucson, said: “It’s great to see churches join with the City of Tucson, doctors’ offices, veterinarians’ offices, bookstores, pizza places, office buildings and many homes in Tucson in going solar. Congratulations to St. Philip’s In The Hills, its Green Team and Technicians for Sustainability on the completion of this wonderful solar project.”

The financial savings will be immediate for St. Philip’s. The church acquired the project through a lease, leaving them to collect the savings each month. Over the course of 20 years, the church will see over $500,000 in cumulative utility savings.

Designed and installed by Technicians for Sustainability, St. Philip’s 160 kW solar electric (photovoltaic) system is estimated to generate 24,000 kWh per month. The system consists of 522 SunPower modules and will provide over 90% of the entire facility’s electricity needs, encouraging the church to take further energy saving measures. The system has the added benefit of offering shaded parking to visitors, improving the quality of the St. Philip’s experience.

In keeping with their desire to be stewards of the environment, St. Philip’s new solar structures will save 24,100 lbs of coal and 12,050 gallons of water from being used to generate electricity each month. Their new source of electricity also prevents 53,670 lbs of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere each month. According to the Rev. Dr. Tom Lindell the solar array “will keep on giving … not only in a significant savings in electrical costs but also in the long-term benefit to our fragile ecosystem of avoiding putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels.”

St. Philip’s will be celebrating the completion of their system on Sunday, April 22nd with a dedication and Earth Day ceremony. Please join them at 12:15p.m. after the last morning service to celebrate their great accomplishment and dedication to the environment and God.

About St. Philip’s In The Hills

St. Philip’s strives to be “a strong and loving community that welcomes, encourages, and empowers all to grow in Christ and to do God’s work in the world.” Through our vision invitation, “come and see … grow with God … go and do,” we invite all persons, regardless of demographic factors and faith expectations, to experience God, to learn and be formed spiritually, and to develop their individual gifts with which to serve God in the world through St. Philip’s more than 90 active ministry groups and programs. More information is available on our web site: www.stphilipstucson.org

About Technicians For Sustainability

Technicians For Sustainability (TFS) is a locally owned, mission-driven business, committed to walking their talk. They provide businesses, public institutions, and residential homeowners with high quality, clean, renewable energy systems, helping to translate environmental values into practical reality. The company employs proven technologies to meet customers’ specific needs, including solar electricity, solar hot water heating, and water harvesting. TFS has installed over a megawatt of solar power in southern Arizona. For more information about Technicians For Sustainability visit www.tfssolar.com

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Oro Valley Residence

Tiernay — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:24:33 +0000

This homeowner chose to install photovoltaic (PV) solar on his roof in order to decrease his oil and fossil fuel consumption. He gave a nice recommendation of TFS: “they cleanly explained the solar system and then, when we decided to go ahead, they were efficient and did a great job.” According to this homeowner, the best part of the solar system is that they are now using power that does not come from oil.

Gascho Residence

Tiernay — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:00:07 +0000

The Gascho family installed photovoltaic solar panels because they simply wanted to use the sun to make their electricity. They think that Tucson should see more solar installations every day. According to them, “Solar power is a big part of the answers to our energy problem!”

Kimball Residence

Tiernay — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:58:37 +0000

The Kimball family chose to install solar on their home because of the great financial savings they would receive and because the solar benefits the home by raising the resale value of the house. The best features of the system are “the money I’m saving and the positive impact on the environment.” Solar isn’t the only way this family is saving the environment; in order to reduce the amount of electricity they use, the family switched from conventional light bulbs to energy saving ones, reducing their impact even further. According to the homeowner, “Solar is a great addition to my home and a wonderful asset to my community.”

Rees Residence

Tiernay — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:58:02 +0000

After seeing many of his friends go solar, this home owner decided to make the switch to solar electricity and was excited to have the chance to put it on his home. He believes “solar is an exciting technology that will continue to grow.” Check out the data monitoring link to see how much electricity the system is producing right now and to see how much the home is using.

North Residence

Tiernay — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:57:27 +0000

“We had been investigating [solar] for several years as a way to reduce our monthly expenses and move toward a smaller footprint on the planet.” The North Family chose to make the jump to solar when they realized the 2011 incentives offered such a great financial return and they found a lease option that worked for them: “the leasing cost makes the system completely affordable.” They are really excited about all the different aspects of their system, but “the most exciting thing for us is watching the meter run backwards. It’s always wonderful knowing that we are generating more than we are consuming.” Since aesthetics were very important to this family, “we are fortunate that the design of our house makes the system all but completely invisible.” The Norths also employ rainwater harvesting on their property which allows them to water their plants by storing rain runnoff from their roof. They are also on track for getting their hot water from the sun, too.

East Tucson Residence

Tiernay — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:56:36 +0000

This homeowner chose to install a photovoltaic (PV) solar system on the roof of her home in order to reduce her environmental impact. Energy effeciency is also important to her, and with her new data monitoring and consumption monitoring, she can easily track her solar system’s production as well as her own electricity usage. Through SunPower system monitoring, she can check on her production remotely and easily via the internet and an app on her phone. For this avid recycler and now solar electricity user, protecting the environment was key. “Solar is a smart thing to do in sunny Arizona.”

Foothills Residence

Tiernay — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:55:17 +0000

This homeowner chose to go solar in order to reap both the financial and environmental benefits. Their favorite part of the new system is the electricity generation and the monitoring capabilities. With the SunPower data monitoring, they can see remotely and easily how much electricity their system is producing in real time and they can also track changes in production from year-to-year and day-to-day. This home also uses solar hot water.

Repp Residence

Tiernay — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:54:48 +0000

The Repps chose to install solar on their roof because of the long term energy and financial savings it would offer them. They were also interested in the sustainability concerns of getting their electricity from coal – now their system saves on average 1,400 lbs of coal from being burned to produce the electricity for their home each month. For this family, the best part of the system is the financial savings on electricity they are getting each month. Now, instead of paying the electricity bill, their monthly savings are going straight into their daughter’s college fund.