The Future of Low Carbon Home Comfort, Step 3: Solar + Storage

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Welcome to part three of our “Low Carbon Home Comfort” blog series! In this series, we’re reflecting on the real impact human activities are having on climate change — and focusing on what homeowners here in Maine and elsewhere can do to achieve “low carbon home comfort.”

In part one, we discussed the importance of making your home as energy efficient as possible with energy saving upgrades like weatherization and basement encapsulation. Then in part two, we dove into how heat pumps can reduce your reliance on fossil fuels and “electrify” your home, preparing it for future renewable energy upgrades like solar.

Now, in part three, we’re discussing one more home upgrade you can make to significantly increase your energy independence: installing solar panels and battery storage.

Solar Offsets Your Home’s Electricity Needs

As you may remember from parts one and two, energy efficiency upgrades like weatherization reduce the overall amount of energy your home consumes, while installing a heat pump allows you to use electricity instead of fossil fuels like oil and natural gas to heat and condition your home.

Once your home is as energy efficient as possible and relies on electricity instead of fossil fuels, the next step is to offset your electricity needs with solar. Installing a solar photovoltaic (PV) system allows you to generate free and clean electricity from the sun, reducing or even eliminating your reliance on the power grid. This renewable energy will power your heating and cooling system, lights, appliances, and everything else in your home that runs on electricity. You can even plan to have your solar panels supply the energy needed to charge electric vehicles down the road!

How much electricity your solar system generates largely depends on the size of your system, as well as other factors such as roof orientation, shading, and outdoor temperature. (Cooler temperatures are actually best for solar panel efficiency.) Many homeowners here in Maine choose to install a grid-tied solar energy system — which supplies a home with electricity during the day when energy production is at its highest and draws from the power grid at night or at times when energy production is low.

Add Battery Storage for Even Greater Energy Independence

For even greater energy independence when you go solar, we recommend adding battery storage to your solar PV system. Battery storage allows you to store the excess energy your system generates during the day for use at night or other times of low energy production. With a large enough solar + battery storage system, you can even go “off-grid” and secure your home against issues with the electricity grid and those infamous Maine power outages!

You Also Have Green Power Buying Options

If your roof is not well suited for solar panels, or a solar PV system simply isn’t in the budget at the moment, there are alternative options that still allow you to harness the benefits of clean, renewable energy.

Maine Green Power Program

Here in Maine, the Maine Green Power program allows homeowners to match the electricity they use with energy generated from renewable resources, such as wind, hydro, and biomass. Participants simply purchase “blocks” of energy through their utility bill for as low as $4.95 per month, and these blocks are matched to Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) produced in Maine.

Community Solar

Want to own solar panels but don’t have the ability to put them on your own roof or property? Consider community solar, which allows you to purchase a share of a larger solar array in your local community. 100% of the energy generated by the array goes to the power grid, and then shareholders automatically receive credit based on their stake in the solar array. One perk to this option is you can take your share with you even if you sell your home and move elsewhere in the community.

Considering Solar? Get Ready with the Right Upgrades

If you’re considering clean solar energy for your home, make sure your home is ready for the switch by making the right energy saving upgrades first. Evergreen Home Performance is here to help you reduce your home’s carbon footprint and make it more energy efficient — so you can be ready to harness the full benefits of solar. Then, we can refer you to one of our trusted solar partners for your solar panel installation. To get started, schedule a free energy consult with us!

Going solar and achieving low carbon home comfort starts with making smart energy efficiency upgrades. Call 207-594-2244 or contact us to schedule a free energy consult!

Considering solar for your home?

We can make your home energy efficient first. 207-594-2244

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Melissa Knoll

Portland

Evergreen Home Performance shows its expertise from start to finish. Evergreen did three house projects in winter/spring/summer 2020 for me, attic insulation, crawl space under a porch insulation, and basement foam/vapor barrier. From my initial discussion with Bryan, I understood the reasons for choosing different types of insulation, the associated costs, and time estimates. Evergreen scheduled in advance, came when they said they would, and the crews were highly professional in their work and demeanor.

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Portland

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Awesome company. It was a few years ago that they did the audit and then we commissioned them to do the work. We subsequently sold our house and moved to South Africa, but their level of service and expertise will live on.

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Very Satisfied with the work performed by Evergreen. Professional employees, high quality work done in a timely manner. My sales rep was Justin, and he was phenomenal During the initial walk around my house, he gave me great ideas for how to improve the efficiency of our home. We will consult with Evergreen for our future home projects.

Adam G.

Westbrook

We just finished a large project air sealing and reinsulating our 1890s basement and attic. It had been completely renovated 8 years ago, but still felt cold, and lacked proper energy assessment and corrections. We met with Justin in December and were very impressed with his knowledge, professionalism and communication skills and knew Evergreen was who we wanted to work with. Dave was our on hands project manager and was excellent. The office staff has been quick to respond and helpful as well when needed.

E Gallant

Kennebunk

The Evergreen Team did a fabulous job, well exceeding our expectations, In just over a week they transformed our very drafty, noisy 213 year old house into a snug, draft-free, quiet haven with warm floors! The team was prompt, did everything they said they'd do and more. We are thrilled!

Trudy M.

Bridgton

We initially contacted Evergreen through Efficiency Maine for an energy audit, which was conducted promptly and professionally by Justin McEdward, one of their Energy Advisors who is BPI-certified. After a thorough inspection of our newly purchased home, Justin explained in great detail what we needed and did not need. It was agreed that Evergreen would remove all of the existing attic insulation, which was not adequate, and replace it with blown in cellulose, to a rating of R-60.

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Scarborough

From beginning to end – that is from the moment Justin McEdward stepped into our home to assess our energy conservation needs until the crew left – the Evergreen Home Performance process went absolutely smoothly. Justin made a thorough inspection and took pictures with an infrared camera. His proposal described the scope of work in detail, and he explained what we could expect the proposed work to accomplish. Our proposal was forthcoming within a couple of days, and Justin was available to discuss it and answer questions.

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Yarmouth

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Portland

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Mary E.

St. George

My husband and I bought a home on the water in Owls Head and decided to make the investment in Evergreen's recommendations for insulation. Brian Robinson spent 3 hours examining every nook and cranny before he made practical suggestions and explained them thoroughly to us.

Marie McNeely

Owls Head

The Evergreen crew from initial inception to installation were professional, on time, and left our place spotless. The end result was exceptional.

John Brown

Several years ago Brian Robinson evaluated the crawl space at my summer home on Islesboro where I knew moisture was becoming a problem. I had done quite a bit of work in the space many years prior with mixed results. When Brian offered some suggestions, they were ideas that incorporated work previously done, and would be a relatively low cost effort to improve the situation. He offered this advice over several phone conversations of some length, informally, and at no charge.

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Islesboro

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