It’s been about a year since Albert took up residence in our backyard. He hasn’t been a bother. In fact, we like having him around. Although he cost us a bundle, he’s saving us money, too. Better yet, he is making our household part of the climate change solution, instead of part of the problem.
I named Albert after the man who, in effect, was his “father.” Albert Einstein received a Nobel Prize in 1921 for discovering the physics of converting sunlight into electricity. That’s what our Albert does, using 12 interconnected photovoltaic panels trained on the southern sky.
Since he arrived, Albert has used this Einstein alchemy to convert a year’s worth of sunshine into 2,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. As we use about 10 kilowatt-hours a day, that’s 200 days out of 365 that didn’t require us to buy electricity through Bangor Hydro-Electric. Instead of getting monthly bills of $120, more or less, we now get bills for $35, more or less. And there are no batteries required.
Admittedly, Albert is a bit of a fair- weather friend. On days when it’s overcast the magic doesn’t happen, or at least not to the degree that it does when it’s sunny all day. On the cloudy days, and at night, we largely power our house with the kilowatt-hour credits we’ve banked with Bangor Hydro on those sunny days when Albert generates more electricity than we require. Curiously, he likes the cold, cranking out more kilowatt-hours on frigid and sunny days in February than he does on warm and sunny days in August. Albert Einstein could probably explain why.
Unlike wind turbines, Albert has no moving parts that wear over time and require expensive replacement. He doesn’t make any noise, and as far as I know has never killed a bird. He also doesn’t need any maintenance. The efficiency of his solar panels is expected in 30 years to be 95 percent of what it was when the panels were installed. We did swap out our electric clothes dryer for a propane-fueled dryer, as virtually any device that uses electricity to generate heat (think hair dryer, toaster oven, space heater) is a kilowatt-hour hog. We also invested in a 30-foot roof rake to clear the solar panels of snow after a major winter dump.
Albert has been the object of envy for friends and passers-by, some of whom question the payback over time on our hefty up front investment. I explain that the years-until-payback figure will always remain an unknown, given the ever-fluctuating (translates: ever-increasing) cost of residential electricity in Maine, which is among the highest in the nation. What is known is that the price of residential electricity has more than doubled in the last 10 years in Maine, with no end in sight, especially if much of Maine’s electricity continues to be generated by turbines fueled with natural gas.
Those turbines, like coal-fired generating plants, belch carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Not Albert. The onboard computer that monitors his output shows he has already spared the ozone more than 2 tons of carbon emissions. Wonder if eBay does cap-and-trade transactions. Probably not. Or at least not yet.
Tom Walsh, of Gouldsboro, is a retired journalist.