A bright idea: Residents go solar

A neighborhood trend has started to spread. Several local families are illuminating their homes with power generated by solar panels, saving money and benefiting the environment at the same time.

“It’s unlimited, free electricity,” said Daryl Altman, a Lynbrook resident. “We got tired of paying for electricity that’s generated using foreign oil, supporting the countries that contributed to 9/11. Solar is clean, affordable and virtually maintenance-free.”

Altman is very happy that she bought a solar electric array — a linked collection of solar panels — for her home’s on Rowe Avenue. After receiving a solar panel assessment from two companies, including Quad State Solar, she purchased the roof panels in 2006, and the company thoroughly explained the installation process. Altman’s home was a good candidate because there is a “clear southwest exposure on the rear roof,” she explained, adding that some homes are not exposed to enough sunlight.

Marvin Greenburg, owner of Michael’s Electric in Lynbrook, explained that solar panel installations are most efficient in areas of the country that get lots of sun, like Arizona, and that if a house is shaded by trees, that limits an array’s energy-generating potential.

Seasonal usage
Altman added that energy generation — and use — changes in the warmer months. “The daylight hours are longer, so we need less artificial lighting, and the solar array generates more electricity,” she said. “In the summer months, we use air conditioning, which draws much more energy…”

The five-kilowatt solar panel system provides 100 percent of her home’s electricity, but Altman is careful about conserving energy. “We have compact fluorescent lighting throughout the house,” she said. “We shut lights when we leave a room, and we unplug energy vampires, like cell phone chargers, when they’re not is use.”

Cost effectiveness