Dream of "Going Green"

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Mark and Jeff's solar panels on their house on S "A" Street

About one and a half years ago, John Romano went “green” with his Eco Centre building on Lake Avenue. Going green is all the talk around town and many people have thought about solar energy for their pools or even their homes but just don’t know how to go about it. Mark Parrilla and Jeff Stendel made their dream a reality.

In June, I wrote an article on solar energy. I have been interested in Mark’s story since it first came out in November and I put up a brief blog on it. It has been gnawing at me so I finally just contacted Mark and asked if I could drop by. I wanted to see it all for myself. His dogs, Claire and Phinnaeus , both greeted me at the front door and I sat down with Mark for a cup of tea and a chat.

Mark and Jeff had lived in their home for 16 months before they purchased it 4 or 5 months ago. Jeff, an elementary school teacher here in Palm Beach County, had a dream that he was determined would become a reality--solar energy. He researched solar and the various State and federal grants that are available. They hired a Contractor who found the only bank in the country that finances solar energy and away they went.

The meter was turning very slowly on this cloudy day

The house has 26 solar panels with each panel producing 230 watts. Everything in their home is run on solar and the water is piping hot! When I was there yesterday, Mark told me that they are reducing carbon footprint -- 1,000 pounds of CO2 already this month have not been emitted into our environment. They are saving approximately 90% on an electric bill for a typical house of this size (1,624 sq. ft. including garage) that runs its a/c all of the time.

Mark and the "BRAIN"

Jeff tracks all the savings on a spreadsheet and they believe that it will be paying for itself in just a few years. The solar installation was $55,074 not including the rebate from the State for $20,000 and the 30% tax credit they will receive from the federal government on the original cost.

At the moment, Mark is designing a Power Point on this renewable and non-polluting energy source-- solar--that operates his home. Hopefully he will make a presentation to the City Council and share with all of us on how he and Jeff fulfilled their dream of going “green.”

See Energy Information for Florida. Check out this Solar resource Map. Even though Florida averages 300 days of sunshine per year, you might be surprised to learn that there are states in the west that have even more solar potential than we do.