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Ask Solarman: What Renters Can Do [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-11-17
If you do not own your home there’s still plenty you can do to reduce your fossil fuel energy usage and to produce your own power. Read on, ask questions, and take action. Offer what actions you’ve already taken and report new actions.
Yes, it’s worth writing action three times in two sentences. And now a fourth time. Because action, by each and every one of us, is necessary. Five times :-) .
Now, I’ve developed and sold solar PV systems to apartment building owners. Not many, though, as owners don’t really care if you, the renter, is paying the utility bills. The common meter, though, is something they pay for. That’s for lights in the halls, office, function rooms & exterior; the laundry room, etc. You can tell them of the huge tax incentives for them to put a solar PV system on that meter. These can easily total three quarters of the project cost.
• Switch every light in your apartment to LEDs. This can reduce your electricity use by 10-20%. Your electric bills will go down.
• Get a solar generator and put the solar panel(s) it comes with on your balcony or inside a window. It’ll produce more power if the panels are oriented southeast to southwest, but east or west still produce power. They just don’t get the full day of sunlight. There are many solar generators and I avoiding endorsements, so I won’t name brands.
• Ask your landlord to install electric car chargers. He/she can charge for the power, making some extra income. There are tax credits for this.
• Get an Electric Vehicle. Seek out local public charging stations, or a commercial charging station. Charge up once a week or so and unless you drive long distances you can charge up once a week, for less than half what you would’ve paid for gasoline. The federal tax credit for US made EVs is $7,500. Your state might have an incentive too. My state, Colorado, offers a $5,000 refundable tax credit, meaning you can get this in cash. On 1/1/24 it increases to $7,500.
• Back to the EV chargers- The landlord’s new common meter solar system can produce power for their chargers. The solar PV system will produce free power for decades. NREL states the useful life of solar panels to be 50 years.
• If you’re lucky there’s only one electric meter on the entire building. The landlord is paying the bill. Your rent includes this overhead expense on their part. In this case it is easier to make the case for putting a full sized system on the roof.
One of the strong points of resistance landlords have is not wanting to have more work to administer billings monthly. So tell them they can easily calculate a standard monthly fee and tack it on to the rent. Just average annual savings to monthly and charge this flat amount each month.
That’s it for today. It’s time to ask Solarman.
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