Solar/geothermal system functioning successfully

MVUC's sustainable energy system completed in early fall 2011 has functioned successfully throughout the winter. The system incorporates solar panels to generate electricity, combined with heating and cooling by geothermal heat pumps, which require much less energy than the former conventional units. A total of 110 solar panels were installed in late July by the subcontractor, Standard Solar of Maryland. Four geothermal units were installed earlier by the prime contractor, Shenandoah Sustainable Technologies (SST). Most of the solar panels are installed on the sloping south roof of the chapel, which was designed with that expectation when the building was constructed in the 1980s. Additional panels were mounted on the flat roof over the commons. Each panel has the "top rating" of 235 watts, according to Zach Fettig, head of SST. Fettig expects the building eventually to be rated "net-zero," meaning that it will consume no more energy than it contributes to the grid. 

Panels on slanting south roof over the chapel.

Panels on flat roof over the commons.

Standing with Zach of SST Kate shows her delight with the solar panels.

ENERGY FAIR
Mount Vernon Unitarian Church sponsored an Energy Fair for community residents and representatives of other churches on November 7, 2011.
View the 7-page report .

CHRONOLOGY

November 2010: Roof over south chapel roof is replaced in preparation for installation of solar panels. 




December 2010: Trenching begins.





Coils to be buried.




December 2010: First coils are buried on Administration side of building.




 

Excavation where coils are to be buried on Administration side. Conventional HVAC unit to be replaced is in background.








First connection completed. Pipes from buried coils now replace the conventional unit, which has been removed.




Grounds restored and seeded on Administration side of building.

Questions and Answers about the Project 

What was done?
   The project replaced the former heating and cooling equipment for the Meeting House with geothermal units. It also uses a large number of solar panels to generate the electricity needed to operate the new geothermal units. Shenandoah Sustainable Technologies (SST), the company that provided the new equipment, expects the building to have “net zero” energy use, meaning that the geothermal units will require about the same or less electricity as the solar panels contribute to the electrical grid. 
   SST installed the new equipment at no cost to MVUC and will maintain it for 20 years. During that 20 years SST will pay for all energy used to heat, cool, and light the Meeting House and in return, MVUC will make a monthly payment to SST.
    The project does not affect energy use in other buildings on our property, which continue to use conventional energy.

What will happen at the end of the 20 years?
    At the end of the 20-year contract period, SST will transfer ownership of the installed sustainable energy equipment to MVUC for one dollar.

What does the geothermal installation include?
   Two sets of underground cooling pipes have been installed on the south side of the building serving the office/nursery/commons area and another two on the north side serving the chapel. There are now two heat pumps on each side of the building replacing the former four HVAC units. There are no longer any units outside the building.

Who is responsible for maintenance of the new equipment?
   SST will own and maintain the equipment for the duration of the 20-year contract. After that, MVUC will become the owner.

Do geothermal systems require much maintenance?
   No. Geothermal systems are less complicated and have fewer moving parts than conventional heating and cooling systems. When installed properly, the buried loop will last for generations. And the other half of the system---the unit's fan, compressor and heat pump---is housed indoors, protected from harsh weather. This equipment should last approximately 25 years. However just as with our former system, periodic checks and filter changes will be required.

What was the condition of the former heating and air conditioning units?
   Three of the four were beyond or near the expected useful life for that type of unit (15-18 years). The fourth was 10 years old.


THE CONTRACTOR: SHENANDOAH SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES

What kind of company is Shenandoah Sustainable Technologies (SST)?
   SST does integrated energy conservation projects, many of which require no capital outlay from clients. Their projects employ a combination of available technologies to reduce use of conventional energy. Their president, Zach Fettig, collaborates with professors at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where the company’s headquarters are located. His father and business associate, Les Fettig, lives in the Washington area. The company is responsible for all engineering, installation and maintenance. More information about the company can be found on their website, http://www.sst-llc.net/home.html.   

Have they done this for other churches?
   They are negotiating proposals with several other churches, but the only
completed church project is at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Springfield, where
they are members. That project, which was completed in May 2009, was described
in a Washington Post article:
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/18/AR2009081803857.html  

What other installations have they done?
   They have completed projects for a variety of organizations, including
private homes.

They’re a fairly young organization. What happens if they fail and go out of
business? 
    With advice from qualified legal counsel, MVUC's
representatives negotiated a detailed contract with SST. The contract has
a list of specific provisions designed to fully protect MVUC in such an
unlikely circumstance. The list of protections ends with these words: “In the
event of termination of this agreement as a result of the conduct of SST, all
equipment and rights to energy savings shall transfer irrevocably to MVUC.”

FINANCING

Why did the church undertake this project at this time?
   We saw the possibility that we might act in accord with our concern for the
environment in spring 2010 when a longtime church member, Albert Weinstein,
generously offered $10,000 to subsidize the cost of solar panels as a step
toward energy independence. Members of the Property Committee began gathering
information, trying to determine how such a project might be done at a time
when the church could not afford to pay the full cost of installing solar
panels on the south chapel roof (about $55,000). A group of church and
community members led by Lisa Guide volunteered to explore the possibility of
establishing a community corporation with individual investors who could make
use of tax incentives. The solar project by itself would have replaced only
about 12-14 percent of the electricity used for the Meeting House. 
   Because the present HVAC units were old and inefficient, members
of the Property Committee were simultaneously investigating what should be done
about replacing them. Buying new, slightly more efficient conventional units
would cost at least $35,000. Geothermal heat pump systems are much more
efficient, but it was apparent from estimates received from several companies
that the church could not afford such an installation. We were aware that SST had
installed such a geothermal system at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Springfield
and that St. Marks was paying for it with monthly payments for 25 years, and we
were pleased when SST visited our property in mid-October and proposed working
with us MVUC on similar terms.

Why did SST make this proposal?
   They believe it is a good investment for them because the new equipment will use much less conventional energy
allowing them to make a profit and take advantage of many government incentives being offered for such projects.

Why didn’t the church buy the equipment and pay for the installation and
maintenance?
   First, MVUC was not in a position to pay outright to procure and install
the geothermal equipment and solar panels. It is estimated that to procure,
install and maintain comparable equipment would have cost about $250,000 -$300,000.
The Finance Committee vetted the various options and determined that SST’s
proposal was the most feasible. SST was able to make such a proposal because,
as a profit-making organization, they could take advantage of state and
federal financial incentives (up to 30% of the total project cost) that a
non-profit church is not eligible for.

What were the upfront costs to MVUC? 
   The only direct cost was a deposit of $4,000, which was credited
against subsequent utility service payments to SST. A secondary cost was about
$9,000 required to replace the roof on the south side of the Chapel prior to
the installation of solar panels. The Property Committee decided to proceed
with replacing the roof (from the PMM fund set aside for that purpose) because
it was 25 years old and would have to be replaced soon anyhow. 
   Another cost of undertaking the project was the lawyer’s fee for
advising on the contract, which was about $1000.

What will be the monthly payment to SST, and how does it compare
to what we were paying for energy for the Meeting House?
    The contract calls for MVUC to pay SST $1350 per month. This monthly fee
will be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the consumer price index (CPI).
If the CPI increases, MVUC's payments will be increased by half that much. For
example, if the CPI goes up 4%, MVUC's monthly payment will go up
2%.    
  MVUC had been paying approximately $1100.00 a month for all of the
energy costs associated with the meeting house, including parking lot lights at
night. (This amount includes electricity, gas, and contracted maintenance of
the conventional HVAC units.) So, for about $250 dollars more per month, SST designed,
installed, and will now operate and maintain the new equipment.

What other factors should be considered in relation to cost of energy?
   A report from the National Research Council produced in October 2009 estimated the "hidden" costs of
energy production and use that are not reflected in market prices of the energy
produced from coal and oil. Noting that coal accounts for about half the
electricity produced in the U.S., the report said, “ In 2005 the total annual
external damages from sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter
created by burning coal at 406 coal-fired power plants, which produce 95
percent of the nation's coal-generated electricity, were about $62 billion;
these nonclimate damages average about 3.2 cents for every kilowatt-hour (kwh)
of energy produced.” 
   The full report is available at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12794.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

How do geothermal systems benefit the environment?
    Geothermal systems work with nature, not against it. They use much less
energy from sources such as coal than conventional heating and cooling units
do.

Why is geothermal a good investment?
    Its use in construction of a new home provides a good example: With a
geothermal system, a reasonably tight 2,000 sq. ft. house can be heated and cooled
for about $1.00 a day. The owner would pay several thousand more up front, but
the payback could come in as little as four to six years. And once the system
was paid off, the annual return on investment would approach 15-20%.

How does a geothermal energy system work?
   Geothermal heating & cooling systems tap into the constant, moderate
temperatures found just a few feet below the earth's surface. Liquid-filled
pipes buried in the ground capture free energy from the earth. For heating,
heat energy is transferred from the ground (the heat source) to the fluid and
then to the geothermal unit located inside the building. This warm and
comfortable air can be distributed through either a conventional duct system or
a hydronic radiant heat system. To provide air conditioning, the process is
reversed; heat is removed from the home and transferred to the earth loop
fluid. 
   Earth loops come in two basic types: closed and open. Closed loops
(the type proposed for MVUC) use an environmentally-friendly liquid sealed in
durable, high-density polyethylene pipes buried in the earth. Open loops (what
MVUC tried in the 80's) use ground water pumped from a well. The decision on
which loop configuration to use depends on the terrain, the cost of trenching
or drilling, the availability of quality ground water and the availability of
land.
You can view an explanation of geothermal at http://www.geoexchange.org/.
 
Did MVUC try a geothermal system once before?
   Yes, a version of geothermal was included in construction of the Meeting
House in the mid-1980s. It functioned for several years, but the approach
that was used eventually became unworkable. It was an “open loop” system, which
became clogged from minerals in the water. The proposed system is newer and
much more reliable.

Is heat pump technology relatively new and untested?
   No. Heat pumps use the same method of transferring heat and cold as the
coils in a refrigerator. It is true that heat pumps used as the sole means of
heating or cooling houses are relatively inefficient. With a geothermal system,
the amount of conventional energy needed to supplement the earth's mild
subterranean temperature (approx. 55°-60°F) makes the decades-old proven
mechanical heat pump process much more efficient, even on extremely hot or cold
days.
   Several of the same companies that build and/or market traditional air
conditioners and furnaces also sell geothermal heat pumps, while a number of
the local companies that install and service conventional heating and air
conditioning systems are also fully certified to work with heat pumps. If you
want to learn more about geothermal heat pumps, see MVUC members Tom Tarcza and
Ken Pilkenton, who have installed these systems in their own homes and will be
happy to talk about their experiences.

How will this project affect plans to eventually build an addition to the Meeting
House?
   The underground equipment is positioned so that it will not interfere
with the areas where the new construction is planned. Heating and cooling of
the addition would be provided separately as part of the new construction.

For more information please please contact Ken Pilkenton, chair of the MVUC Property
Committee, kpilk@cox.net.

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