Lynn councilor finds solar-powered savings

LYNN – He drives a flex-fuel vehicle and works for the Department of Environmental Protection so it should come as no surprise the Ward 1 Council Wayne Lozzi is now going solar.In late November Lozzi had 30 solar panels installed on the roof of his Den Quarry Street home.”Economically it makes a lot of sense and it’s awesome to look at my meter going backwards,” he said.Lozzi said he’s toyed with the idea for a few years but the aesthetics of the panels and the cost were sticking points for him. When he got an estimate for the project and saw the tax incentives it included and the potential savings he and his wife decided to go ahead.It took about three days to install that panels that absorb sunlight creating DC power or direct current, he said.”We have an inverter that then converts the DC to AC (alternating current) and that’s goes into the meter,” Lozzi said.The solar power is then fed back into the grid and shown as a credit on his electrical bill, he explained.Lozzi brandished his electric bill Friday.”I just got this today,” he said, smiling. “I have a credit already.”Although the bill only reflects a partial month of solar power it already reflects a drop of over 200 kilowatts.Going solar doesn’t come cheap however. Lozzi said the system cost $30,000.”We took a second mortgage but, in the first year, you get a federal tax credit ? then the state gives you a $4,000 rebate and another $1,000 credit,” he said.The federal tax credit works out to about 30 percent of the cost and combined with the state incentives Lozzi said they will be able to knock off nearly half the installation cost in less than one year.”Each year we also get a green (tax) credit,” he said.Also for every 1000 kilowatt hours banked Lozzi also gets a Solar Renewable Energy Certificate or SREC, which can be sold like commodities.”What we have will produce nine SREC’s a year,” he said. “So we get that money, which means our pay off for the loan will be about five years.”Unlike wind power, where tests are done to see if the conditions are right the main thing needed for solar power is a southern exposure with little shade.”My house faces due south,” he said. “It’s the only one on the street that does.”To determine how many panels should be installed, Lozzi said the company took a look at his electric bill for the previous year.”What we have will produce about 95 percent of what we used the previous year,” he said. “That’s somewhere in the area of $1,200 a year in electricity. The SRECS and tax credits made it feasible because it is so darn expensive but I’m surprised there aren’t more homes with these.”The panels have about a 25- year life span and while he initially thought them unattractive Lozzi said he’s changed his mind.”They look kind of cool, space-agey,” he said. “The real test will be in January when I get a full bill ? but even when it’s cloudy?it works.”Chris Stevens may be reached at [email protected].