For the week of March 5 - 11, 2003

Soaking up the sun

Ketchum man takes
solar power to new heights

---

By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Ketchum resident Morgan Brown crouches down to get a glimpse of his electricity meter, and smiles in delight as he takes a reading.

"We’re taking in some off the grid, but that’s only because it’s cloudy," he says. "When it’s sunny we see the meter spin backward, putting energy back out there for our neighbors."

Morgan Brown stands in front of his solar-powered South Hulen Meadows Way residence. Express photo by David N. Seelig

 

Brown then steps inside to check his home’s internal meter. Despite the clouds hovering over his South Hulen Meadows Way residence, the solar electric system is producing 500 watts of energy.

"On a sunny day, we’d be producing about 3,500 watts," he says.

Brown is not the first Idaho homeowner to put solar energy into the state’s meandering electrical grid, but he is one of the few in the state who are certified by energy giant Idaho Power to legally sell the electricity back to the public.

"It’s hard to explain, but there’s something fascinating about watching the meter spin backwards," he said.

Brown’s solar-certified North Ketchum home is the first of its kind in the Wood River Valley. At 4,700 square feet and appointed with fine appliances, it is not your typical backwoods solar-powered cabin.

However, Brown—who formerly lived and worked in Washington as an electrical engineer—and his wife Rebecca Bundy, an architect—chose to build their home as an example to Valley residents that "going solar" does not entail sacrifice.

"The technology has advanced in a way that the costs of the systems have really come down," he said. "It’s really easy to justify now."

Brown originally considered operating his home as a "guerilla solar" residence—one which puts solar electricity into the grid without authorization from the local power company. But, once he discovered that Idaho Power was supportive of his plan to produce power for his own needs and others’, he quickly opted to build a partnership with the company.

After getting certification from Idaho Power earlier this year, Brown has been getting credit from the company for all of the power he sends into the common grid.

Brown and Bundy anticipate that they will use credit from the significant amounts of power they can produce in the summer months to pay for any traditional power they consume from the grid in the shorter days of winter.

"Idaho Power said they would either write me a check or give me credit on my bills," Brown said.

Brown’s solar system employs modern photovoltaic panels that are built into the roof of his home. The receptors transfer the energy to a pair of inverters, devices that convert direct-current solar electricity into alternating current that can be used by the home’s numerous energy-efficient appliances and light fixtures.

Designed by Bundy, the Hulen Meadows home also features "passive solar" heating and cooling techniques. South- and east-facing windows take in an abundance of winter sun, while roof overhangs ensure that the high-arcing summer sun is blocked from the interior of the house.

In addition, Brown is working to complete installation of an advanced system that uses solar energy to heat water for domestic uses and radiant floor heat. The water is heated by circulating it through specialized thermal solar panels on the roof of the house.

Now in the final stages of construction, Brown and Bundy announced last week that their home will be used as a model for the work of a new business they have developed. Called Sun Valley Solar, the business will offer design of solar homes and implementation of solar-energy systems in new and existing homes.

Brown’s project has earned the enthusiastic support of neighbor Sarah Michael, a Blaine County Commissioner who formerly served as a program manager for the California Energy Commission. Brown said Michael is considering retrofitting her residence to solar power.

"Blaine County is a strong supporter of solar energy," Michael said.

Brown said he hopes area residents prove Michael to be correct. "There’s a reason it’s called Sun Valley," he said. "We have a fabulous resource."

(For more information on Brown’s project and Sun Valley Solar, visit www.svsolar.com.)

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.