Solar Powering Homes and Pools
By Isaiah Montoya
A few years ago Larry Perea was out in La Mesa, New Mexico looking to install a solar powered pump. He found no one that worked with solar pumping. “It was then that I realized there was an opportunity in the market for solar powered items,” says Perea. Following his hunch, and a slow first year in business, Perea and his engineer associates hit it bigger in 2009 and hope to continue the word and actuality of a solar powered life in the Sun City, and beyond.
“My vision for sustainable energy independence drove me to do this,” adds Perea, owner of Solar Smart Living in El Paso/Las Cruces. “Many incentives for solar power providers were available in 2009, especially in New Mexico where a person can get a 30 percent tax credit for some solar uses.”
Renewable energy awareness is up again in 2010 and Perea hopes to capitalize, not just for the financial benefits, but to educate and inform the public about the myriad possibilities of solar energy utilizations.
Through attending solar technology courses in California, Texas and New York, Perea further informed himself on solar possibilities and now specializes in providing swimming pool heating components which, he says, will outsource conventional heating methods, and prices, soon.
This swimming season we hope to build up sales in West Texas and Southern New Mexico,” says Perea. “The numbers definitely work in favor of my clients when you compare the prices of local gas and electricity providers.”
Perea says that the initial cost of installing solar paneling to heat pools will be worth it in about three years for clients. “Heating thousands of gallons of water through the Electric or Gas Company can be way more expensive than people think,” he says. “It takes only two or three days to install and five to 30 solar panels will be installed, depending on the size of the pool. Forty-eight BTU’s (British Thermal Units) of heat is produced by every panel.”
According to Perea, eliminating the need for natural gas use saves money for New Mexicans for the six to seven month swimming season in New Mexico and the eight months swimming season in El Paso. “We also do green building consulting to help people realize that weathering their house can save additional costs year round for citizens of the sun city, a low in come area,” says Perea. “Sometimes major remodeling of a home or business is done, to save energy that is usually wasted, when it could have just been weatherized at a fraction of the cost.”
“It feels rally good to help clients improve their building’s energy performance rating,” says Perea.
Yet he feels Texas has been slower than New Mexico in providing home owners with incentives in solar powering their homes and pools. “Texas needs a lot more incentives to make the initial cost affordable to home owners. The state is not as well prepared for the inevitable transference of energy that will soon take place, hopefully worldwide,” says Perea. “The utility providers will soon have to look at their business model and get in with solar programs if they want to compete.”
“If anyone can succeed at solar powered energy, it will be the Southwest states,” explains Perea.
Tips for saving home energy include:
1 – Keep windows closed during the day
2 – Keep lights off when not in room
3 – Seal any other openings to home where energy can escape
Perea has provided Sun Solar Living for clients in El Paso, Las Cruces, Deming, Silver City, Hobbs and Carlsbad.
“Be eco-minded because you do not need a lot of money to get it done.”
