Pocomo
Residential
For this historic midcentury house restored by Chip Webster Architects, panels were integrated into the roof to provide the home with back-up power. “For Pocomo resident Carlton Neel, installing solar panels was the eco-friendly cherry on top of a robust renovation project. His mid-century modern home was originally built as a kit house and had all the 60-year-old quirks to prove it, including old-fashioned fuses, no air conditioning, and plenty of mildew. Neel and his wife decided on an overhaul.
Thanks to its mid-century design, the place flaunted a mostly flat roof. This shape, combined with the strength of the sun’s rays reflecting off the water, established a near-perfect opportunity for rooftop solar panels. “The reason I even got interested in solar was being an early adopter of a Tesla car,” Neel says. “I really started noticing what the cost per kilowatt hour is for electricity—and I found it fascinating.” Neel began doing the math with his electricity bills on Nantucket and realized solar could benefit his home, too. He invested in panels for the roof, plus a battery system to store extra energy for power outages. The 12-kilowatt array, installed in September 2021, heats and cools the house, as well as powers the electric pool in the backyard.
System Size: 12.35 kW DC, 7.60 kW AC
Year 1 energy offset: 13,162 kW/h
Payback period: 8 years
Total savings: $83,585 over 20 years
Components
38 - Panasonic VBHN325KA03 Solar Panels
1 - Generac X7602 (240V, Single Phase) Inverter (1)
1- 17.1kw Generac PWRcell Battery
What We Did
Solar Panel Installation
Battery Backup System
“Because of the nature of our house, the vast majority of our electric usage is in the summer with air conditioning. So we really get the full benefit of longer days in the summertime,” he explains. Solar power’s tax incentives, eco-friendly benefits, and ability to lower utility bills have been a net positive for Neel and his family’s home. “Massachusetts is a very solar-friendly state,” Neel says. “You’ve got the combination of high electric expenses on Nantucket, a good location for [solar panels], and the battery backup. It’s a really good environment for solar where we are.”
–from Nantucket Magazine
Read more: “Solar Panels Nantucket” in Nantucket Magazine and “Architectural Anomoly” in Nantucket Magazine.
