[ ENERGY-EFFICIENT HOME ]
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Kailua homeowner
believes solar energy is
the power of the future
He uses solar almost totally at his residence
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The home Keith Cronin shares with his wife, Mari, and infant daughter, Claire, is a testimony to his belief in solar energy as the power of the future. As president of Island Energy Solutions Inc., Cronin, 35, has been promoting the benefit of going solar to clients since forming his company in 1999.
The Cronins' 1,500-square-foot, one-story home in Kailua is a showplace of energy efficiency and the power of the sun. It is a work in progress that Cronin continually upgrades as new technologies become available.
"I kind of use myself as a guinea pig," Cronin says. If equipment works well for him, he feels comfortable recommending it to customers.
The Cronin home has two photovoltaic systems, which produce 2.6 kilowatts of electricity from rooftop collectors. Energy not used at once to power the house's energy-efficient appliances is stored in batteries. There is even a solar-power refrigerator-freezer that on a recent sunny day had beverages frosty cold.
If the rest of Kailua experiences a power failure, even at night, the Cronin house hums right along, with solar energy stored in the batteries routed to the house's lights, TV, microwave and refrigerator. Cronin has wired the backup energy to bypass relative energy guzzlers like the electric stove, dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer, and swimming pool pump and heater.
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Cronin blames his swimming pool for the fact that he uses any Hawaiian Electric Co. electricity at all.
"Unfortunately, the pool puts me in import mode, but if we didn't have the pool pump, we'd be a net exporter of electricity," he says. Installing a solar-powered pool pump is on his to-do list.
The Cronin's house is light, airy and comfortable -- and not lacking in any of the modern conveniences. Even its security system and automatic lawn sprinklers are powered by the sun.
The first step toward going solar, Cronin says, is to make sure every light bulb and appliance is the most energy-efficient possible. While the upfront cost of efficient lights and appliances is higher, the long-term savings are great, he says.
A compact fluorescent light bulb uses one-fourth the energy of a standard 60-watt bulb -- and lasts seven times longer, Cronin notes. Many appliances just 10 years old use twice the energy of new ones, he adds.
The next step is getting a solar hot water heater, which generally pays for itself in electricity savings in five to seven years, Cronin says. When all that is done and a person still longs to detach from dependence on oil-generated electricity, only then is it time to consider photovoltaics.
The payback on electricity generation from the sun still is not quick. "This is like putting a Hummer on the roof. The only difference is you can't drive this and get potentially less pleasure out of it," Cronin says of the $50,000 he has invested in photovoltaics. "Although, philosophically, I derive great pleasure of keeping hydrocarbons out of the atmosphere. ... This is my boat, jet ski, motorcycle, etc."
For the strictly bottom line-oriented, the price of a photovoltaic system does not seem viable for most homeowners. However, high electricity costs and state tax incentives for businesses have inspired some neighbor island business owners to make the investment.
"Change is slow and unpredictable," says Cronin, who has lobbied the state Legislature to offer taxpayers incentives to invest in solar energy. He expects it might take "a catastrophe or a crisis" to motivate most people to use alternative energy.
In the meantime, you'll find the Cronins living comfortably in Kailua, one step ahead of the curve.
You’ve got the power
Keith Cronin's top tips for home energy savings:
>> Get a solar hot water heater. Most households can pay off the upfront cost of a solar water heating system in less than eight years. And there are state energy tax credits and loan programs that can help.
The state energy tax credit is good for 35 percent of the cost of a system, with caps at $1,750 for single-family homes, $350 per unit in multi-unit residential buildings and $250,000 for hotels and commercial and industrial buildings. It can also be used for photovoltaic systems and other devices that convert solar radiation to electricity or to thermal energy, but the payback on the investment is not as quick as with solar water heaters.
For more about the tax credit, see www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/taxcredit.html.
The City of Honolulu has a low-interest loan program to help finance the upfront cost of the system. See www.co.honolulu.hi.us/dcs/housingloans.htm.
>> Get efficient. Buy energy-saving appliances and light bulbs. Always look for the government-approved "Energy Star" label on electric appliances. Higher upfront costs for the appliance will pay off over time with lower electric bills. Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs to get longer-lasting, cooler light.
More energy saving tips can be found at Cronin's business Web site, www.islandenergy.net, or at Hawaiian Electric's Web site, www.heco.com.
