Sat, Oct 5, 2002

By KRISTEN HEBESTREET
Standard-Examiner correspondent

Child, who lives with his wife, Heather, and their four children in a ranch-style house in Pleasant View, has added a net-metering solar power system to his home that enables him to sell electricity back to Utah Power & Light.

The Child home will be among 11 solar-powered dwellings in Northern Utah on the Utah Solar Home Tour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. Seven of the homes are in Weber, Morgan and Summit counties. The remaining three houses and one office building are in the Salt Lake City area. The tour is free.

A dozen 150-watt solar panels on the roof of the Childs" suburban home sometimes produce more electricity than the family needs, and sometimes less.

That doesn"t mean there are months when Child gets to present a bill to the power company: Instead, the power company averages out the bill over a year.

"The bill goes from January to January," Child said. "In February, you use more power (from the power company). In June and July, you overproduce electricity. In December, if you end up with extra, they call it even. That"s because it costs them to keep the lines up."

Child figures that his system supplies about 80 percent of the electricity his family needs, enough to reduce the power bill by an average of 350 kilowatt hours each month. The power bill dropped from $50 per month to $9 per month.

"It"s a very insulated house," he said. "The windows are double-paned. We bought a new fridge, and the bill went down."

Selling electrical power back to the company only recently became possible, due to a law passed by the 2002 Legislature that requires Utah Power to accept electricity generated by systems like Child"s.

Child"s new solar-power system is one of only two in Weber and Davis counties and among just a few in the state. Systems like his have only three basic components: the solar panels, the wiring and the "Sunny Boy" inverter that switches the current from DC current to AC current.

"This is so simple," Child said. "It"s the same as your meter on your house."

The solar panels were simple enough to install: Child, who planned to install the system on the south side of the roof himself, got tired halfway through the project. His 13-year-old son, Alex, finished installing the panels.

The system also includes an on/off switch so the power can be shut down in case of a power failure: Otherwise, current flowing back into the system might electrocute someone working on the lines.

"If we lose power right now, it automatically shuts down," Child said.

Child paid $13,000 for the 12 solar panels. If fuel prices stay the same and nothing breaks down, Child"s solar energy system will pay for itself in 20 years.

But many economic forecasters predict fuel costs will stabilize across the world, which will cause fuel costs in the United States to match the more expensive European market.

A way of life

Child works in maintenance for Weber County. He said he likes to build things and tinker, which is why there are other ongoing alternative energy projects at the Child family home.

Child has a plans to switch the family dryer over to solar power. He bought a Geo Metro car that he hopes he can convert to electrical power. There"s a huge 500-gallon water heater in the garage that might become part of a radiant heating system that will heat the house through a network of pipes carrying hot water underneath the floor. Child picked up what had been a $10,000 water heater at Deseret Industries in American Fork for $800.

The wood stove has been up and running for a while. While Child was talking in a driveway that had been partially excavated for a new garage, his son Alex was splitting wood for the winter.

"We turn the thermostat up to 60 degrees in the winter," Child said. "If the kids want it warmer, they have to put wood in (the wood stove)."