Community Corner
Newton Home Looks to the Sky for Energy
A Newton resident learns that installing solar panels is not only green, but economical as well.
An eco-conscious Newton resident named Vitaliy Kholyavenko dreamt about having a home powered by solar panels for fifteen years. He recently brought his dream to life.
Back when Kholyavenko moved to his Newton home, he learned that his house met the criteria for solar panels and that solar panels actually work quite well in New England. At the time, though, the technology was costly and inefficient.
Last year, though, Kholyavenko looked into the solar panels again and learned that it was more feasible with today's products. Moreover, Massachusetts offers a variety of incentives, making solar panels a very attractive option.
Find out what's happening in Newtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
In addition to saving energy and the environmental benefits, solar panels can be extremely economical. According to , a Newton solar installation company who designed and installed the system, Kholyavenko's 3.88 kW solar electric system should pay itself off within 5 years.
“Everyone tells us they want to save money and do something positive for the environment. In this case, it’s a win-win,” says Samantha Greenberg, Project Coordinator for Sunlight Solar Energy.
Find out what's happening in Newtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
On top of that, there is also the Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) program which lets homeowners with solar electric systems receive green energy certificates and sell them to utility companies for $285 each. Kholyavenko expects to receive at least $1140 per year for the next 5 years, based off the size of his system.
Aside from the solar panels on his house, Kholyavenko also owns a Toyota Prius and has made a variety of other energy efficient upgrades in his house, such as sealing air leaks, installing a real time electricity and gas consumption monitoring system and putting lights on motion sensors.
“Energy conservation is a very good idea,” says Kholyavenko . “Burning fossil fuel is a dangerous game with Mother Nature by many means. First of all, Natural Resources are very limited. Second – it is very unhealthy. Everybody should take whatever possible steps to conserve energy. Summary effect will be surprisingly huge. So, yes, everybody who is thinking about installing solar (panel) system should go ahead and do it.”
