Stories
Stories
“The best arguments in the world won't change a person's mind.
The only thing that can do that is a good story.”
― Richard Powers, The Overstory
Story #1: Heat Pumps for HVAC, Solar System, and Hot Water
Story #2: Electrifying Our Old Oak Park (Illinois) Home: Heat Pumps
Household Appliances
Story #1: Las Cruces Resident
Five years ago two of our major appliances, our washing machine and our refrigerator broke down in one week. They and our other appliance had originally been installed 25 years before when our house was built. Our first thought was that our other appliance were also nearing their obsolescence and that we could save ourselves regular breakdowns by replacing all of the appliances, donating the ones still operable and perhaps getting a good deal when replacing them all.
Despite being a staunch environmentalist, the connection between taking this opportunity to switch from polluting gas to electric appliances did not cross my mind — Instead, I focused on when they could be delivered. But now I know. Although this is all embarrassing to admit, I am hoping that this might serve to raise awareness and encourage others for whom replacing appliances will certainly happen sooner or later.
Story #2: Electrifying Our Old Oak Park (Illinois) Home: Introduction Click here
Story #3: Electrifying Our Old Oak Park (Illinois) Home: Induction Cooktops Click here
Solar Power
Story #1: Stewart & Karena’s Story Regarding Solar
We moved into our current home in Mesilla in 2014. The following year, Positive Energy Solar installed 14 Sun Power solar panels (system size: 4.578 kW). Our panels have a 25-year parts and labor warranty. The total cost for the system was $20,235. We received $6,071 Federal Income Tax Credit (30%) and $2,024 State Income Tax Credit (10%), resulting in a total post-tax credit outlay of $12,141.
It has been over eight (8) years since our system was installed and it has worked flawlessly. The only maintenance we have had has been an occasional washing of the panels (every few years). Taking into account the rebates we received from El Paso Electric and the actual electric bills we paid (amounting to around $35 per year), we calculate that we have saved about $12,000 in electric bills (using an average of $125 per month or $1500 per year). In other words, our system is now fully paid for. Looking at this in another way, we are producing around $1500 per year of electricity. This number can only go up as utility rates increase. Our salesperson estimated that our return on investment would be around 9.5%. Not bad!
Although Positive Energy Solar is no longer servicing Doña Ana County, our salesperson, Corey Asbill is now co-owner of Organ Mountain Solar & Electric. We would highly recommend Corey to anyone who is investigating a solar system for their home.
We purchased a lot in the foothills of the Organ Mountains in 1990 with the intention of building a passive solar home on the property. I was fortunate to have found The Passive Solar Energy Book, Expanded Professional Edition by Edward Mazria (Rodale Press, now out of print), a truly marvelous book on the subject that made it easy to incorporate solar gain in residential construction. We moved into our house in March 1991.
The passive construction included seventy-five square feet of south-facing windows shining on a tile floor in the living room and a floor-to-ceiling Trombe wall in the master bedroom. Together, they provided most of the heating for over 70% of our house. Further, the solar orientation of our house paid benefits in the summer, since it let less sun into the house in summer, making it easier to cool. Using The Passive Solar Energy Book as a guide, the windows were sized to heat our rooms appropriately and, for about 20 years this worked wonderfully. But the advent of climate change has altered things, and our house now overheats in the winter. To address this, window inserts are now used to reduce the sunlight in the living room and the window in front of the Trombe wall was replaced by a smaller window. Knowing all this, we would still build a solar home but with less south-facing glass. The solar orientation still has many benefits in the summer.
Twenty years after we built our house, we decided to add active solar and had the fortunate experience of working with Mark Westbrock of Positive Energy Solar. The system was sized to provide 120% of our electrical needs as of 2011. Our timing could not have been better. In 2011, thanks to Mark’s tireless work with El Paso Electric (EPEC), we signed a 12-year contract with EPEC paying $0.12/kilowatt-hour for every kilowatt of electricity the system produced, whether we used the electricity or sold it back to EPEC. During the entire 12-year period of the contract, we had a single monthly electrical bill, when we had to remove the panels from the roof to repair a roof that had been destroyed by a hailstorm in 2016. At that point, we decided to install the panels on the ground and add almost 50% more capacity to our system. In 2019, we replaced evaporative coolers with refrigerated air conditioning and the system continued to produce more electricity over the course of a year than we used.
The expanded system was rated at 7.35 kW and cost $52,951. State and federal refunds covered $19,210 of the cost, and insurance money covered $4,356. Altogether, we paid just over 55% of the total cost of the system. By the end of the contract, my rough estimate implied we had less than $1,000 (and, probably, much less) to recoup to cover all the costs of installing the system.
We love the way passive solar heats the floor of our house, instead of concentrating the heat at the ceiling. We love that a south facing house is cooler in the summer. We love the idea of being a net electricity producer.
Interested in solar heating but not ready to invest money? If you have a south-facing window in your house, here is an experiment you can try next winter. Get a water-tight, 55-gallon metal drum, paint the window side black, fill the drum with water and put it in front of the south-facing window. You have a very simple Trombe wall; add more drums for more heat. Over the course of the winter, compare the heat in that room with the other rooms in your house.
Story #3: Solar Energy and Electric Vehicle (EV)
Aside from the sustainability and climate change point of view
how can anyone or entity demonize Solar Energy and Electric Vehicles?
We installed 24 solar panels on our property 10 years ago, pay no electric bills and have received monthly energy rebates of avg. $50.00 . Maybe two months of a year in summer I have to pay a small electric charge. We have swamp evaporative coolers.
I dumped my ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle late last year for a 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV. This is the most enjoyable vehicle I have ever driven. Quiet, fast off of line ( I can beat any ICE car off the line). Only maintenance is rotate tires every 7500 miles, and check battery coolant levels. Regenerative braking (electric motor brakes) limit wear and tear on brake pads. Charging completely done from my 220 and 110 volt chargers in my garage. Range anxiety? Yes. Can only
go as far as El Paso round trip. Longer trips require strategic mapping of charging stations. It can be done but will take planning. For long trips we take my wife's Subaru Plug In Hybrid with gasoline engine. Millage great around Las Cruces! But best feature and fun is when I pass up all the gas stations charging $3.50 a gallon to ruin our planet.
Ernest and Maria Flores
Story #4: Electrifying Our Old Oak Park (Illinois) Home: Going Solar
Electric Vehicles (EV)
Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
Heat Pumps
Story #1: Heat Pumps for HVAC, Solar System, and Hot Water
In 2004, we built our 2,300 sf house outside the Las Cruces city limits. It was designed to be energy efficient and environmentally responsible. We have a domestic water well and a septic system with a gray water recycling tank to water the plants around the house. We use natural gas for our furnace, water heaters and cooktop. The house is situated with a southern solar exposure for direct passive gain. The walls and ceiling are well-insulated and we have a standing seam metal roof.
In 2012, we added a 5K solar system installed by Positive Energy Solar. The original cost was $25,000 and qualified for both state and federal tax credits. The system paid for itself in approximately 7 years. The system is still working perfectly and we have had no electricity bill for the past 12 years.
In 2019, Yellow Bird Co. installed a new HVAC system which is certified as a geothermal ground-coupled heat pump system. The cost was $17,000 and received a state credit of $7,615 and 10% tax credit from the federal government.
In 2024, we removed two original gas water heaters and replaced them with electric Rheem ProTerra Hybrid High Efficiency Smart Tank Heat Pump water heaters. We have had some complications with the functioning of the water heaters possibly associated with our rural water well. To date, we are still working to resolve this issue with the plumbing company.
If you questions, please contact us at terrymiller575@gmail.com.
Story #2: Electrifying Our Old Oak Park (Illinois) Home: Heat Pumps
Stories showcasing multiple climate strategies
Story #1: EV and so much more
Karen and I bought an all electric car because we believe it significantly reduces the size of our carbon footprint. We recyle products including glass, I refuse to use plastic straws and bottled water. But there's a lot more to be done. Bailey (Skip) Herrington
We are considering buying an induction stove. We have eliminated gas heat and our gas water heater, so the stove is next.