Jim Rooney On The Level

Q. We have lived in the area for over 20 years so we know that power outages several times a year are a fact of life. Long ago we bought a noisy Coleman portable gas generator to keep our refrigerator cold and run our well and sump pumps during an outage. We even put in a transfer switch to run those circuits in the house to make things easier. During Irene we were out of power for four days and since we were away the first two days of the storm we lost most of the refrigerated items. Some of our neighbors have propane gas powered whole house generators that come on automatically. They are noisy too. In looking for an upgrade to our portable generator. I noticed that some companies are selling "solar powered generators" that essentially are a system of a few solar panels, an inverter and some batteries to store the electricity for overnight usage. They seem to have the advantages that they are silent, do not require fuel and could be used all the time instead of just during an outage to reduce some electrical costs. Do you think I should replace my 20 year old Coleman generator with one of these solar generators?

A. The people I know who didn’t lose power for some period during Irene are truly in the minority. I lost it for the better part of five days. I tend to think the one’s who didn’t lose power just kept quiet about their good fortune so as to not appear to gloat.

The wisest thing you did when you set up your gas operated back-up generator was the transfer switch. The transfer switch’s main function is to prevent generated power from traveling out your main service entry cable-- the one that goes to the meter and then to your electric panel-- from going out on the line and potentially injuring or killing the power company employee who’s working to restore power somewhere out on the grid. When the transfer switch is thrown to generator the line main is locked out and can’t become energized by the generator. And it’s a code violation not to have one if you power a circuit wired from your panel. I see Jerry-rigged generator installations all the time by folks who posses a slight knowledge of how electricity works and a profound desire not to spend a nickel for safety.

But before you start throwing money around in large sums for replacement, talk to some concrete specialty contractors who do slab jacking. It’s also called mud jacking and you can find them in the phone book or search the web. Archimedes’ hydraulic principles of old work with grout pumps and these contractors drill small holes into a settled slab and as they pump a liquid grout under the slab, the slab rises. These contractors know what they are doing and jacking a tilted slab is infinitely cheaper than breaking it up and re-pouring it.

The noise of fossil fuel generators is an issue for sure. That’s all I too heard during the power dark days post Irene. The quietest gas generator I ever used in construction was a Honda but you still heard all the time it was operating. Folks try to position their generators so to minimize the sound for them but not so for the neighbors. Solar is a quiet alternative.

Solar power technology has come a long way in the past few years and like any technology the more prevalent it becomes the better people understand and accept it. Initially the biggest obstacle to solar power was its cost. To purchase and install a solar system close to the output you’d need, plus battery back-up storage for those annoying hours the sun doesn’t shine, could easily run you close to twice or more what a conventional internal combustion engine powered back- up power generator system costs.

Since solar is considered a green technology both the Federal Government and Maryland offer hefty incentives to bring the cost of solar installation down to the point where it not only makes sense it becomes competitive with fossil fuel back-up generation. The Feds have a program where they will give you 30% of the cost per half kilowatt hour. The offer expires December 31, 2016. The program is for existing homes and new construction for your principal residence. Rentals and second homes do not qualify.

Maryland offers a property tax exemption and a payback system of 20% of the cost of the system or $3000 whichever is less for systems larger than 500 watts. Most of the systems I’ve seen for a whole house are easily three times that. So do the math and go shopping. There are at least a half dozen companies that sell systems within an hours drive so burn some hydrocarbons and get the best solar arrangement you can for the dollar so you'll be the quietest house on the block-- and you wont have to buy fuel after the storm.

Keep the mail coming. If you've got a question, tip, or comment let me know. Write "On The Level," c/o The Capital, P.O. Box 3407, Annapolis, MD 21403 or e-mail me at jimrooney@jimrooneyonthelevel.com or inspektor@aol.com.