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Suncoast Pasco News
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On The Sunny Side Of Heating Water
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Published: July 5, 2008
SUNCOAST NEWS STAFF
HUDSON - When Patrick Kolen and wife April moved to Florida four years ago, they were greeted by three hurricanes in quick succession.
"We only lost power for three days," Patrick Kolen said. "We were lucky."
But going without things like air conditioning, hot water or a running refrigerator even for that long was enough time to make them think seriously about how energy-dependent our lifestyles are.
The Kolens built their business, SkyeCrafts, 8161 S.R. 52, where they specialized in garden gnomes and other outdoor items. In the meantime, the Kolens, like a lot of people these days, got interested in alternate energy sources as a matter of economics, practicality and environmental concern.
Unlike like most people, the Kolens were a bit more active in their interest - so much so they expanded their business. You can still find shelves full of pointy-hatted gnomes, but alongside them are now displays demonstrating their other product line. Its solar systems allow homeowners to use the sun to provide some or even all of their household needs.
SkyCrafts is now Skycrafts Solar Store. It is part of a growing nationwide co-op of stores dedicated to helping an increasingly energy-conscious public discover the benefits of alternative energy, particularly solar power, for home uses.
"The first point I make with people who come in here is you can do exactly as you are doing now, but for less energy," Kolen said last Saturday at the grand opening of the newly christened store.
For anyone who has ever been curious about going solar but didn't know where to ask, the store is set up to be a primer in what it takes to make a home energy self-sustaining. Using their in-house visual aids, Kolen describes the system like a true believer, someone who is as motivated by the advantages of going green as he is by the desire to rake in the green.
"You can be self-sustained and still have your cold beer and hot shower without any of these foreign oil reserves," Kolen said. At the Skyecrafts Solar Store, their job is to explain the process of sizing up a home and figuring out how to make a system work best.
"What we do is provide all these parts that you need to build a system like that," Kolen said. "We'll design a system for you to suit your needs."
What people need to realize, he said, is going solar can - and in many cases should - be an incremental process. The first step is to lower your energy consumption so you don't need to line your entire roof with solar panels.
The store has a set-up that gives customers an idea of how a home solar power system works. A solar panel in the store window collects the sun's rays and sends the power to a series of storage batteries. It can be drawn directly from the batteries, or sent through a DC-to-AC converter, after which it can be used for all household needs.
It's important to let people who are learning know that using solar power doesn't mean you are out of juice at night or every time a cloud goes by, Kolen said.
The demonstration system is hooked up to a row of light bulbs with which Kolen can show exactly how much of a difference switching to new energy-efficient bulbs can save.
Another system allows a home to get all its hot water via solar power. It starts with panels, but these panels are different than the ones that collect solar power for electricity.
"It doesn't make much sense to first transform the sun into electricity than back into heat again when the sun is already hot," Kolen said.
With this system, the panels directly heat the water through tubing. It then circulates it for storage in a retrofitted conventional water heater or a new-style plastic water heater.
The new-style water heater is more energy efficient and come with a lifetime guarantee, according to Kolen.
Many people would find the $6,000 price tag for a solar water heating system a bit daunting, especially these days. For most people, converting to solar is something that would be best done in steps, Kolen again noted.
It's just a matter of getting past that initial investment, he said.
"First you need to lower your energy bill," he said.
For directions to Skycrafts Solar Store or more information call 727-862-1682.
Klint Lowry can be reached at 727-815-1067 or at klowry@suncoastnews.com
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