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Paul Jeffrey Fowler Solar Consultant and Environmentalist |
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25 years of professional experience
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Building Site Analysis for Solar Potential Home Analysis for Solar Electricity Home Analysis to Reduce Your Electric Bill Solar Consultation Before You Build Solar Electric Lectures and Workshops System Troubleshooting for an Existing Off-Grid Home At Home Education for an Existing Off-Grid Home Building Site Analysis for Solar PotentialA building site may have good solar potential. Typically this is defined as six hours of unobstructed sunlight per day in all seasons. For the best solar exposure, a home is oriented approximately due south. There are many additional factors to be considered: the slope of the land, the boundaries of the lot, the amount of tree clearing, and the location of solar collectors or windows on the house. A site that has good solar exposure opens the possibilities of employing passive-solar windows to heat the house, solar collectors for hot water, and solar-electric modules to generate all or part of the electricity. Typical ConsultationI meet you at your land carrying an assortment of solar tools ---a compass, an angle finder, a solar pathfinder, solar charts, and a notebook computer. We investigate potential house sites and orientations with respect to the available solar exposure. Then we stake out the house orientation and flag trees that need to be cut for better exposure. We can further discuss your options at this time or in the future. Home Analysis for Solar Electricity
I travel to your existing home and analyze your potential solar exposure. I analyze your electric usage and recommend ways to reduce your monthly use. Next we explore your options while referencing photos and diagrams on my notebook computer. We discuss potential costs and returns on investments. In essence, this is a personal mini-course or workshop generated by your questions and your unique situation. I can recommend reputable solar-electric suppliers or installers. Often I provide this consultation after a homeowner has met with an installer. Usually an installer does not have the time to spend a few hours and adequately educate you for your big decision. I also serve as an independent party. A few dollars spent on education and peace of mind is often wise before a large investment. Home Analysis to Reduce Your Electric Bill
Most people have little idea of how and where they use the kilowatt-hrs listed on their monthly electric bill. I can give you a good idea of where the money is going and make some recommendations on how to reduce your usage and your monthly bill. This is extremely important if you plan on installing a solar-electric system. The best maxim is always "conservation first". Typical ConsultationI read your monthly electric bill. You lead me through your home showing me your appliances and loads. I test these loads with an ammeter and watt-hour meter to see where the electricity is going. We estimate your daily usage of each load. I advise you how to conserve. Solar Consultation Before You Build
After twenty-five years of doing solar, I can safely say, "You must factor in your solar options before you finish your building plans, and before you build!" I have helped too many people who came for advice after the fact. Their options were limited, and the project was more expensive than it might have been, had they planned their solar installation from the start. Everything is interdependent in a home design. Typical ConsultationBefore you design your home, and after we have done a building site analysis, we sit down and discuss which solar options you wish to utilize (passive solar windows, solar hot-water collectors, and or solar-electric modules). We discuss which options can be employed considering the size and shape of the house you have in mind. Next we analyze how these choices will impact the design of your home. Examples are: passive-heat storage capacity, use of rooms and the furniture in them where passive-solar windows are to be installed, natural air circulation in the home, central heating system, roof design, and plumbing requirements. Ultimately we work with your contractor or architect. Consultation in the planning stages can prevent expensive future mistakes. Solar Electric Lectures and WorkshopsI have 25 years experience teaching solar-electric workshops. My workshops feature PowerPoint presentations from a notebook computer displayed with a video projector, and appropriate solar-electric-system components for show and tell. The curriculum may focus on remote-home systems, grid-tie systems, passive solar, or any combination of the above. Often the focus of the lecture is guided by the questions asked. Typical WorkshopA workshop may be given to a high school physics class, an environmental organization, a group of friends who wish to know more about solar electricity on their homes, or a group of neighbors who have remote homes with no power lines. The points of discussion that are emphasized are the option of the group. System Troubleshooting for an Existing Off-Grid Home
There are thousands of stand-alone, solar-electric systems in New England and upstate New York. Many of these systems were installed from kits sold by my former company, Fowler Solar Electric, Inc., which later became New England Solar Electric, Inc. Some homes have been sold to new owners who do not fully understand their systems. Others need troubleshooting, inverter settings optimized, batteries evaluated, or just a basic tune up. I can analyze your system, regardless of origin, and help you realize its full potential. I enjoy doing house calls. Typical ConsultationI go to your PV home with appropriate test equipment and tools to diagnose your system and optimize your inverter and charge controller settings. This is normally coupled with an At Home Education for an Existing PV Home. At Home Education for an Existing Off-Grid Home
Many homeowners do not fully understand their solar-electric system, and the loads they are powering. Consequently, their batteries are often more deeply discharged than is advisable, and the backup generator is run more often than is necessary. Ultimately, the life of their expensive battery bank is shortened. I will test the loads you are running and find the inefficiencies that are weighing down your system. I will teach how and when to run your backup generator. Typical ConsultationI travel to your home and analyze your loads, usage patterns, and backup generator run schedules. I sit down with you at the kitchen table and give you a one-on-one course on how to most efficiently live with your solar-electric system. A little knowledge can save you thousands of dollars and maybe even save a marriage. This is normally paired with System Troubleshooting for an Existing PV home. Who Is Paul Jeffrey Fowler?
I was born and raised in rural Worthington, MA where I resettled a few years after college. I have a BS in Biology from Tufts University and a Masters in Environmental Studies form Antioch New England Graduate School. I have been an environmentalist my whole life. I have lived in my self-designed and self-built, solar-electric-powered, passive-solar home since 1981. Our home is heated by the sun and a few cords of wood, we grow much of our own food and I drive a 38 MPG Honda Civic. I live my life by example. I started studying alternative energy in 1978. Three years later I sold my home on the other side of town and built my current home - 1.3 miles from the power lines. Within a year I bought my first solar-electric modules and started Fowler Solar Electric, Inc. A decade later I expanded and added a partner, Steve Schulze, who later bought the remaining half and changed the name to New England Solar Electric, Inc. I am most proud of having written The Solar Electric Independent Home Book, and The Battery Book for Your PV Home, which for years have been two of the most used how-to books on solar electricity. After I sold Fowler Solar Electric, Inc., I wrote The Evolution of an Independent Home- The Story of a Solar Electric Pioneer. For the last several years I have designed, built, and general-contracted a solar-electric-powered home and the many supporting structures on the 200 acres of land in the next town leased by Eagle Eye Institute. This last year (2007) I also taught six, three-day workshops on solar electricity and green-building for YouthBuild USA while expanding my consulting business for individual homeowners. Paul Jeffrey Fowler |
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