Did you know that in just one hour, the sun radiates more energy onto Earth than the entire human population uses in one year?
There are many benefits to switching to solar energy, including reducing your carbon footprint and lowering energy bills. PECO customer and national non-profit organization, National Giving Alliance, recently installed a solar system on the roof of their national headquarters and spoke with us about the installation process and the benefits that their organization has experienced.
National Giving Alliance (NGA) was founded in 1885 in Philadelphia, PA. The organization works to improve the quality of life for homeless, low-income and moderate-income children, women and men by collecting and distributing new gifts of clothes, linens and toiletries to them. Today, there are 24 NGA branches in seven states, with a national office located in Warminster, PA.
When it was time to replace the HVAC system at the NGA national office, Executive Director Lisa Tordo contracted Fort Washington, PA-based CM3 Building Solutions to install a new system and perform other building upgrades, including solar installation. CM3 brought in Moore Energy, a premier renewable energy firm that specializes in solar photovoltaic power systems, to provide the design, cost/benefit analysis, installation, and maintenance for the solar system.
Moore Energy designed and installed a 10.4kW solar system on the roof of the building in June 2020. The roof-based solar system covered 100% of NGA’s annual PECO electricity usage during the first four months of use and will provide the organization with solar credits for excess power produced in the future.
The cost-savings alone that NGA has experienced over the past several months allows the organization to invest more funds directly into strategic programs.
PECO is leading the way to a solar future, providing residential and business customers, like NGA, with resources to learn more, including:
- An interactive viability map that allows customers to see if their home or area can support solar or other distributed generation resources, or if any system upgrades would be necessary.
- A solar calculator, which helps customers to evaluate what solar would mean in their home or business, including:
- Estimate costs, savings and payback period
- Create an image of your rooftop solar exposure
- Use your historical energy usage as part of its calculations
- Show available credits and rebates that shape your investment
- Break down your environmental impact
- Solar 101 and Getting Started, which lays out key information about solar energy in the Philadelphia region
- Information on solar incentives and credits
Together with local community partners, PECO is powering a clean energy future.