System of the Month

April 2012 – Bausman Residence - Austin, TX

The Bausman family wanted to offset their bills and go green. Before installing their solar panels, they decided to get a metal roof for rainwater collection. Solar Community’s installation team worked closely with the roofing company to make sure a solar compatible roof was used and all the panels would fit. Their system features a 6.48kW system with 36 Schuco 180 watt solar panels and an 8000 watt central inverter by SMA. The inverter was sized to accommodate future expanstion. Solar production and household consumption are monitored using an eGauge energy monitoring system.

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December 2012 – Racine Residence - 5.94 kW in Austin, TX

The Racines wanted the biggest system they could fit on their roof to maximize production and the tax credit. Their roof had many levels, directions and vents. Solar Community’s design team used microinverter to split the system into 3 sub-arrays. Two facing south and one facing west. To maximize production and accommodate the dual orientation, Enphase micro-inverters were utilized. This system features dual orientation 33 Schuco 180 watt panels and 33 Enphase microinverters.

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November 2011 – Smith Residence – Corpus Christi, TX

Terry Smith installed 5.35kW system on his home in Corpus Christi. The system features Schuco 185 watt solar modules and Enphase M190 microinverters. The system was financed using the Solar Community Prepaid Lease lease that locked in his rate of electricity from the solar at $0.11 per kWh for the next 20yrs. The system is estimated to offset their electric bill by more than 30% per year and save $17,845 in utility costs over the 20 year lease agreement term.

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October 2011 – Hilberg Residence - Cypress, TX

The Hilberg family used the Solar Community Lease Program to finance a 6.9kW system on their LEED Platinum rated home outside of Houston, TX. They opted for the pre-pay version of the lease to help lower the upfront cost of the system and lock in a competitive power purchase rate for the next 20 years. The solar panels were attached to their barn and the system features 30 Schuco 230 Watt solar modules, a Fronius IG Plus inverter and a Locus Energy solar monitoring solution. The system is estimated to offset their bills by more 70% and significantly contributes to an improved HERS index(measure of home’s overall efficiency).

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September 2011 – KB Home, Sunpower and Solar Community "ZeroHouse" - Round Rock, TX

Solar Community recently partnered with KB Home and Sunpower to rollout KB Home’s new ZeroHouse 2.0. The first ZeroHouse 2.0 model homes include solar power systems and building techniques and features that enhance efficiency well beyond the ENERGY STAR standard. These homes will open later this week in Tampa, San Antonio and Austin. This house includes a 6.3kW PV System with 28 Sunpower 225 Watt AC modules using SolarBridge Microinverters and a Solar Hot Water system by Velux.

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August 2011 – 31607 Echo Canyon Court - Spring, TX

This is another "Everything’s Included" home by Lennar that features energy efficiency and solar power as standard options. The system consists of a 3.5kW solar array using 19 Westinghouse AC modules and Enphase monitoring that allows home owners to track the performance of individual solar panels. It is predicted to offset the eventual homeowner’s bills by up to 60% and the cost of the system is built into the price of the home.

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July 2011 – Popps Residence – Austin, TX

The Popps recently moved into their house just West of Austin and decided solar would be a great addition to their new home. After an in-home consultation, they decided to go with a 5.4kW standard efficiency system to help them reduce their bills and go green. The system was installed in July, 2011 and features 30, 180 Watt Schuco modules and a 6kW, 96% efficient SMA inverter. The Austin Energy rebate program and Federal Tax Credit helped the Popps save over 50% off the retail cost of the system.

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June 2011 – Lennar Homes - Houston, TX

Solar Community recently partnered with Lennar Homes to install up to 500 solar energy systems on new homes across the state of Texas. The new solar homes will be part of Lennar’s Everything’s Included (EI) campaign featuring energy efficiency upgrades, home automation and solar as standard features. The new EI home will be rolled out in Lennar communities in Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. Each system features a 3.5kW kit from Westinghouse Solar and is predicted to save home-owners between $35-$45 per month on their bills.

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May 2011 – Patel Residence – 6.48kW Austin, TX

Mr. Patel has a 6.48kW PV roof-mount PV system, using 36 Schuco 180 Watt Modules on his Spanish tile roof, and Enphase M190 Microinverters. The system will offset approximately 60% of his current electric bill. Mr. Patel wants to “zero out” his bills and plans to use the rebates and incentives to add more panels to his system in 2012. The microinverters make adding more panels easy

For more information contact: Ruben Cortez
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April 2011 – The Joseph Residence – Killeen, TX

This 6.88kW high efficiency Solar PV System was installed in late July and passed final inspection in early September. The system is comprised of 32, 215 Watt Sunpower modules with 18% module efficiency and a 7kW Sunpower inverter. The system is expected to offset the family’s bills by over 50%. All penetrations are flashed and the system is monitored online and with a handheld display using Sunpower Data Monitoring System.

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March 2011 – 6.48kW Solar Pergola – Soria Residence - Killeen, Texas

The Sorias decided to go solar when their bills started getting too high. With the help of the Oncor Solar PV Rebate and the 30% Federal Tax Credit, they were able to move forward with a 6.48kW Solar Pergola. The system feature 36 high quality 180 Watt Schuco solar modules and a 6kW SMA inverter. The system is expected to offset the family’s bills by 70% and provide them and enjoyable shaded location to spend time during the hot summer months. The system is monitored a TED Unit by The Energy Detective.

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February 2011 – Merkel Residence – Austin, TX

Larry and Tamara Merkel were looking to offset their bills and be green. Solar was a logical choice and the local rebate combined with the federal tax credit made the economics compelling. After an in-home consultation they decided to move forward with a pole-mounted system in their yard to maximize production. Their 3.24kW pole-mounted solar PV system features two pole mounts with Kyocera solar modules and an SMA central inverter. The system is expected to offset the family’s bills by over 40% and can be manually tilted to maximize production in summer or winter.

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January 2011 – Chandler Residence – Round Rock, TX

Mr. Chandler's goal in installing a system was to live comfortably during grid outages, offset utility bills as much as possible, and also to have the capacity to charge an electric car. Solar Community designed and installed a system that perfectly matched his specifications. The system included a 9.4kW roof mounted system with 42 Sharp 224 Watt Poly Crystalline Modules, 2 Outback GVFX 3648 Inverters and a 35kWh battery bank for up to 3 days of off-grid living.

For more information contact: Ruben Cortez
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If you have any questions or want more information, you can contact us by email or just call us at 877.652.7674.