Harry Thomason - Solar Energy
(Page 7 of 13)
November/December 1979
By Richard Freudenberger
PLOWBOY: That sounds like a commercial application to me. What about the cost to an average homeowner?
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THOMASON: The same situation applies. I can honestly say that our system can provide performance equal to-or better than-that of any other design available on the market today . . . with less expenditure. Again, the difference in cost will vary, but-just to illustrate my point - there's a Solaris-equipped home near the Wisconsin-Illinois border in which the heating system cost about $7,000. In the same general area, another house uses a solar heat collection and distribution setup that totaled-from what I understand-nearly $20,000!
PLOWBOY: You've got to admit, though, that this is an extreme example. No practical person would spend $20,000 on a climate control system. Couldn't someone build his or her own solar installation for less money than it would cost to utilize Solaris?
THOMASON: Yes, I suppose a person could. Still, there's no guarantee that such a homebuilt system would work as well in practice as it did on paper . . . and finding out could be a costly experiment. But equally important, there are many people who don't want to build their own solar heating systems . . . and probably a lot more who don't want to have anything to do with installing them, either. We can offer a proven package to these folks . . . for a reasonable sum that will be equally attractive to a builder or contractor.
PLOWBOY: So you're not just offering a low-cost system to the individual . . . you're talking to housing developers, too.
THOMASON: We're talking to everyone who has sense enough to listen, and the message is plain and simple: Reliable, low-cost solar heat is here right now . . . there's no reason to wait for technology to improve. Apparently the government isn't about to do much to spread the word, so the burden must fall on the people . . . and that means getting more solar houses constructed, to compete with those that have conventional furnace systems. The best way to do this is to lay the whole ball of wax right in the lap of the nation's builders . . . who, as a whole-though they may not realize it have a hell of a lot of influence on the future of solar home heating.
PLOWBOY: So you're saying, "As the builder goes, so goes the buyer."
THOMASON: Exactly. Imagine, for example, that you're in the market for a suburban home. Suppose, too, that-in your house-hunting travels-you find two similar houses that suit your fancy . . . one with solar heat and one with a conventional system. Now if the solar home is half again as expensive as the other one, no amount of persuasion-low operating cost, short payback period, freedom from pollution, etc. - is going to convince you to buy that house. But if the houses are equal in price-or even close - you'd be foolish not to buy the sunheated dwelling . . . especially with today's uncertainty about "normal" energy supplies.
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