Go Solar helps buildings
plug into sun for power
BY SYDNEY PEREIRA
Eight years ago, Dennis Pfandler
was looking into retrofi tting the
roof of his E. Second St. co-op
with solar panels.
But back then, Pfandler said, solar
panels were mostly a luxury for owners
of single-family homes in the suburbs.
“Nobody wanted to come into Manhattan
and give me an estimate because
they didn’t want to have to deal with the
city,” the longtime East Villager said.
At the time, the Department of Buildings
and the Fire Department had not
quite caught up to some residents’ desire
to make their buildings more effi cient,
Pfandler said.
But this October, Pfandler’s building
at E. Second St. and Avenue C fi nally
was fi nally able to plug into sun power
through the Co-ops Go Solar campaign.
The effort is a partnership between two
nonprofi ts, the Urban Homesteading Assistance
Board and Solar One, to provide
housing development fund corporation
(H.D.F.C.) cooperatives with technical
assistance to retrofi t buildings with solar
panels.
Solar One — which helps with the
technical assistance — streamlined the
whole process, said Pfandler, who works
as a superintendent in the building. Solar
One helped residents choose an installation
company and, he said, “The
next thing you know, we’re getting the
roof coating done.”
Brooklyn SolarWorks, a Brooklynbased
solar installation company, installed
18 panels at Pfandler’s seven-unit
building. Within four to fi ve years, the
money saved from going solar will make
up for the $27,000 the building spent on
the panels.
Pfandler expects the building to save
$1,749 in the fi rst year. Over the panels’
25-year expected lifetime, the building
will save $55,000.
“We’re going to be saving money down
the road,” Pfandler said, adding it will be
helpful in a building where many people
are aging and will be on fi xed incomes.
The solar panels at the E. Second St.
co-op power the building’s water pump,
laundry room, hallway lights and intercom.
Solar panels also could be installed
to power individual apartments. But
that depends on how much roof space
there is, and whether the residents are
aiming to lower individuals’ utility bills
or keep the building’s overall operating
costs lower, UHAB’s Clara Weinstein
explained.
Anika Wistar-Jones, Solar One program manager (in blue coat), discusses
a rooftop installation of solar panels with residents of an affordable
co-op at 239 E. Second St.
The solar panels function by channeling
electricity into the larger “grid” that
everyone citywide and beyond taps into
to power their homes.
Any additional solar electricity the
building produces — especially during
the sunny, summer months — is sold
back to Con Edison as a solar credit for
the building to use during the winter
months, at nighttime or on cloudy days,
when the solar panels don’t produce as
much electricity.
“It’s kind of like using the grid as one
huge battery,” said Anika Wistar-Jones,
Solar One program manager.
Pfandler’s co-op had the funds to purchase
the panels, but for cash-strapped
PHOTO BY SYDNEY PEREIRA
co-ops, there are other options, according
to Solar One and UHAB.
One is low-interest loans that ensure
loan payments are lower than the money
saved through tax incentives and solar
panels. Another way is with a “power
purchase agreement,” where a third party
owns the panels and sells electricity
back to the co-op at a reduced rate.
“Solar savings should be available
to all New Yorkers,” Wistar-Jones said.
“We’re excited to be bringing affordable
solar to affordable housing with this
campaign.”
For more information, visit uhab.org/
gosolar .
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8 November 15, 2018 TVG Schneps Community News Group