Winchester Mayor David Smith with Kim Herbstritt, Blue Ridge Habitat for Humanity
Winchester, Va. city officials and affordable housing advocates celebrated the start of a project this week to add solar panels to five newly-constructed Habitat for Humanity homes in the downtown area. Winchester Mayor David Smith said the renewable energy addition to the two-story homes is exactly what the city’s planners have in mind for the future. The Winchester Star reported on the gathering on Wednesday.
Kim Herbstritt of Blue Ridge Habitat for Humanity welcomed visitors on Tuesday, March 19 to see the homes and watch mtvSolar installation crews work to prepare the solar installations. High winds on Tuesday kept the crews from attaching solar panels to the first of five homes, but the rails to hold the panels are installed and ready. Five panels will go on each home to start.
Homeowners are expected to reduce their energy bills to somewhere around $20 per month once the panels are connected and feeding their electric supply. More Habitat for Humanity homes in the Blue Ridge area will get solar panels in the near future, with mtvSolar as the trusted solar installation partner.
mtvSolar President Mike McKechnie talks as installation crews worked to prepare a roof for solar panels.
mtvSolar Mike McKechnie talked about the importance of making homes affordable for residents over the long term by fixing their energy costs. Installing solar panels essentially locks in electric costs, which normally rise steadily over the life of a home, Mike said. When mtvSolar began as a construction company, his crews donated their labor and time to help build Habitat for Humanity homes in the area. Mike McKechnie said 20 years later, mtvSolar is still an advocate for affordable housing and is excited by the movement toward more energy efficient homes. The company continues to support the mission of Habitat for Humanity through direct donations, community give-back partnerships and reduced-price work. mtvSolar customers can choose to give a panel to community projects like Habitat for Humanity when they purchase their own solar energy system.
Jeff Heie ofGiveSolar, headquartered in Harrisonburg, said charitable donors have made it possible to add solar energy systems to Habitat for Humanity homes throughout Virginia, adding another level of sustainability both to affordable housing and the environment. Additional solar energy projects are in the planning stages.
Building a new home comes with hundreds of decisions, large and small. What’s the square footage? What material is the exterior? What’s the roofline look like? Throughout the process, homeowners have to pick bedroom sizes, window styles, flooring and appliances. One of the most basic decisions can have the biggest impact over the life of the structure – what will power the home?
Many of today’s new homes are all electric – an approach that takes fossil fuels out of the home energy landscape and creates energy savings. Indoor air quality and safety also benefit from the removal of various fuels from a residence.
But what supplies the electricity? In most cases, a residential connection to the power grid is one of the first utilities to be brought to a house under construction. So what do you do if you want solar energy or battery storage to be part of your home energy supply? At what point in the construction process can those systems be brought into the planning and design?
Mike Studholme.
This blog will explore how you can bring solar into the early stages of planning your dream home to create a residence that can generate its own energy for the decades ahead.
So when is the right time to bring solar into the construction conversation? As early as possible, says Mike Studholme, Senior PV and Battery Consultant with mtvSolar.
“Orientation is key. Make sure the roof is going to be oriented properly from the start,” said Studholme. How a new house will sit on the site, what kind of clearance the site has and the pitch of the roof all affect the viability of solar panel systems.
If a builder doesn’t offer a solar package among their services, ask if they have worked with a solar installer they trust. Well-established solar companies like mtvSolar have a track record of working with multiple contracting companies in an area, making the coordination of building and installation much smoother.
And if a builder doesn’t have “a solar guy,” a homeowner can bring a solar company into the process themselves.
Solar + home batteries for EV charging works well.
“You can contact us directly and we can talk with your builder, do a design and give them a proposal they can build into the project costs,” said Studholme.
Solar proposals for a brand new home can come from house plans, with a few added details – what appliances the homeowner expects to have and other electrical demands in the home like an EV charger, heated pool or hot tub.
“We can take a plan set and design a solar array. It can take place very early in the process,” said Mike.
Starting the solar conversation early in a construction project can pay off in multiple ways:
Ensuring the home and roof are oriented for maximum solar production
Adding solar costs to construction contract for integrated financing
Reducing extra costs by incorporating trenching and electrical work into initial build
Starting energy production and banking solar credits DURING construction
Streamlining permits
Getting a builder and a solar installer talking together with the homeowner early in the process helps everyone – whether solar panels will be part of the main construction process or will be added after the new home is complete.
“Our production and sales team, builder and homeowner come together on a call where we all agree to a plan. We’ll coordinate with the builder as to when it’s the ideal time for us to come install,” Mike said.
Once the solar plan is in place, construction will follow its normal path, with a few minimal preparations for a future array. A designated “solar conduit chase” from the attic to the electrical room clears the path for solar connections after walls are closed in, for example.
Mike Studholme said as with all solar projects, mtvSolar works with each homeowner to design and install a system that will meet their needs best and fit into their energy budget. For a brand-new home, that personal approach extends to collaborating with contractors all along the way.
“We’re very experienced with how to coordinate with builders,” said Mike. “Communication along the way makes all the difference.”
If you’re wondering, could your dream home power itself? And your vehicles? With the right kind of building site, some forward planning and an experienced solar installer, the answer is likely a sunny Yes!
Like most solar owners, John Snyder calculated how long it would take for his solar panel array and battery backup system to pay for itself from the initial upfront cost. That calculation prepared he and his wife for a 7-year return on investment. But their solar and battery payoff came much sooner than that. Their 45-panel, 10 kW system was installed by mtvSolar at their Summersville, W.Va. farm in 2011. In June of 2012, a freak derecho storm hit West Virginia, knocking out power to most of the state for 12 days in sweltering temperatures.
“The battery backup system paid for itself in that derecho,” said Snyder. He and his wife watched people lined up at gas stations trying to get gasoline to power their generators to keep refrigerators cool, fans running and supply electricity to essentials.
“We never lost power,” he said. Their solar and battery backup saved two freezers full of expensive meats and specialty products that would have been near impossible to replace. “It paid for itself in one storm,” Snyder said.
Shortly after, Super Storm Sandy knocked power out for another seven days. He and his wife never lost electricity.
Nearly a dozen years later, operating a rare breed chicken farm with multiple coops and pens, the Snyders have an even bigger solar array and slightly different battery backup, all paying for itself in self-generation.
For 10 months of the year, their electric bill is around $5.
Back when the couple started looking for a solar contractor, there were very few choices in West Virginia. He found a number for mtvSolar and called to see if the Berkeley Springs company would travel to Summersville, several hours away, to install a system. A salesman said yes, drove down to see their farm and talk about the possibilities.
Snyder said one thing in particular made an impression on him.
He and his wife had started thinking about a combination of solar panels and wind, thinking one of their fields would be a good candidate for a windmill. The mtvSolar salesman didn’t recommend it. The location would have required a 150-ft. mast and the equipment would have been expensive to repair if anything malfunctioned.
“He could have said, ‘Okay, we’ll sell it to you’ but he didn’t,” Snyder said. That honest approach impressed him, and kicked off a long customer relationship, including added solar panels and battery upgrades.
“We have recommended mtvSolar to anyone who’s looking at solar,” said Snyder.
The world’s full of uncertainties. From monster storms to surprise grid hacks, you deserve power on demand. Forget scrambling in the dark – mtvSolar builds ultimate backup systems, crafted for your peace of mind.
No outages, no worries:
Stay grid-connected: Enjoy solar power with seamless backup during dips and blackouts.
Go fully off-grid: Ditch the grid entirely and embrace independent energy freedom.
Fuel for all seasons: An auto-start propane generator can kick in when sunlight is limited and the batteries need a boost, only sipping fuel as needed.
Control without being online: We design systems that thrive even without internet reliance.
Tailored to you: We craft the perfect backup solution for your needs and budget.
Don’t wait for the lights to go out.Embrace your power today.
Get a free consultation and secure your bright future with Mountain View Solar.
Maryland’s Energy tax credits for residential energy storage projects (think battery systems) were so popular in 2023 that the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) stopped taking tax credit applications in August, anticipating the state would run out of designated funds well before the end of the year. Maryland’s lawmakers had agreed to set aside $750,000 in the 2023 tax year. Once the money was given out in tax credit certificates, that was it for the year.
The MEA was authorized to give out tax credits for 30% of the cost of an energy storage system — up to $5,000 in tax credits for a system installed in a residential property, and up to $150,000 for a system installed in a commercial property.
For many homeowners and businesses, these credits offered a big incentive to add energy storage components for a variety of reasons — to weather power outages, offset peak demand charges and establish energy stability for themselves.
The popularity of the tax credits this calendar year are a preview of 2024. Under Maryland law, the new year will replenish the Maryland Energy Storage Income Tax Credit fund back to its annual level of $750,000. That means homeowners and businesses can start adding energy storage and battery systems, and tap into the new pool of credits for 2024. The fund is set to run through the end of 2024, as long as the money holds out.
Maryland customers thinking of adding a battery storage system to tie into your solar panels should act early in 2024 to grab the state tax incentives while they last. mtvSolar is proud to serve customers all over Maryland and has the battery expertise to talk you through your options. Call us at 540-686-2052 to find out more.
This week, we put the SolarEdge Smart Home load controller to the test! Our team trained with SolarEdge on site to install the controller in one of our own homes — letting us see how this new component can fit into residential settings and work with existing solar components. We liked what we saw!
Take control of your home energy like never before!
The SolarEdge Smart Load Controller is a game-changer. It gives homeowners an easy way to manage what gets power during an outage, and for how long. Here’s what else:
Maximize your solar self-consumption: Use more of the clean energy your panels produce, reducing your reliance on the grid and saving you money.
Extend your backup battery power: Prioritize essential appliances during outages, keeping your lights on and your family comfortable.
Schedule and control your heavy hitters: Run appliances like pool pumps, air conditioners, and electric vehicle chargers on your own terms, using smart scheduling and remote control.
Track your energy in real-time: Monitor your solar production, consumption, and savings with the user-friendly mySolarEdge app.
Our field-tests of the controller, with company reps and our top electricians working side by side, gave us a real-life look at whether this new component is suitable for our customers. The answer — it is.
The SolarEdge Smart Load Controller is available NOW from mtvSolar! Want to know more? Let’s chat!
After losing power over Christmas for a day and a half, Steve Hendricks starting looking into a battery backup system to tie to his home’s solar panels in the rural countryside of Bedford County, Pa. He and his wife were in line for a Tesla Powerwall, but the installation options fell through. Steve searched online and found mtvSolar was a certified Tesla Powerwall installer, and called us. Consultant Natalie Friend responded right away, and very soon Steve had four Powerwalls in action. Several months later, he decided to add two more Powerwalls to help charge the couple’s electric vehicles and add to their rural home’s power backup system. Steve called us back and after a day’s work, we had upgraded his system to six Powerwalls.
Steve said the first four batteries were able to cover the whole house electric needs, but he wanted to ensure there wouldn’t be any more power interruptions. Just last week, the power went out for his neighbors and he said he never would have known the grid was down except that his Tesla monitoring app sent him a notification it had happened.
Steve was impressed by how responsive mtvSolar was to his request for the batteries and installation work, and how hard everyone worked to get the job done. Everyone he encountered was friendly and took time to explain the work they were doing. “It was a totally positive experience,” he said. He would recommend mtvSolar to anyone interested in building out their own solar and battery backup system.
The industry standard warranty on a photovoltaic panel is typically between 25 and 30 years, according to industry experts. At mtvSolar, we work under warranties that promise our components will last 25 years — but we know they will last much longer. Some solar panels installed in the 1980s are still generating effective power still today! Battery systems have a shorter expected lifespan — and generally have a 10-year warranty. But the real-life use of battery backup systems means they last much longer, too.
“Depending on use, they will last much longer. Most batteries that we install are for backup, and not cycled daily. So they’re not going to be worn out in 10 years,” says Lydie Miles-Monaghan, Director of mtvSolar’s Department of Technology & Design. Miles-Monaghan is our company’s battery expert, and tracks new developments in lifespan issues and performance for the products we install.
Our customers take the realities of product lifespan into consideration when planning their solar energy and battery storage systems. How old will they be when the panels need to be replaced? Who will own the home then? What’s the age of the roof that will hold a mounted solar array? Will the roof need to be replaced before the solar panels do? What do we do with solar panels and home battery systems at the end of their life?
As solar energy surges in popularity for residential homes, farms and commercial buildings, our industry continues to refine panel design to make them last longer and perform better. Meanwhile, others in the energy sector are figuring out the best way to reuse and recycle solar PV panels that are out of service. Developing these processes will become more important as the number of panels installed grows exponentially.
At mtvSolar, we collect and store broken or aged-out panels and work with a local recycler to dispose of them. Panels that are still functional but have been removed for one reason or another from a customer’s property are held for our service projects and give-away programs. Some customers will upgrade their panels long before they wear out. These are panels that still have years of effective solar generation left in them, and just need a new home, which we love to find.
Battery systems are relatively new in the residential energy world but are taking hold more widely. No lithium batteries we’ve installed have had to be recycled yet. All lead acid batteries are 100% recycled into new batteries.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energies Technology Office is working with the solar industry to track solar panel lifespan, measure the cost of recycling panels (vs. landfilling them) and develop ways to cut the end-of-life disposal costs in half by 2030.
“As we accelerate deployment of photovoltaic systems, we must also recognize the pressing need to address end-of-life for the materials in a sustainable way,” said Kelly Speakes-Backman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. “We are committed to ensuring that the recovery, reuse, recycling, and disposal of these systems and their components are accessible, low-cost and have minimal environmental impact.”
The U.S. Department of Energy reports that 70% of the current solar PV systems in the U.S. have been installed since 2017 — a huge jump in deployment that points to a need for recycling and disposal answers down the road. They are funding projects that promise to reveal new materials, new technologies and better manufacturing processes to reduce pollution associated with the making and disposal of panels. DOE Releases Action Plan For Photovoltaic Systems End-Of-Life Management | Department of Energy
Our approach at mtvSolar at the local level is to use high-quality components that are proven to last, to install panels and their components properly to maximize their function, and to reuse panels by donating them to nonprofits. Our design team right-sizes all solar installations for each customer, so there are no wasted panels and components can function as they are designed for the full length of their warranty and beyond.
Mike Studholme’s rising career in the solar industry began, in his words, with one Thanksgiving conversation with his uncle. Mike was going to community college in Northern Virginia for a degree in business administration and his uncle, John Christensen, was working for Mountain View Solar. The company was putting up a windmill at the time, and the two talked over the project.
“Uncle JB” mentioned that Hagerstown Community College (Md.) had a renewable energy program, and Mike’s interest was hooked. John offered for his nephew to live with him, just a short distance from the college, while he completed the program. Mike said he hesitated because he wouldn’t be earning enough to pay his uncle rent. JB proposed a deal — Mike would cover his uncle’s electric bill in lieu of rent. They agreed, and Mike soon learned his first lesson in residential solar.
“He had 40 solar panels on his house. The electric bill was like $5 per month,” Mike recalled, laughing.
While he finished his degree, Mike interned with mtvSolar once a week, and then moved into a full-time internship in 2013, helping the company do whatever needed to be done. His first solar installation was a ground mount. Back at the Berkeley Springs office, he took care of the company’s recycling and entered data in the sales program. That’s where he learned about the tax credits that helped customers afford to solar to their homes and businesses.
In May of 2014, Mike started with the company full-time, taking phone calls, processing return authorizations for equipment replacements, helping with permitting and learning to do lead qualifications. All the while, Mike was helping with solar installations, and working toward one of the company’s first energy certifications – the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP).
“I took it and passed it the first time,” Mike said of the rigorous testing. “In order to take the test, you have to show your hours and level of involvement and study in the field.”
The certification was just one of the many thresholds Mike crossed on his journey to become mtvSolar’s Senior Solar PV and Battery Consultant. He went on to become the lead for the installation crew, which he led for several years, primarily in residential solar. Then mtvSolar took on remote power services for FAA lights on top of large power transmission structures, and Mike became foreman of that project.
“That’s the cool thing about solar – every day is different,” Mike said. “It felt like I was wearing five hats at a time.”
With so many aspects of the company’s technical work under his belt, Mike asked management if he might have an opportunity to join the sales team. His friends told him he had a talent for pitching projects, and Mike had already been working with the team at home shows, talking about mtvSolar’s capabilities and offerings.
In 2016, Mike stepped into sales at the company. He didn’t leave his other roles entirely, though.
“Some of the early jobs I sold, I also installed,” he said.
Solar installations weren’t so mainstream then, and panels were more expensive than they have become in today’s energy market. In the years since, Mike Studholme has seen access to solar energy equipment open up immensely.
“I think the adoption of solar is going to explode,” he predicts. “Solar’s one of those things – once you have it, you’re never not going to have solar.”
Mike and Samantha Studholme with their children in front of their solar-powered home in West Virginia.
Mike’s own home solar generation system has grown along with his career and his family. Mike married his wife Samantha in May of 2018. Samantha works for the American Heart Association, and is a “social butterfly” who enjoys music and books, says Mike. The couple have a daughter Mila, and younger son Jack, who turned 10 months old just shy of the Studholme’s fifth wedding anniversary. The couple celebrated their anniversary at the Nestled Inn in Bluemont – one of Mike’s solar clients.
Every month, Mike is reminded of the value of powering his family home with the sun.
“It helps me feel like I’m making an impact, but silently. I see it every month in the electric bill and in how many carbon pounds I’ve offset,” he said. “It’s just a great investment.”
Mike’s own deep knowledge of solar – through every step of the process – continues to grow as he enters his second decade with mtvSolar.
“It’s been such an awesome ride. Mike and Kelly have always been supportive of me growing in the company,” he said.
Over the years, Mike Studholme has come to understand what his customers are looking for, and what they value in going solar.
“The sentiment of taking ownership of your power needs instead of renting it monthly from the utility resonates well with people,” he said. Fixing or lowering a monthly electricity expense over many decades just adds up.
“People are adding a tangible asset at the same time they’re making a global impact on our carbon footprint,” Mike explained. “It’s an investment that people never regret making.”
