GRAHAM WEATHERFORD, owner of Sure Alarms, beside solar-powered electric system...

Published On:Thursday, September 10, 2009

By CHESTER ROBARDS

Business Reporter

crobards@tribunemedia.net

THE OWNER of Sure Alarms yesterday said he was close to pulling his business completely off BEC's power grid, via the installation of a $35,000 solar-powered electric system currently capable of running everything but the air conditioners.

Graham Weatherford told Tribune Business that the system, if built to its full capacity, could save his business $1,000 per month and thus pay itself off in just under three years.

He added that an average home could be outfitted with a solar powered system for just $5,000.

According to Mr Weatherford, the solar power system can supply clean, uninterrupted power to homes and businesses, reducing the need for voltage regulators and battery back-up systems, which often put a strain on motor-run equipment and pull their own amperage in order to operate.

Since supplying his office with solar power, Mr Weatherford has removed several of his regulators.

"I was spending five-and-a-half amps 24 hours per day non-stop. That's a lot of load just to clean up my electricity," he said. "All this equipment burns 4 amps, so I was spending more than I burn to clean the power."

Mr Weatherford said a brownout, which is a partial blackout, almost cost him his store after the fluctuation caused electrical systems in his air conditioning to catch fire.

"Bahamians know about brownout, trust me. Everything in their houses gets burned up," he said.

Now, with the sun producing power during the day and a 22-battery backup system recharged in two hours, after losing 20 per cent of its power during the night, Sure Alarms could be fully power independent, but for the air conditioning.

Mr Weatherford said he is extending his solar panels across the length of his property in order to fully produce "green" energy.

However, he added that solar panels have a half-life of about 20 years, while the batteries which produce power during the night have a life of about 15 years.

Mr Weatherford suggested that purchasing more batteries than a system needs in the beginning will allow the owner to expand the system in the future when more load is needed, and also put less strain on the batteries when the system is not collecting sunlight.

He argued that these systems will, in the future, present business opportunities for many Bahamians as households switch to this alternative energy source.

Mr Weatherford is currently converting his home to solar power in order to decrease his BEC electricity usage and become more environmentally friendly.

Government has laboured over its national energy policy, which is currently exploring alternative energy sources, while continuing to build fuel oil-burning electricity plants. And while according to law it is illegal to operate a home or business without an electricity meter, the former Christie administration removed the customs duty on solar panels to encourage their use.

Minister of State for the environment, Phenton Neymour, said on the use of solar and wind energy: "The sun does not shine 24 hours and the wind does not blow all the time."

However, Mr Weatherford's model seems to be working for him, for the moment. And many have been waiting for the moment when a business or residential user challenges the BEC electricity supply model currently enshrined in law.