Go solar for environment

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe said “Yes, our personal actions do matter, but they matter because they can change others.” We hope our actions will change yours.

Eight years ago we considered adding solar panels to our home in Murray Hill in the Historic District but we did not have enough roof to make it work. Last October, suspecting serious improvement in solar panels’ capacity, we had a different solar installer do a new analysis. The proposal indicated by putting 31 panels on our back roofs and flat front roof we could produce approximately 40% of our electric energy needs.

Next was an application to the Annapolis Historic Preservation Commission, a fairly simple process. Our effort was two pages and the installer provided the remainder of all the required information — including maps of the placement of the panels and type of panels. Our review with HPC staff showed the commission’s former disinclination toward solar had changed: no visible panels on the front of a home but it’s OK for panels to be visible from Spa Creek. The rear of our home is visible from the creek.

On Jan. 11, we had a virtual hearing before the commission and found not only no resistance to our application but encouragement and a quick approval. There were a few delays based on the active workload of the installer and the supply chain. The project required approval from the city for electrical and building permits and inspections for the work when finished.

Two weeks ago the system became active and it appears the electric portion of our BGE bill will be reduced by half. We are happy for the reduction but that was not our main motivation.

As the last few weeks has shown, the world is on fire — Spain, Portugal, France, California, Arizona, New Mexico and on and on. We acknowledge we have a large carbon footprint; installing rooftop solar panels is our attempt to lower that footprint. We feel an obligation to stop contributing to the fires.

In just the first twelve days our 31 panels have been functioning we have saved 1050 pounds of CO2 emissions. So please, please join us and consider solar. We are happy to answer questions and share our experience. As Robert F. Curl, Jr. the winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry said: “If Mother Nature is trying to tell you something, you have to listen.”

Dan and Amy Clements, Annapolis