Residential
Solar Panel Projects
A Partial List for the Kansas City Area

First Solar Panel Array in Weston, MO
Our good friend, Antonio Cutolo-Ring, recently installed a
3.2 kW solar pv array on his home in Weston, MO. We estimate that it will produce about 85% of his electricity
needs (this home is very energy efficient).

The array is grid-tied and we used 14 - 225 watt Sunpower panels with Enphase micro- inverters.

Antonio e-mailed us after the first few days: "I know the
solar panels won't be always be producing as much
electricity as they have the last three days, but if they did
and I don't use any more electricity than last year that I'll be producing as much electricity as I use! Pretty cool!"

In addition to the 30% federal tax credit, he was able to
take advantage of KCP&L's new $2/watt solar rebate,
cutting his installation cost in half. Antonio and Susan Brown (V.P. of Business Development and Marketing) are both on the board of Concerned Citizens of Platte County, working on environmental and health issues.

Self-Sufficient Solar Home
When Mike and Jan Sherman decided to build their dream retirement home in Jan’s hometown of Richland, Missouri, one of their priorities was to build an energy-efficient all-electric home. They built a 5,000 square foot house using insulated concrete forms (ICF), which was a key element in creating a tight building envelope that would keep their heating and cooling costs at a minimum.

They also incorporated solar panels on the roof to provide energy for the rest of their retirement. The solar energy system was a Uni-Solar solar PV laminate system. This lightweight, flexible solar electric system was directly applied to their metal roof. The 3.2kW solar array covers 560 square feet of roof space, supplies the bulk of their energy needs, with utility bills averaging $60 a month.

First to Get KCP&L Solar Rebates
A Kansas City area couple are the first in the state to take advantage of the new KCP&L solar rebates and federal
financial incentives.

Solar became the solution for Ray and Kathy Baisch after
seeing their electric rates increase by over 30% in the last
three years. The couple got serious about making the
investment when they learned that KCP&L was offering a
new solar rebate. The new rebate was a result of Proposition
C that Missourians overwhelmingly passed in 2008. The
$2/watt rebate covers about 25% of the price of a solar
system. Combining this incentive with the 30% Federal tax
credit – and nearly half of the cost is covered.

The solar energy system will offset nearly 90% of their
energy usage. The system was placed in service the first
week of January, 2010.

TESS Collaborates with Studio 804
In a modest neighborhood near the Kansas University Medical Center, a new trend-setting home is generating almost all of
its energy from solar and wind. The home was designed
and built by Dan Rockhill and his students from the University
of Kansas. Studio 804, the university’s sustainable architecture program, is known for forward-thinking designs with emphasis on energy efficiency and sustainability.

The home generates most of its own power. The 4.8kW
solar panel system produces the majority of the electricity needed, with 24 photovoltaic panels built into the rain
screen that forms a pressure buffer between the home’s interior and exterior. An additional 1.2kW of power is generated by a 24′ Mariah Windspire vertical-axis wind
turbine located in the backyard. All of the work on the renewable energy systems was done by the students with guidance from The Energy Savings Store.

Net-Zero Energy Farm
The Green Dirt Farm, located just north of Kansas City in
Weston, Missouri, is a small community-based farm dedicated
to producing healthy food in a sustainable environment. The entire farm complex was designed to be a net-zero energy farmstead, producing 100 percent of the energy for the
operation using a combination of solar and wind. Chris
DeVolder, the home’s architect, calls it “the greenest house
in the Midwest, possibly in the country.”

The Energy Savings Store was selected to design, engineer
and install the renewable energy systems used on the Green
Dirt Farm in 2005. The electricity used in the home and barn comes from a 2.4kW Skystream wind turbine, perched atop
a 70′ tower. Complementing this is a 2.4kW Uni-Solar PV
laminate system on the home’s metal roof. These two energy sources, coupled with the efficiencies designed into the home, enable the owners to live and operate their farm with a “net-zero” energy requirement.