Our Own Amy Beaudet

Eric installs the bottom bracket (the top bracket is attached to the Solarsheat) before mounting the whole unit on the wall.

Amy Beaudet is not only a fantastic sales person, and our resident expert on all things Solar Thermal, she is also a renewable energy DIY expert in her own right. With a solar air heater installed last fall and a solar water heating solution on tap for this spring, her story is both inspirational and practical so we just had to share it.

So here are the basic stats:

• Single Family Home Built in 1964
• Original Windows and Insulation
• 760 Square Feet
• South Facing Wall, Roof and Sloping Land
• Electric Heat
• Usage summer: 200-300 KwH
• Usage winter: 1300 KwH (kept between 55-58 degrees F)
• Electric Hot Water Heater

Amy moved into this 40+ year old home and saw tons of potential and started identifying where to begin. She chose to go straight towards renewable energy and chose a solar air heater to offset the crazy electric bills she knew were sure to come with electric heat and an electric hot water heater.

Inside view of the vents in the kitchen.

Solar air heaters are the least expensive and the easiest to install renewable energy option. The solar air heater is wall or roof mounted and collects heat from the sun. An intake brings cold air from the interior of the house into the collector where it is warmed and then blown back into the house after it's reached 90+ degrees.

In Amy's case, she chose the Your Solar Home 1000G Glazed Solar Air Heater which she then mounted sideways on the exterior of her home. She chose this model primarily for its size because she had limited wall space on which to mount the unit. After all, the roof is being reserved for the eventual solar electric system! This Solarsheat is able to heat a 300 square foot room when the sun is shining, and operates as a supplemental heat source in Amy's home. The fan is also powered with a solar panel so even if the power goes out, the solar heat will still pump into the home.

The Solarsheat only took two partial days to install and Amy only needed the help of one other person to get the solar air heater securely positioned on her south facing kitchen wall. Neither of them had installed any renewable energy technology before and they had no problems getting the solar air heater mounted and working!

"I love coming into my kitchen in the morning now because on sunny days it's wonderfully warm! I'm still gathering data on the savings its offering but I feel great knowing it's on my home and my neighbors have told me I am inspiring them to take action!"

In 2009 Amy plans to move forward with a solar hot water system - so stay tuned and see the continuation of Amy's story this spring!

Click here to view Amy's AltE Gallery of her solar air heater project!