Solar Air Heating in New Hampshire

Alan Zeller is a man of many talents. On any given day, you might find him riding his motorcycle, gardening, baking, building radio control flying airplanes, or spending time with his 20-year-old black cat, Sammy. He worked for Hewlett Packard/Agilent Technologies for 35 years. Alan has been retired for four years now, but keeps quite busy. One of his greatest passions is renewable energy. He spends a lot of time working in his solar powered shed, his “man cave.” Alan is a proud "do-it-yourselfer" and recently installed a 1000G Your Solar Home Solar Air Heater on his home in Peterborough, NH.

Alan's interest in RE began in the mid-1980's when he purchased a solar hot water system for his previous home in Hollis, NH. The system consisted of a 64 square foot two panel water heater and 100 gallon water tank. It provided Alan, his wife Roberta, and their daughter with all of their hot water and completely paid for itself in just six years. The Zeller family relocated to Peterborough several years ago. Peterborough is an area that fits Alan’s personality and lifestyle. It is home to an artist retreat, farms, and to many eco-conscious people. He appreciates the relaxed yet self sufficient way of life the town offers.  Alan wanted to make sure his new home was energy efficient. The home was brand new with excellent insulation, but the enclosed stairwell leading down to his basement was a huge source of cold air.

After finding altE on the Internet, Alan attended the PV 101 course at the altE U and noticed some of the models on display.” I saw the models and wanted to come back and look at them," Alan explains. After having some trees taken down in his yard, he realized that his house was now getting a great deal of sun. He called altE and spoke with Amy Beaudet. He met with Amy and discussed his desire to heat the stairway in his home. Alan went home and placed his order for a 1000G Your Solar Home Solar Air Heater that day. For Alan it was an easy decision because he had the perfect space for the unit. "I could only accommodate the size I purchased. I didn’t have room for a larger unit," he says.

Alan says that installing the 1000G was quite easy. "Anybody that's fairly handy can install it," he explains. Alan enlisted the help of a neighbor to install the unit, but ended up being able to mount it with the help of his wife.

Alan is extremely happy with the output of his solar air heater. "I would have to say the heat output from the 1000G is about the equivalent of 1000 watts of electrical heating power," he says. Alan also likes the looks of the unit and says that many of his neighbors don't even notice it mounted on the side of his home. He plans on ducting the hot output directly into his basement where it can be more effective for him once he refinishes it this winter. He’d like to insulate it with closed cell foam on the walls and floor. When this project is complete, the 1000G will be providing heat to a kitchen area, home office, and recreation area.

Alan is already in the process of planning his next project. He'd like to have a 2,000 watt Solar System installed on the roof of his south facing garage next year. “This will reduce my carbon footprint significantly,” he says. We can't wait to hear how it turns out!