The space between a solar panel and the roof makes a perfect location for squirrels to build a dry nest, safely hidden from predators. Although they are arguably the most adorable of the rodent family, squirrels will chew on absolutely anything, and they find the insulation on electrical wires especially tasty. The exposed wires can short circuit and cause a fire hazard. Not to mention, a squirrel’s nest makes perfect fire tinder. Last week, our…
Squirrels have a nasty habit of building nests in solar panels because they’re warm and provide shelter. The problem is that they can chew on wires causing damage to the system and creating a fire hazard because of exposed wires. Marie Brown, (House Co-Clerk) first spotted an outage last week. Two pesky squirrel nests had shut down 1/3 of our solar power generation. Damage was repaired and power restored by 8MSolar on November 14th under…
Sincere thanks to all who contributed so generously to the Solar+ Project. Your gifts are truly long term gifts to Meeting, to low income families in our community, and good stewardship of our planet. Smile when you see the sun shining on New Garden Friends Meeting. Our Duke Energy cost of electricity has been reduced an average of $425 per month since February 2021. The Solar+ Project included installing a new (30 year) roof on…
New Garden Friends Meeting has made great progress in reducing our carbon footprint. Next step is obtaining permits. Exciting photos of our progress are available here.
Bill McNeil explains the installation of solar panels at New Garden / November 2020 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=709053433033438 Solar Panel Installation / September 2020 Installing a New Roof / September 2020 Solar+ Projects Moving Forward / August 12, 2020 / Many thanks to those of you who have contributed or pledged so generously to our Solar+ Project! Besides adding solar power on the Meeting house…
Many thanks to those of you who have contributed or pledged so generously to our Solar+ Project! Besides adding solar power on the Meeting house roof, we will make a significant gift to Community Housing Solutions to improve the energy efficiency of homes of low-income families. We will reduce our community’s dependence on carbon based fuels! There is still time to make a donation to this project, but we expect to wrap up active fundraising…
One of the measures of a good community is how it cares for others. As New Garden plans to install solar panels to cut our power bills, the Solar+ Project will also have an energy-saving outreach partnership with Community Housing Solutions (CHS) to help low income families reduce their power bills. Every year CHS repairs the homes of over 25 homeowners. With our partnership, CHS will install insulation and other weatherization measures, saving families up…
I’m excited about New Garden’s Solar+ Project! Soon, we’ll be able to generate enough electricity to cover 3/4 of the Meeting’s power – using the clean power of the sun and panels warranted for 30 years. This is one small contribution to using nonpolluting renewal energy – a critical part of reducing the impact of climate change. The finances are important to me too. Our investment of $52,825 for 121 panels will reduce payments for…
New Garden’s Energy Team is excited to report that monthly meeting approved the Solar Energy + Outreach Project. This is a great opportunity to reduce our impact on Earth’s resources and save operating costs for the Meetinghouse at the same time. (We anticipate that this solar power will provide about three-quarters of our electricity use.) As Quakers, our testimony of Stewardship calls upon us to care for the Earth, its environment and changing climate as…
On June 7 New Garden Monthly Meeting has approved a plan to install solar panels on the Meetinghouse roof, which will save up to 75% on our energy bills. This puts the Quaker testimony of Stewardship into practice, helping benefit the environment and confront climate change. While helping ourselves, an energy-saving outreach will help lower income families in our community reduce their energy bills. With this outreach program New Garden will fund energy-efficiency improvements in…