Help Save Our Solar Credits and Reduce Fossil Fuel Use / May 31, 2023
Please turn off the lights when you are the last to leave a room or the Meetinghouse. –– Thank you from the House Committee.
Solar Panels Get Squirrel Guards / January 2023
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 Go Nuts Over Solar Panels / November 16, 2022
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…
Solar+ Project Update / October 21, 2021
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…
Solar+ Project Update / October 2020
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.
New Garden Friends Meeting / Solar+ Project
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…
Solar+ Projects Moving Forward / August 12
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…
Help Families Save Energy and Money with New Garden Friends Meeting SOLAR+ Project
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…
Solar+ Project Update / Why Solar Now?
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…
Solar+ Project Update
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…