Ron Black and Jess Ennis informed the Stryker Rotary Club about the ECOJIVA Solar Installation Company on Tuesday February 23rd. ECOJIVA has been in business since 2008 and installed over 180 solar systems. The company specializes in systems designed for farms and rural businesses. They have 17 systems installed in the Norwalk, Ohio area that vary in size. Ron told us that three main factors determine the size of the system that can be installed. The first factor is your electrical use because systems must only generate the amount of power that will equal consumption. The second factor is space available to install the solar panels. They install both rooftop and ground mount systems, and most systems require 80 square feet of space per kilowatt generated. The last main factor has to do with tax relief, as 30% of the cost can be recovered through tax relief that can be spread over as much as a 20 year period. The systems are installed with the cooperation of the utility and a net meter must be installed in place of a regular meter. This type of meter will measure the power that is flowing back into the grid when the solar panels are generating more power than is being consumed. In some cases the systems will pay for themselves in three to five years, and come with a 25 year warranty. The company also provides a service that measures the power generated and makes repairs if the measurement indicates the system is not generating the amount of power that it should. Jess Ennis, on the left, and Ron Black, on the right, spoke as a guest of Stryker Rotarian Judy Keller, middle.
