Habitat Goes Solar
Part of a years-long effort to offset energy costs is beginning to payoff in a big way at Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity. Over the past two years, Construction Director Chris Garrison has led a side project to decrease our organization’s overhead, while creating a self-sustaining source of energy. Solar panels were installed all along the roof of our early 20th century woodshop at the Milwaukee Habitat headquarters. With some upfront cost out of the way, the solar panels are beginning to pay for themselves. After one whole year on solar power, the total electric bill for our headquarters came to a whopping $78.79. The year prior, without solar, that annual cost was over $10,000.
In the long-term this project isn’t just good for the environment, but every dollar we save on energy is another dollar we can invest in building safe, affordable homes. Speaking of, our headquarters isn’t the only building we’re outfitting with solar. Thanks to a generous donation from John Perrin & Julie Jorns, four new Milwaukee Habitat homes are going to be outfitted with solar panels. To further ensure our homeowners don’t incur upfront costs, the team at Current Electric partnered with us on installation. Each of those homeowners are expected to save an average of $740 every year on energy costs, further decreasing their housing expenses.
And we’re not stopping there! Thanks to a generous donation by Dena Lieberman, we’ll be outfitting our Greenfield ReStore with solar panels this summer. Soon when you shop for, or donate, treasures at our 108th street location, everything from the cash register to the lights in the building will be powered by solar.