Return to BTJ Online

In the 1980’s, Ronald Cadorin, owner of East Coast Solar, Inc., put a solar water heating system into his own home.

At the time, Cadorin owned United Solar Energy, also based in Brevard County, which he has since sold to his brother.

His current company installs solar water heating systems primarily for pools in residential and commercial locations.

With the tax credits available at the time he installed his personal system, Cadorin felt certain that by the beginning of the next century, most everyone would have solar water and even solar electric systems in their homes.

Unfortunately, that has not been the case.

“I know if I live long enough I will see homes heated by PV tanks – actually I thought I would see it a few years ago,” he said. “But I am in my fifties now so I am not sure I will live long enough.”

Jennifer Szaro, a senior energy analyst for the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa said the incentives in the 1980’s were ahead of the infrastructure needed to regulate the new industry.

“In the 80s there were some great subsidy programs but we didn’t have the infrastructure in place to protect consumers like we do now,” Szaro said. “There was a lot of consumer disappointment because a lot of fly by night installers came on the scene and did not do good work.”

Szaro said that the image of solar energy as an alternative power source suffered greatly because of the actions of a relatively few unqualified and unethical installers.

“It has taken a long time for the country to get over that disappointment and for the government to start offering incentives again,” Szaro said. “It has taken a long time to rebuild trust in the industry.”

The Florida Solar Energy Center, created in 1975 and now the largest and most active state-supported renewable energy and energy efficiency research, training, testing and certification institute in the United States, the FSEC functions as the state’s energy research, training, and certification center from a 20-acre research complex at UCF's Cocoa Campus.

“We have the infrastructure in place now,” Szaro said. “We require all solar equipment in the state to be certified and we have the solar contractor’s license now so people can check out their contractor the same way you would a building contractor or electrician. Our goals are to ensure that the consumer is protected and to work with manufacturers to keep bringing costs down.”

One local company, Solar Energy Systems, owned by Carl Moody, is one of the only licensed solar energy contractors that do more than pools in the state. Although just a portion of their business, however, their solar based pool systems are widely recognized as industry leaders and were chosen for use at several Olympic Games.

Moody also expressed disappointment in the switch to solar and other non-fossil fuel based energy systems since the technologies were first widely recognized about 30 years ago.

He, like Cadorin and Szaro, is encouraged that the new state and federal tax incentives may jump start the market once again.

“In my advertisements now I say, ‘Don’t miss this opportunity! This is part of the government’s new plan to reduce foreign oil dependency,’” Moody explained.
The tax incentives for Floridians who install solar water heating and solar electric systems were signed into law on June 19 with the Florida Energy Act.

The state incentives include:

	$500 for a residential hot water system
	$100 for a residential pool system
	Up to $5000 for a commercial hot water system
	$4 a watt, up to $20,000 for residential PV Solar Electric systems
	$4 a watt, up to $100,000 for commercial PV Solar Electric systems

The federal incentives became available with the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT), signed by President Bush on August 8, 2005, which offers consumers and businesses federal tax credits that began in January 2006. Qualified expenditures to use towards the credits must be made before Dec. 31, 2007.

The federal tax incentives include:

	For residential solar hot water systems, credit is 30% of qualified expenditures up to a maximum tax credit limitation of $2000 for systems used exclusively for purposes other than heating swimming pools and hot tubs.
	For residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, credit is 30% of the qualified PV system expenditures up to a maximum of $2000 in rebates.
	For commercial solar hot water and photovoltaic (PV) systems, credit is 30% of the qualified PV system expenditures, with no limit.

As evidenced by the level of rebates available, the cost of solar hot water and solar electric PV systems can still be steep for the average homeowner or business owner.

An average pool system can run anywhere from $3-5000 before rebates. A residential PV system for a 2000 square-foot house runs about $40,000, but with rebates is reduced to $18,000.

“Just in the nine years since I started in the business there have been some pretty significant cost reductions for installing these systems – about 30 to 40%,” Szaro said. “We see that if people get a home equity loan to cover the cost of the system, the reduction in their monthly bills is greater than the increase in their monthly mortgage payment so they come out ahead with a positive cash flow quickly.”

Both solar contractors noted that the advances in their field have been cut short by federal administrations that were more favorable toward the oil and coal industries. They are cautiously optimistic about the potential the new incentives may have on business.

Although Moody has seen a dramatic increase in business because of the tax credits, he is still weary to hire more staff since the credits are only for two years.

“A lot of people are fighting to extend these credits longer than two years,” Moody said. “With everything going on in the Middle East and the energy costs going up here, we might have a better chance.”

Since the credits for pool heating are not as great as for residential water and electric, Cadorin has not seen as drastic an increase in business since the incentives went into place.

“We mostly do new pools because it is more cost effective with new construction,” Cadorin said.

Both contractors are deeply concerned about the environment, however and committed to their industry.

“Every time I sell one of these systems, I am doing something good for the community, the environment, and myself,” said Moody. “Not many people can say that.”

Classes to become a certified solar contractor and classes for municipal/county building code department officials are offered through the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa.

For more information on the Florida Solar Energy Center, please visit www.fsec.ucf.edu.

For more information on Solar Energy Systems, please visit www.solarenergysystems.com.

For more information on East Coast Solar, Inc., please call 634-5727.