This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Editor's Note: Scientific American's George Musser will be chronicling his experiences installing solar panels and taking other steps to save energy in 60-Second Solar. Read his introduction here and see all posts here.
We geeks never seem to get our props as trendsetters. My friends Adam and Joe and I were the first kids in our school to use instant messaging over a 300-baud modem in 1979. But I guess girls preferred guys with the latest bell bottoms. Now the frontier of geekdom is energy conservation, and this time, we’re finally getting some respect.
Today's New York Times talks about how the latest trend in green houses is to paint your roof white— as we did last month. Our roofer stripped off the dark asphalt shingles, exposed the 1868-vintage tin roof, and layered on a thick white vinyl coating. Because the house now reflects rather than absorbs sunlight, we no longer have to shower after visiting our attic and have yet to turn on the a/c at all this year. To be sure, it’s been a mild summer here in New Jersey.
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A commenter to an earlier blog post said that tin roofs are noisy, but ours hasn’t been. We’ve had some Noachian downpours this summer and slept soundly through them.
Although I’m pleased to be in the same company as Cate Blanchett and Jackson Browne, who have gone even further than us in greening their houses, the real test of a trendsetter is how many people follow our example. The take-up has been slow. As far as I know, we and some friends of ours are the only families in town who are working to install solar panels. I recently met one other solar pioneer, Mark Turits, who lives in the neighboring town. He’s working with a different contractor (Geogenix) and using a different brand of panels (Sunpower), but otherwise our experiences with the technology (and the bureaucracy) are remarkably similar.
New Jersey is second in the nation in solar power generation, but it’s a distant second to California. Solar advocate Larry Sherwood told the New York Times that one reason is that the state’s incentive program “has had many fits and starts.” Looking on the bright side, it also took a while before every garage in town had a Prius. Maybe soon every house will generate its own electricity from the sun. If so, I guess I’ll have to find some new way to stay such a trendsetter.
Our blindingly white roof, courtesy of RoofMenders