Solar roof panels fulfill his dreams
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Twenty-eight solar panels of the Garlick home supply all of its electricity. -
Cheri and Arnie Garlick have a solar panel home in Enon Valley, Lawrence County.
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For 18 years, Arnie Garlick dreamed of putting solar panels on the roof of his house in Enon Valley, Lawrence County.
"He would chart the sun every day of the year, calculating how long it was shining on the roof. He even figured out which trees would have to be cut down," said his wife, Cheri.
Last year, Mr. Garlick was finally ready. He called Vox Energy Solutions in McCandless and asked them to install a 5.6-kilowatt system, big enough to generate all the electricity he needed from the sun.
Then his sky went dark. Mr. Garlick, a research chemist, learned through a routine exam at work that he had stage 3 lung cancer. By late April of this year, when Vox workers came out to measure for 28 panels on the south-facing side of his gable roof, Mr. Garlick was too weak to walk. Yet he insisted on coming outside to watch.
"From his wheelchair, he would tell them what to do," marveled Kathie Santelli, Vox's director of marketing.
He told another Vox employee that the solar array was his final gift of love for his wife. He died May 11 at age 50.
The following month, the Garlicks' array was installed and turned on. Mrs. Garlick said her electrical bill from Penn Power dropped from $95 in May to $26 in June. Last month's bill was just $8.91, all of it fees. The net-metered system is actually feeding electricity back into the power grid.
Vox's solar installations generally cost $1,600 to $1,800 per panel, but a 30 percent federal tax credit and $2.25 per watt state rebate means they cost homeowners much less. Vox design engineer Mark Barlow said the Garlicks' solar array is a bit large for their three-bedroom, one-bath house. But it's perfect for someone who wants to supply all of the energy they use.
"Arnie was a forward-thinking person," he said. "He provided electricity for his family for the next 25 years, guaranteed. That's a nice legacy to leave."
If you're as forward-thinking as Arnie Garlick, you'll want to spend some time this weekend and Monday on the free Pittsburgh Solar Tour.
Today, Conservation Consultants Inc., 64 S. 14th St., South Side, will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for tours. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Vox Energy Solutions, 8890 Peebles Road, McCandless, will display its 3-kilowatt solar array.
Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can see solar panels and other energy-savers in a home at 10217 Pearl Road, Penn Hills.
On Monday, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Westmoreland County, will show its solar, geothermal and wind energy systems at the Donohoe Center, 214 Donohoe Road, Greensburg, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Until 2 p.m., the Westmoreland Conservation District will offer tours of its "green" building at 218 Donohoe Road. Chatham University students will be on hand at some stops on the tour.
The Garlicks' home will not be on the tour, but Mrs. Garlick said their solar array has prompted friends and neighbors to look into installations. She always knew the man she met 33 years ago, when both were students at Connellsville High School, was special.
"He switched us over to compact fluorescents and added insulation. He wanted to buy a Chevy Volt (electric car) ... and put up wind turbines next year. ... Vox uses this house as a showcase," she said.
"He'd be very proud, I think."
First Published October 3, 2009 12:00 am
