As he travels around the country touting his economic plan, Obama talks a lot about the so-called "green economy." He says making the switch from fossil fuels to alternative sources of energy is one of the keys to prosperity in the United States.
Greg and Maryann Scarangello have heard and are heeding his message.
The proprietors of Scarangello Heating and Air-Conditioning have decided to start pushing solar power in addition to super-efficient heat pumps and other technology as a way to help their customers beat the high financial and environmental cost of fossil fuels.
They are so convinced of their mission that they even installed a five-panel solar hot water array in their backyard.
"Everyone wanted off oil last year," said Maryann, 41, recalling that the price of home-heating fuel was around $4 a gallon at one point. When their customers asked how they could reduce their heating bills, the first thing the Scarangellos offered was to install an energy-efficient heat pump.
The heat pumps, made by Hallowell International Heating and Cooling in Bangor, Maine, run on electricity and help pump warm air through the house. Customers loved them, Maryann said. While the pumps enabled people to throw out their oil tanks, they still run on electricity which must be generated somewhere — most likely by a power plant.
"Last summer, our phone was ringing off the hook," Maryann said. "Everyone wanted to do heat pumps."
Recently, business has slowed with the economy, but the Scarangellos have decided to diversify their offerings.
Encouraged by Obama's push on green energy as well as generous state and federal tax credits that can cut the cost of alternative energy projects in half, they decided to branch out into solar power.
Greg Scarangello, 47, said it has been easy for him to make the switch from traditional to alternative energy sources, and that the piping work is similar.
He installed the solar panels in his backyard, even building the frame that holds them. A line carrying fluid treated with anti-freeze runs from the panels into the home, where it enters a tank. The hot fluid from the solar panels warms the water inside the hot-water tank so that upstairs, Maryann can take what she said are "45-minute showers."
They admit that installations aren't cheap, with upfront costs for a heat-pump retrofit running around $10,000, and installation of a simple, solar hot-water system around $10,000. But with state and federal tax credits, as well as long-term savings factored in, such projects become worthwhile.
The couple hopes to branch out further in the coming years into additional alternative energy projects, including wind and geothermal power.
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