 Habitat for Humanity of Southwest Montana, serving
Butte and Southwest Montana, is the first Habitat for Humanity
affiliate in the nation to send Habitat-generated power from
photovoltaic (PV) energy into the grid, saving the Habitat family
money while producing renewable energy to help meet future electrical
demands for themselves and their neighbors.
The High Performance Housing Partnership - the HP2 program -
has resulted in homes that use 40 to 50 percent less energy than
homes built to current codes, with heating costs in Montana of
under $250 a year. These homes are the best candidates for use
of solar-generated electric energy, to cover 50 to 100 percent
of the electrical load experienced by very low income families.
The first PV-powered home in Montana with Habitat was set up
in Butte by a volunteer team with leadership from Jim Sullivan,
licensed electrician and Habitat volunteer, who trains IBEW members
and is part of Local 44. Other volunteers included John Walden,
who works at the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT),
Jack Bartholomew of Applied Building Sciences, and Jim Schindler
of Missoula.
 The program
is limited to Habitat rooftops that are south facing and are
part of the HP2 program, which means they meet a high energy
standard prior to receiving the solar panels. The electricity
being generated goes into the grid, making the household's electric
meter "go backward." The total generation is expected
to be valued at or about $200 a year per household.
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- Maintenance is simple - the panels need
to be rinsed off annually to make sure they generate electricity
at their peak levels.
 While solar
energy is popular, the real "hero" in this situation
is the HP2 standard, which saves households from $350 to $700
a year in heating costs prior to considering the solar energy
system. Overall, HP2-SOLAR families can expect to save from $600
to $1,000 a year.
The solar systems are donated by the Montana Power Co.,as part
of the Universal System Benefit (USB) which is paid on each bill
by all rate payers, and installation is donated by a team led
by Sullivan, working with Tom Galster and Rocky Clark of the
IBEW.
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