Even before they had details about the project, Clean Energy USA and SunPower Corporation eagerly volunteered their time and materials to help Schell Brothers and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition accomplish the goal of building a home for a Sussex County family in need in just one week.
“We were honored to get involved with the cause. Why wouldn’t we want to be involved?” says John Sertich of Clean Energy USA. “It feels great knowing we are contributing to a local family. It honestly makes us happy to be able to give,” adds John.
On Monday, August 29, bullhorn in hand, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition‘s Ty Pennington, the EM:HE design team, and a community of volunteers will surprise one local family with the prize of a lifetime, a beautiful, new, sustainably-built home to support their ministry.
Enter SunPower Corporation, manufacturer of the most powerful solar energy systems on the planet, capable of virtually eliminating electric bills, and Clean Energy USA. As the region’s leading solar design and installation company, Clean Energy USA is especially proud to be using SunPower’s cost saving solar technology in the Sussex County project. “Solar is especially important to this process because once the family moves in, the SunPower system will eliminate a majority of their electric bills,” says John.
In fact, the solar technology in this particular build is on track to provide complete freedom from electrical expenditures for the home. “We’ve already received 25kW of solar from SunPower. We hope that it will be more than enough to cover the entire electric bill for the family. In fact, we’ve gone to an electric based HVAC system (instead of gas) to make sure the HVAC cost is also covered by the solar,” says Schell Brothers owner Chris Schell.
According to John, Delaware offers incentives and favorable laws that make solar affordable. What’s more, in one year alone, a solar system can save homeowners $3,000! 25-year warranties on solar panels ensure that the savings will continue for many years.
Clean Energy USA also shared their thoughts with us about Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and the show’s mission. “It goes to show that people really do have a giving spirit and tune in by the millions to watch good things happen to deserving people. In that vein, everyone we have worked with from the show have been kind people who seem to really care about the families they are helping and the mission their show is all about. A lot of the show’s team spends much of their life on the road and everyone I talked to seems to think that it is worth the sacrifice specifically because they are helping people,” says John.
We would like to applaud Clean Energy USA and SunPower Corporation for their giving spirit and generosity. The money saving solar technology they are providing and installing will undoubtedly bring cost savings, comfort, and peace of mind to this deserving family in Sussex County. What a great way to Build Happiness!
For more information about including solar in your designs, visit Clean Energy USA and SunPower Corporation.