Crafting shoes with solar power
As craftsmen, the care we take in our work also translates to how we treat the environment around us. From heating our home with our own wood to cultivating our own fresh vegetables and fruit, we are working in harmony with the environment. We look for opportunities to conserve energy and resources to bring our energy consumption in line with our values, and when tax credits became available in the 1980’s we made our first foray into renewable energy with a solar hot water system.
In October of 2013, we stepped up our sustainable practices even further. We partnered with Brentwood, NH based ReVision Energy to install 30 solar panels on the roof of our 200 year old barn. We expanded our system in 2018, adding another 30 panels for a combined 16.5 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system. This system now offsets all the power we use for our studio and home, and will allow us to transition our radiant heat to clean solar power.
When the sun is shining, our solar array produces electricity that is either used in real-time to help us craft shoes, or fed back to the grid where it benefits our community (and earns us a credit). Each year, the system will generate roughly 20,155 kilowatt-hours (kWhs) of electricity, offsetting the equivalent of driving over 36,760 miles in a gas-powered car, or the carbon sequestered by 17.7 acres of forest.
To see what our system is producing, both today and across its lifetime, click on the links below:
—
Our expansion 2020
