{"id":50698,"date":"2020-10-28T19:46:47","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T01:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/habitat-for-humanity-homes-outfitted-with-solar-panels\/"},"modified":"2020-10-29T01:46:47","modified_gmt":"2020-10-29T01:46:47","slug":"habitat-for-humanity-homes-outfitted-with-solar-panels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/habitat-for-humanity-homes-outfitted-with-solar-panels\/","title":{"rendered":"Habitat for Humanity homes outfitted with solar panels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n

Two families in Bayfield are receiving free solar panels thanks to La Plata County\u2019s only certified benefit corporation, Shaw Solar, as part of a Habitat for Humanity project.<\/p>\n

The solar installation is the last step in a Habitat for Humanity of La Plata County project to build a duplex on Fox Farm Circle near Mill Street. For Shaw Solar, donating time and equipment is one way it fulfills its mission to aid the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cOftentimes, the people who are buying solar are typically in perhaps the top half of the economic ladder,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s really important to try to get solar accessible to all income levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shaw Solar became certified in 2018 through the nonprofit B Lab, which administers the process for mission-driven companies around the world. The next closest certified companies are Vista Caballo, a leadership center in Dolores County, and Mayfly Outdoors, an outdoor sports equipment company in Montrose County.<\/p>\n

Certified B Corps, like Shaw Solar in Durango, encourage businesses to act as a force for good in their communities, for employees and in the environment.<\/p>\n

The solar units, each valued at $6,500, will provide about 60% of the home\u2019s electricity needs. That equals about $700 in savings on electricity each year, Shaw said.<\/p>\n

\"John
John Shaw, owner of Shaw Solar, works on a solar panel installation for a Habitat for Humanity home in Bayfield on Wednesday. Shaw Solar donated two installations, valued at $6,500 each, for the homes.<\/span>Courtesy of Shaw Solar<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The solar installation can last up to 25 years. If the homeowners want to add solar panels, they could have 100% of their electricity needs powered by solar, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiving in a community, where you\u2019re growing old and taxes and insurance can go up \u2026 being able to reduce or eliminate your utilities in a house that\u2019s all electric is key,\u201d said Rachel Taylor-Saghie, executive director with the regional Habitat for Humanity.<\/p>\n

A small household plans to move into one unit once the family completes its sweat-equity hours, a requirement placed on Habitat homes.<\/p>\n

A person with a disability will move into the second unit, which is outfitted with special wheelchair accessibility accommodations.<\/p>\n

The end result is the two households will have a pathway to becoming homeowners while paying 30% of their gross monthly income for the mortgage payment \u2013 and saving on electricity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe units are very small and modest, but the solar panels will allow them to save on utilities, as well, as they age in place,\u201d Taylor-Saghie said. \u201c(Shaw Solar) is extremely generous to homeowners that would never be able to afford anything like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

smullane@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

donates time, equipment to reduce families\u2019 electricity needs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[489,731,431,490,1906,4850,453,1426,1425],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-50698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-alternative-energy","tag-bayfield","tag-business-general","tag-electricity-production-and-distribution","tag-energy-saving","tag-habitat-for-humanity","tag-housing-and-urban-planning","tag-renewable-energy","tag-solar-energy"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50698"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=50698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}