The Portland Daily Citizen

In 1979 President Carter installed solar water heaters on the roof of the White House. The first thing President Reagan did when he came into office was to take them down. According to Dr. Richard Komp, those water heaters were moved to the roof of Unity College, where they are still working just fine.

Dr. Richard Komp was the guest speaker at an event held at the Freeport Community Center on Thursday November 20th hosted by Wolfe’s Neck Farm and MainePIRG to spread awareness about sustainability and solar energy.

If you’re considering building a new home Dr. Komp would urge you to take into consideration the path of the sun. “Only barbarians build without regard to the path of the sun” he says, and that is because the sun has provided us with free energy for thousands of years. The Romans and Greeks built structures according to the path of the sun, and if you do the same, you could reap some very serious energy savings.

Dr. Richard Komp lives off the grid in his house in Jonesport. He bought the five and a half acres of ocean front property of land for his house in the 1970′s for $15,000 because the property is off the electrical grid. Because he is off the electrical grid, he hasn’t paid a utility bill in more than twenty years. His house is a sustainability dream. He has solar panels for his electricity, natural sunlight for warmth, and collects rain water because the bedrock doesn’t permit a well. The rain water he collects in a cistern also acts as a thermal mass that stores thermal solar energy in the daytime to be slowly released over the cold winter nights.

All of the modifications that Dr. Komp has made to his home have been made with easy to find supplies and have more than paid for themselves in energy savings. The solar water heaters, he proudly boasts, have been completely made from discarded sliding doors and parts from the local hardware store. His instructional guide has plans for all of the devices he was discussing in the lecture. His easy to build products are designed to grab the lowest hanging fruit so you get the greatest savings from the smallest investment. Sure you can go out and buy a really nice 95% efficient solar heater for thousands of dollars, or you can build a dog ugly 75% heater yourself for $40. The underlying principles are the same for both options, but if you’re willing to accept a little ugly and elbow grease, you stand to save a lot of money.

Wolfe’s Neck Farm is hosting the next sustainability lecture from 6:30-8:30pm at the Freeport Community Center on Thursday January 22nd featuring former Governor Angus King presenting The Future Of Wind Power in Maine. If you are a USM Student and would like to carpool to the lecture, contact arthur.page@maine.edu.

With all the gloom and doom on the news reports today, its important to remember that the sun is still still going to rise and shine. Dr. Komp has presented information on how you can take the sun’s free and abundant energy and use it to power your home. You can find out more information about Dr. Richard Komp, his designs, and Wolfe’s Neck Farm in the following

Links:

Wolfe’s Neck Farm:

http://www.wolfesneckfarm.org/calendar.php

Dr. Richard Komp, PhD

http://www.skyheat.org/

http://www.MaineSolar.org

Build It Solar: Plans to build and construct your own DIY Solar projects.

http://www.builditsolar.com/

North East Sustainable Energy Association: Information on green business and how to get in touch with them. The Green Yellow Pages.

http://www.nesea.org/

You can find Dr. Richard Komps book, Practical Photovoltaiacs Electricity from Solar Cells, on Amazon.com for about $12.