Sleepy Hollow's Chris Hale on Going Solar

It’s spring – though it may not feel like it right now – when people tend to start getting into home improvement projects. And many are considering solar for the first time.

Solar’s on the rise in Westchester, says Sleepy Hollow’s Chris Hale, owner of SunBlue Energy, which recently moved to an office at 65 South Broadway in Tarrytown.

He runs a soup-to-nuts shop that helps customers go from all the financing, paperwork and permits (three to four months) to installation (about a week).

Hale said his business is picking up locally – he’s just installed two residential systems with another two in Sleepy Hollow on the way – as well as in the NYC/Westchester market he serves. His crew can install year-round, save for snowy days, and solar works as long as there's sun in the sky.

Good for the environment of course, but the real selling point seems to be the wallet-friendliness. Imagine watching your electricity meter run backward, as the excess energy the panels on your roof produce get returned to the grid. Families earn money, up to a point, when the energy company essentially buys the surplus, measured by the bi-directional meters they install.

Tarrytown Village Hall has boasted huge savings since the installation of their system, a contract Hale bidded for but did not win. 

The project of going solar cost the village $125,000. The real total of $264,658, was offset by a state energy grant of $215,868. This $125K also included the $76,210 spent on a similar installation at the Tarrytown Senior Center.

At the time, Mayor Drew Fixell said the cost would be paid off in 5 to 10 years, but figures after one year of usage bring it closer to 5 than 10. For more on the village of Tarrytown's .

Hale said that while business is picking up it, we certainly have a long way to go get to Germany’s level of usage, or even California for that matter. Germany, he said, is “basically the king when comes to this.”

“Solar’s really an unknown still, even though it’s a fast-growing industry, people need to see it more to feel more comfortable," Hale said. And see the savings.  

Installation costs are almost irrelevent, Hale said, when you pay it back in savings. “You save a tremendous amount of money,” Hale said, citing close to $2,000 annually in bills for the average house. “It’s the best investment out there; way better than the stock market or real estate.”

This is not the solar you may remember on your neighor’s roof back in the ‘80s. The look is more streamlined than the original versions of yesteryear. “There are still panels on the roof,” said Hale, “but much more efficient.”

For more information, you can email chris@sunblueenergy.com, call (917) 386-5050, or visit SunBlueEnergy.com.

Like us on Facebook  |  Follow us on Twitter  |  Sign up for our newsletter