Orange County NC Website
(Please feel free to add rows if necessary to show any additional units of impact.) <br />P a g e 1 0 o f 1 5 <br />24. Please describe any avoided financial costs or <br />savings related to the project and over what period <br />of time those costs will be avoided/reduced: <br />Each family will save an estimated $65 per month <br />initially on their electricity bill. This figure will <br />increase as the cost of electricity increases with <br />time. Without factoring in additional savings based <br />on electrical rate increases, the savings will be <br />$327,600 over 30 years. <br />25. Does your project accelerate or expand on <br />existing programs that already show positive <br />impact? <br />Orange County Habitat completed its first rooftop <br />solar installation on Odie Street in Hillsborough in <br />early 2021. Southern Energy Management <br />provided the equipment at cost and donated their <br />labor. East Chapel Hill Rotary raised the remaining <br />$6,500 through donations. <br /> <br />Nine more solar installations were completed in <br />2021-2022 through support from the Climate <br />Action Grant, with four additional projects in <br />progress. The first slightly smaller solar installation <br />(5.1 kWh system) has saved the homeowners <br />approximately $750 on their electric bill in the first <br />12 months after installation. <br /> <br />Habitat is already seeing exciting results for <br />participating homebuyers. In April 2022, one <br />household with solar panels in Hillsborough was <br />able to produce as much energy as they used for <br />the entire month. We hope to build on these <br />successes with the goal of offering solar to all <br />buyers on lots where it is a viable option. <br /> <br />The proposed project seeks to accelerate and build <br />on these successes to ensure that solar panels can <br />be a standard practice for Habitat’s new home <br />construction program moving forward. The <br />support of Orange County in the first two years of <br />this effort has also been critical to lay the <br />groundwork for national impact. The success of <br />this local initiative has encouraged a discussion <br />between Rotary and Habitat at the national level <br />and has the potential to transform building <br />practices in the affordable housing market. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 9E4C108B-9C5C-4E75-9AF1-C4CA2E16CEC5