Boulder, Colorado, fraternity goes solar
Fraternity houses are not know for being eco-conscious. Most fraternities are known for their partying and campus irreverence than for any sort of environmental conscience. Fraternity houses are better known for piles of empty pizza boxes and beer cans than ecological tidiness.
Elephantjournal.com found at least one college fraternity in Boulder, Colorado, that was bucking the trend. The Kappa Sigma fraternity has added solar panels to the fraternity house. Of course the solar panels were added to the back of the fraternity house (probably because that’s were the most sun is) rather than the front of the house where solar panels might have been seen as ruining their fraternity image.
One fraternity member that was interviewed thought adding the solar panels was merely common sense. According to him, Colorado’s rebates, meant that the cost of the solar panels was reduced by 50 percent. The reduction in the solar panels meant that the fraternity would see a return on their investment much sooner than previously, making solar panels a wise investment. Or as the Kappa Sigma member put it, the fraternity added solar panels “just ’cause it makes sense.”
It’s hard to argue with “just ‘cause it makes sense”. Rebates have increased recently on the national level as well as in many states. Reducing the price means that “it makes sense” for more people to add solar panels because their return on investment will be realized much sooner. For most people, adding solar panels was seen as too expensive because it would take too long for the energy savings to pay for the improvement.
Just as the Kappa Sigma fraternity in Boulder, Colorado, found adding solar panels to be the smart thing to do, other college fraternity and sorority houses depending on their location, should also consider adding solar panels. Fraternities and sororities have to watch costs just like every other organization. Adding green features like better insulation and more energy efficient light fixtures to the houses may cost a bit upfront but will pay off quickly.
Solar panels just like computers and large screen TVs, are beginning to see an increase in sales because of more affordable pricing due to rebates. As the price of solar panels goes down, more people and organizations will buy them because the panels will save them money and increase the value of their buildings.
We are beginning to see a shift away from those environmental activists who can afford to buy solar panels to a broader segment of society who are buying them “just because it makes sense.”
Photograph courtesy of elephantjournal.com
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