Here comes the sun
By Jim Hague, Reporter staff writer [Weehawken Reporter]

Accomplished artist Judith Wadia is an avid environmentalist who has fought hard for her Weehawken neighborhood. She is a regular at municipal meetings and freely speaks her mind. She also has a significant interest in solar energy.

"I feel strongly that we should do whatever we can to conserve energy and make the world a cleaner, healthier, safer place," Wadia said. "I have been interested in looking into solar energy for quite a long time. I tried to find someone who could do it for me, but it was difficult. There weren't a lot of people who do solar energy conversions."

Wadia found a Rumson-based firm, GeoGenix, Inc., that specializes in energy-saving design and construction, including the installation of solar energy.

According to Tom Matulewicz, one of the three partners who own GeoGenix, most of the firm's work in solar energy is done for commercial purposes, although there has been major interest lately in residential installation, thanks to a 70 percent rebate plan from the New Jersey Department of Clean Energy.

"It's actually been taking off like wild fire," Matulewicz said. "More people are becoming aware of what we can do for private homes. They are requesting estimates and see if they either qualify for the rebate or whether their homes can receive enough sunlight to receive the solar energy."

Last week, GeoGenix began the process that would convert both Wadia's art studio and home on Louisa Place to total solar energy.

According to solar engineer Colin Flynn, who helped with the installation, each solar panel holds 184 watts per panel at its peak output. It was determined that Wadia's home and studio would require 30 panels. Those panels were placed on the roof of her studio, which was a perfect location, because there was no obstacle to block the direct sunlight.

"This was absolutely a perfect spot, because it receives plenty of sunlight and nothing to provide shade," Flynn said.

Matulewicz showed a device called a "solar pathfinder," which determines how much shade a location gets at certain times of the day. Matulewicz said that most of New Jersey only receives about four and a half hours of direct sunlight per day, so the panels have to absorb the sunlight and store it for future use.

"Even on cloudy days, you can get some production," Matulewicz said. "When you're not using it, you're building up an account of power, and once you start to use it, you draw on that account. There's an ebb and flow of the electric current."

The company then dug a trench from the studio to Wadia's home that enabled the solar energy to reach her residence. Wadia will still have to pay regular Public Service Electric & Gas bills, but now, at a significantly reduced rate.

While the start-up costs range from $10,000 to $25,000 depending upon the size of the residence and the amount of panels necessary to provide sufficient energy, Matulewicz said that the 70 percent rebate plan makes the conversion more affordable.

"It is expensive," Matulewicz said. "Without the rebate, it doesn't make economic sense. But after the rebate and once you receive a much lower electrical bill, it basically pays for itself within seven to 10 years. That makes it lucrative for home use."

"The 70 percent rebate is what made it possible for me to do it," Wadia said.

Let the sunshine in

Matulewicz used to work for PSE&G in the 1970s, but then became interested in solar energy in the late 1970s, when the massive oil embargo began. At the time, President Jimmy Carter was providing energy credits for anyone who explored the possibility of solar energy.

So Matulewicz started his own firm, Temco Solar Construction, which was one of the biggest providers of solar energy construction in New Jersey. A few years later, GeoGenix was born.

Matulewicz said that installation usually takes about five days to complete. His firm completes approximately one job per week, so they do remain quite busy.

Wadia's conversion is the first residential project the firm has done in Hudson County.

Matulewicz said that the firm is in negotiations with the Jersey City Board of Education to look into the possibility of providing solar energy for some of the new Jersey City schools.

While the construction was ongoing at Wadia's home and studio, officials from the Weehawken Board of Education, namely Superintendent of Schools Kevin McLellan, Board President Richard Barsa, and Business Administrator Ronald Graham, paid a visit to the work site to discuss the options of solar energy in the Weehawken schools.

"Word of mouth is definitely important," Matulewicz said. "They'll all see that it becomes very cost efficient."

Wadia is excited about converting her home and studio to solar energy.

"The sun is glorious, it's powerful, it's inexhaustible and reliable," Wadia said. "And now, the sun will pay for my electric bill. What more could anyone else want? If we all do our part, the world will be cleaner, healthier and much safer. We won't have to drill for oil in Alaska, nor would we have to send thousands of soldiers to kill and be killed in Iraq. My main thrust for doing this was to save the environment and save people's lives."

For more information about the possibility of solar energy in the home, go to www.geogenix.com or call (732) 895-9550.

CHECKING THE SUN'S PATH - GeoGenix proprietor Tom Matulewicz (left) shows the solar pathfinder to Weehawken artist Judith Wadia, who had solar energy panels installed on the roof of her studio on Louisa Place.

SOLAR PANELS - The solar panels that were installed last week in Weehawken provide 184 watts per panel, enough to provide electricity to both a home and art studio.

REBATE PLAN - The state of New Jersey is offering rebates to people who install solar energy in their homes.

© The Hudson Reporter 2005