Palouse Synergy Systems helps homeowners reduce energy costs (Revised)

From the mangrove-choked shores of Liberia to the wheat fields of Eastern Washington, Michael Carlton’s attempts to provide the public with energy-efficient homes and renewable energy have encountered resistance.

Carlton, owner of Palouse Synergy Systems, believes Eastern Washington could be transformed into a renewable energy leader if people understood the benefits.

“There is not enough of a market, because people don’t know what an energy audit or renewable energy would do for them,” Carlton said.

A home retrofit market that could help Americans reduce energy bills has been hindered by the lack of financing, quality information and workers like Carlton, according to a report released Oct. 18 by the White House.

His passion for helping others find sensible solutions for their energy problems started far from the rolling hills of Palouse, Wash. In 2007, while working as an internal affairs officer for the United Nations in Africa, Carlton tried to convince American diplomats to build wind turbines off the coast of Liberia. His request was greeted with skepticism. Instead, Carlton watched the shores of Liberia become proliferated with oil derricks.

“It would have been perfect, perfect,” Carlton said.

Seeing an unstable country suffer under the brutal reign of warlord Charles Taylor as it continued down the path of oil dependence was disconcerting for Carlton.

When he returned to his home in Palouse in June 2007, he decided a career change was needed.
After spending more than two decades as a police officer, he retired and started to read extensively about renewable energy.

“I was coming up on 50 years old," Carlton said. "I didn’t want to walk foot beats anymore.”
He built a wind turbine and started talking to neighbors about their energy needs. What started as a hobby quickly grew into a new business.

As the owner and operator of Palouse Synergy Systems, Carlton works closely with customers to locate wasteful energy habits and design flaws in homes. After an initial inspection, he makes recommendations that may include replacing windows or purchasing a solar hot water system.

“For a fraction of the cost of a renewable energy system, you can fix the house,” Carlton said. It’s easier to fix the house than it is to throw more energy at it.”

An energy audit performed by Palouse Synergy Systems can isolate enough energy problems in a home to reduce electricity costs by 25 to 40 percent, he added.

Though Carlton emphasizes conservation, he admits that wind energy is becoming more practical and that he would like to diversify his business by becoming a certified wind turbine installer.

His interest in wind energy is apparent to local residents when they drive south of town. Perched on a hill overlooking Palouse is Carlton’s home and a 120-foot tall Jacob’s wind turbine that generates 2,000 kilowatt hours of electrical power annually. For an average residence that uses 11,000 kilowatt hours every year, a wind turbine similar to Carlton’s could reduce electricity costs by 18 percent. Carlton also retrofitted his home with a solar water heating system that can reduce water heating bills by as much as 80 percent.

Avista Utilities spokesman Hugh Imhof said Avista has very few customers who can afford to retrofit their homes like Carlton.

“It takes 20 or 25 years before a $40,000 solar panel starts to save the customer money,” Imhof said.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided tax incentives for individuals to invest in energy-efficient products. According to the Internal Revenue Service, homeowners can now earn a $1,500 tax credit for making energy efficient improvements to their home.

Gwen Nolan, co-owner of Nolan’s Heating and Air, said residential home retrofits, including wind turbines, are becoming more popular because customers are using the federal stimulus money to defray costs.

Carlton is one step closer to erecting more wind turbines on the Palouse because the Whitman County Planning Commission approved a wind energy ordinance on Oct. 8.

“There are those who want to keep the status quo,” Carlton said at a Sept. 17 meeting of the county commissioners. “People who think we can just keep on keeping on, and people who think that because this is not a perfect step, we should not take it at all. History shows us that not only should we move beyond this type of thinking, but that we must.”

Though he was glad to see the wind ordinance pass, Carlton knows he still has work to do.

Watching the blades of his wind turbine slice through the air, Carlton explained why he became an advocate for wind energy.

“We can ask that others level mountains, drill holes and crawl through tunnels in the Earth to bring us energy or we can bear the very slight burden of turbines on our Palouse,” he said.