Atlantic Green Energy Helps Customers Go Green Gradually

Go Green Gradually is George Hurley's motto when he talks to customers visiting his Atlantic Green Energy Solar Store about the various alternative energy products he sells that not only sustain the environment but also help customers save money.

He says the phrase is transparent: Every single thing an individual, family or business can do to transform wasteful habits and practices into green ones contributes to sustainability has a cumulative and synergistic effect. But like the proverbial journey of a thousand miles, one small step, taken step after step, will get customers where they want to go.

Atlantic Green Energy offers a range of energy and money-saving products, from the K-Shield reflective barrier, capable of reflecting 97 percent of the heat that penetrates the ceiling back into the house, to solar attic fans, solar panels, Energy Star rated windows, solar generators, and reflective window insulator shades and blinds that you can see through. Construction industry veterans, Hurley and his partner, Jack Haritas, run Atlantic Green Energy, catering to home owners and business owners in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts from their location at 255 Lafayette Road, in Seabrook.

On a sun-splashed beach day, Hurley demonstrates the effectiveness of one of his products, the K-Shield, comparing an insulated attic with a K-Shield barrier and one without. He heats each side with a similar heating source simulating the hotness in an attic that is penetrating into a home. Each side of the display is being measured by a thermometer, the only difference being that one side has the K-Shield over the insulation.

Before starting, both gauges show a temperature of less than 80 degrees. Hurley turns on the heating source, explaining that without the reflective radiant barriers in place the heat in the attic builds up and gradually penetrates into the house. The insulation absorbs the heat and a home dweller pays to cool this heat so he or she can sleep. The K-shield does just the opposite during the winter months by reflecting the heat you've paid for back into your home or office saving you hundreds over the years. Five minutes after Hurley turned on the heat source the side without the K-Shield jumps to 130 degrees while the side with the K-Shield stays at 80 degrees.

The K-shield comes in 4-by-125-foot rolls and costs $156 per roll. The average home needs two rolls, costing $312. And you're going to get 30 percent back in federal tax credits, Hurley says. Businesses with flat roofs can save on their heating and cooling by installing the K-Shield on the back side of the ceiling tiles. The K-Shield comes with a Class A, Class 1 fire rating, safe to install anywhere.

Atlantic Green Energy also sells: 

• Induction lighting, which lasts 100,000 hours - about 20 to 22 years - will save 30 to 75 percent of the energy it costs to run the bulb. 
• Solar inflector/window insulators that will save 30 percent of heating and cooling costs and make the classroom or office that much more comfortable during the winter months. Remember how hot it got sitting in class during the months of May-June and September-October? This product solves that without blocking out light and students, business owners and home owners can still see outside.
• Solar panels that can lower electric costs dramatically. Grid-tied solar power systems connect to an inverter, and the electricity then goes to the dwelling's electric panel. Energy that isn't used goes back to the grid, and the utility company will reimburse the property owner in credits that can be used during the winter months, offsetting electric bills. During the winter, solar panels produce less electricity because the sun is lower in the sky, than they do during the summer months. Installing solar will save thousands of dollars and will make the property owner money from the rebates and credits.            
• Solar generators can provide back-up power to run a refrigerator, lights, the heating system, pumps and anything else that needs power. No more running for gas or putting up with the noise or dealing with harmful fumes.
• EFOY fuel cells provide reliable power ranging up to 90 watts for mobile and portable applications and are great product for boats, RVs or for anything that needs batteries.

Atlantic Green Energy is a business partner of the Green Alliance, a local green business union that certifies its member businesses green and advocates greener choices to the public. Individual members of the Green Alliance receive exclusive discounts on all Atlantic Green Energy's products.

The outlook is good, Hurley says about business, which is starting to pick up. As for going green gradually, Hurley says, Whatever you can do to save energy by recycling or installing energy saving products we all benefit. And we look forward to working with you and solving your energy problems. 

For more information about Atlantic Green Energy, visit www.atlanticge.com, drop in at the Solar Store in Seabrook, or call 603-474-2550. For more information about Green Alliance, visit www.greenalliance.biz.