Southampton Fresh Air Home Now Operating On Solar Energy

The excitement is positively electric for staff and patrons of the Southampton Fresh Air Home, where a newly operational solar panel installation is already saving thousands for the Southampton-based camp.

Thanks to an anonymous donation of $100,000, the organization was able to install 168 solar panels on the property—enough to power the roughly six buildings at the camp, including four dormitories. The camp, which hosts children with physical disabilities, is expected to save roughly $13,500 annually because of the new eco-friendly energy source, money that Executive Director Thomas Naro said will be funneled back into the camp and, essentially, the campers.

“This is something that we are proud to have been able to do,” he said. “This is something that everybody should be looking into. I look at this as a badge of honor and as a teaching opportunity for children during the summer—it sets a good example for everybody who visits the home.”

Although the installation of solar panels has been in the back of Mr. Naro’s mind since 2009, the project became a reality with the anonymous donation last year. Immediately, the organization set to work to make it come to fruition, retaining the services of R&B Quality Electric of Patchogue, which, after roughly six months of planning, finished the installation in January.

To date, the solar panels on the property have generated roughly 8,600 kilowatt hours of power. Instantly, the Southampton Fresh Air Home started seeing monthly electricity bills decrease, saying that before the system was installed, the organization was paying an average of $2,000 a month in the offseason. For the month of February, the company paid $121—and that plummeted to zero dollars for the bill in April.

“I don’t want to say that it has wiped out our electric bill entirely, because it is still early,” Mr. Naro said. “But this is encouraging, because these are bills for February and March, not months that are particularly sunny—and we had a lot of bad weather this year to boot. So it is very exciting for us.”

This week, Brian Tymann of R&B Quality Electric said his company was excited to step in on the project, adding that he had spoken to Mr. Naro about solar almost a decade ago while working for a different company. This project, he explained, is roughly 10 times the size of a standard residential installation, and is even larger than most commercial projects, which typically focus on one building. For the not-for-profit, though, Mr. Tymann said he believed it was the right way to go.

“Solar is pretty straightforward stuff,” he said. “It has some very clear and quick benefits. I like to categorize solar as an investment, not expenditure, especially for people like Tom and their organization. It is an investment, because you will be saving money right away and earning a good return on the investment.”

With the project up and running, Mr. Naro said he hopes this is just the beginning for the camp in terms of being environmentally conscious.

This summer, Mr. Naro said he plans to incorporate the installations into educational moments for the campers, who return on June 24, so they can learn the environmental benefits of alternative energy sources. The camp is also wrapping up a renovation of the main building and preparing for its Decorators-Designers-Dealer Sale and Auction on June 2.

In the future, he said he wants to find other ways to reduce the camp’s carbon footprint, citing specifically his goal to reduce plastic usage on campus, adding that “little things can add up.”

For now, Mr. Naro said he is thrilled to have the panels, and is grateful for the $100,000 donation that made it possible.

“People have been very, very excited,” he said. “The board has been extremely supportive of the project since the start, and I think they are thrilled with the results. In general, environmental sustainability is very important for all of us, so I am proud the Fresh Air Home had this opportunity.”