Fifty-four
solar panels were installed atop Durst Funeral Home in Frostburg. They are
expected to provide up to 90 percent of the electricity needed for the funeral
home and on-site residence.
FROSTBURG — The Durst Funeral Home was established
at its current site in the Historic District on Frost Avenue in 1952. Until
recently, the owners, John and Sandy Durst, could not have imagined its most
recent update — 54 solar panels on the roof. But after attending a 2014 SOLAR Saturday
event in Frostburg, they decided to take the plunge.
Installed in less than four days in May, the panels are expected to provide up
to 90 percent of the electricity needed for the funeral home and on-site
residence — a remarkable percentage considering as many as 100 lights might be
in use during a visitation period at the funeral home. In the first 30
days, the rooftop solar panel system produced a surplus of energy.
Although the Frostburg mayor and City Council celebrated with the Dursts
in an “un-plugging” ceremony, the funeral home has not actually
unplugged from the electric grid. That is because even though the solar panel
system produces a surplus in the summer, it might not in the winter months when the need for
electricity is as great but the sunlight is in shorter supply.
Betsy Delozier, master mechanic and owner of BIG D Electric,
First Peoples Community Federal Credit Union, City Hall and the city’s Historic
District Commission all played a part in the success of the Dursts’ effort.
Delozier was one of the installers who presented at that
SOLAR Saturday event in 2014. Her company has installed numerous residential
and commercial solar panel systems in the area. The process begins with initial
contact, gathering specific site data, designing the proposed solar panel
system and handling the paperwork for her clients. It ends, after receiving the
necessary approvals, with the installation itself.
Delozier estimates that the Durst Funeral Home solar
panel system will pay for itself in roughly five years. It will be a return on
investment “in 4.68 years at today’s rate,” she said.
Delozier also pointed out that the system at Durst Funeral
Home “utilizes an optimizer on each solar panel to get the maximum efficiency
as well as increase safety.”
This means that while the system of panels works as a
“team,” each panel can be monitored separately for its production. And, if a
panel temporarily has problems, the other panels continue to produce
electricity while that panel can be identified and addressed individually.
First Peoples is the financial partner as it underwrote 75
percent of the cost of the entire system.
City Hall staff was involved in the general permitting
process as a construction project and as staff to the Historic District
Commission. Established in 1975, the commission, comprised of five appointed
volunteers, meets monthly to review applications while upholding its mission
“to safeguard and preserve the rich heritage of the city by protecting historic
properties in the downtown and residential neighborhoods.”
In the case of the funeral home solar panel system,
approval from the commission, the first of its kind, demonstrated that
preserving the past and considering current economic issues need not be in
conflict with each other. Additionally, by approving this first solar panel
system in the Historic District, a substantial economic investment was
supported.
The next SOLAR Saturday, which will focus on residential
solar panels, is July 18 beginning at 9 a.m. at City Place in Frostburg.
The event is part of the city’s continued focus on sustainability and
resilience.
The Durst Funeral Home will be one of two site
focuses. Presentations will also be made by Delozier and City Hall staff.
The event is free and open to the public with ample free
parking nearby.
Pictured
at a recent “un-plugging” ceremony are, back from left, Woody Getz, Frostburg
Commissioner of Public Works; Donny Carter, Commissioner of Finance; Mayor
Robert Flanigan; Walter Mackay, Commissioner of Public Safety; Brian Alderton,
Commissioner of Water, Parks and Recreation; and Rob Rephan, Frostburg Historic
District Commission member. Front, Nicholas Durst, funeral director, holding
son Brock; his wife, Jackie, holding Addison; Stephanie Durst, office manager;
John and Sandra Durst, Durst Funeral Home owners; Betsy Delosier, Big D
Electric; and Kathy Connelly, branch manager of Frostburg First Peoples Credit
Union.