written by Charlene Brown, Lookin Green Magazine - July 2010 edition. Interview with Robert Allen, Co-Owner Luma Resources:
The issue was that the solar systems up to this point were vertical sore points and didn’t work for most residential roofs. That led my brother Gary to visualize a horizontal one-piece solar kit that can be installed virtually anywhere on the roof – for almost any rooftop to generate clean renewable energy anywhere around the globe. .
For the past sixty years, Allen Brothers Inc. has been designing and installing custom roofs for their customers. Today Gary and me realize a new potential to provide not only shelter for our customers, but also a roof of gold - as solid as the sun. In 2007, we launched LUMA Resources LLC, to market our patented, UL-approved building integrated photovoltaic LUMA solar roof system.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZdEmjtF6HE
Excerpt from Remarks by the President in State of Union Address United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.- January 25, 2011. "Already, we’re seeing the promise of renewable energy. Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11th, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon. But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard. Today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country. In Robert’s words, 'We reinvented ourselves.'
"That’s what Americans have done for over 200 years: reinvented ourselves. And to spur on more success stories like the Allen Brothers, we’ve begun to reinvent our energy policy. We’re not just handing out money. We’re issuing a challenge. We’re telling America’s scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we’ll fund the Apollo projects of our time.
"That dream -– that American Dream -– is what drove the Allen Brothers to reinvent their roofing company for a new era. It’s what drove those students at Forsyth Tech to learn a new skill and work towards the future. And that dream is the story of a small business owner named Brandon Fisher."
Lookin' Green Magazine - July 2010 edition, cont'd... The advantage of installing the LUMA solar system is that for the roof area where it is installed the solar modules act as the roof itself - no need for roofing underneath. The solar system follows the pitch of the existing roof – it seamlessly integrates to become the covering for that area of the roof and there is no penetration. It’s perfect for both new construction and existing roofing.
With a couple skilled installers and electricians, in a matter of hours the customer can have a new clean power system on the roof.
Matter of fact, two months ago we integrated a 1.26 kW system, estimated to supply about 20 percent of the energy at John Sarver’s home in Lansing. Sarver is the Manager of Renewable Energy at the Michigan Bureau of Energy.
The Sarvers invested $9,000 and will collect a 30 percent Federal tax credit. For every watt generated, the public utility, Consumers Energy, will pay $0.65 per kWh under the feed-in-tariff rate schedule. The family pays just about $0.11 per kWh for energy usage. And as long as the sun keeps rising every morning, in about nine years the Sarvers will get a full payback.
The Sarver home has several mature trees and lots of shading, so we took the time to evaluate and design an installation for the greatest output on a small section of the south-facing roof area. And here’s where the LUMA expertise comes in, our solar kits were developed by roofers for homeowners who care about an ascetically beautiful roof.
“At first, my wife was concerned about how the solar kit would look against our new shingles,” said John Sarver. “But she was well pleased when she saw how well the system blended in with the house.”
During this current economic downturn, residential solar installation has been pretty bleak. But in December 2009, we received $500,000 from the state of Michigan, as part of the American Recovery Act. Right away, we injected those funds into full production of the LUMA solar kit. We are changing this downturn into a head start toward national energy independence, which lets customers keep more of their wealth at home.
Sarver said, “Electricity price is only going up and from my experience, I recommend that homeowners take a look at this solar system. You can, in a sense, get some free electricity from the golden sun.”
