Portmore resident and small businessman, Morris Hutchinson points to the small tracking device attached to his solar panels that enable them to track the movement of the sun.> - Photos by Andrew Wildes

While a number of Jamaicans are hesitantly considering installing alternative energy systems within their homes, there is one man in Portmore, St Catherine, who has already gone all the way - and has no regrets.

Morris Hutchinson has not paid a single cent, to the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd, for electricity since February 2008 as his home is fully powered by what he describes as a Benz in the realm of alternative energy systems.

"Yuh have Benz, BMW, Honda and Corollas in terms of alternative energy systems," Hutchinson said.

"This is a fully integrated system, so you can be in Germany and shut down your house. You can go on your computer, see what is happening, see how much power you generate, how much kilowatt-hours you're using and so forth."

Brave leap

Hutchinson took the brave leap of investing a whopping $1.6 million in setting up the solar-wind hybrid energy system last year. Though it may seem expensive now. Hutchinson says, by no longer paying his $10,000-a-month light bill, he expects to recover his investment by as early as 2012!

It goes without saying that the system Hutchinson operates at his home has been meeting his energy needs. In fact, when The Gleaner visited his home, his monitoring system was recording that the system was fully charged and exceeding the amount of power that the batteries could possibly store.

"It basically run everything. It run fridge, microwave, AC, television, water pump, washing machine, clothes iron, ceiling fan, computer," he said, reeling off a list of appliances that are known for their high-electricity demands.

Hutchinson's Portmore home is a marvel to passers-by, with a towering 15-foot wind turbine erected on his roof and large solar panels surrounding his house. Though his house is not the largest of homes, the system Hutchinson uses currently produces as much as 400 kilowatts of power per month. That's equivalent, Hutchinson explains, to a home with an energy bill of approximately $12,000.

Hutchinson has now become somewhat of an advocate for solar energy as the head of Alternative Energy Plus, a small business he set up last year to provide the system to other interested Jamaicans. Hutchinson says the interest is slowly spreading.

Slacken off

"Yuh know Jamaicans. Wha day yah when light bill gwan up bad, an influx of people wanted systems. When light bills go back down, people start to slacken off. But now people are really trying to invest in even a small system," he said.

Hutchinson is so serious about draining the power of the sun that he also does what is called solar tracking. Solar tracking is done by placing the solar panels on a rack with a sensor, causing the solar panels to move in whatever direction the sun moves throughout the day.

"That gives you 40 per cent more. In my location here, I see 35 per cent more power just by putting the solar panels on a rack and tracking the sun," he said.

"So for people who have solar panels and keep them flat on their roofs, they are losing about 40 per cent of the total power you can maximise off it."

andrew.wildes@gleanerjm.com

Hutchinson points to his solar-wind hybrid energy system at his home in Portmore, St Catherine. He is the head of Alternative Energy Plus.