Self Storage Tips

Solar power is one of the best alternative sources of energy that is available today. Solar power converts energy from the sun into electricity through photovoltaic effect and by heating a transfer fluid to produce steam to power a generator. Solar power is environment friendly, renewable, and unlimited. Solar power units also require little maintenance since they have no moving parts that need to be fixed. Solar power equipment are relatively easy to install since most of them are wireless. Because of its advantages, solar power has steadily gained acceptance as an alternative source of energy for various uses. Solar energy has been used for lighting, heating, cooling, ventilation, and desalination. Solar energy has also been used to run cars, balloons, and, satellites.

Solar power has also gradually gained acceptance as an alternative source of energy for self storage facilities. Self storage facilities are buildings or personal property cargo transit containers that are rented to tenants on a monthly basis. In August 2007, Bridge Storage, a self storage company based in Richmond, California, installed a 26 kilowatt DC solar energy system over its facilities. With this event, Bridge Storage became one of the first self storage facilities to adapt solar energy in the East Bay area. Bridge Storage's solar power system has 130 solar modules, each capable of generating up to 200 watts of electricity. Bridge Storage plans to use the clean energy form its solar PV system to displace around 1.2 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions for a period of 25 years.

In the North Bay area, the SolarCraft Company has installed a 35 kilowatt solar power electric system for North Bay Self Storage and Southpoint Lofts in Petaluma, California. The solar power system provides about 85% of North Bay Self Storage's electricity requirements. North Bay Self Storage's solar power system generates electricity that is enough to power 10 houses. The system also allows the self storage facility to prevent the emission of about 60 tons of greenhouse gases each year. Solar Craft is one of the leading solar energy contractors in California. Solarcraft has provided solar thermal and solar electric facilities and services for over 22 years. The company has installed about 4,000 solar energy systems in California equivalent to an estimated one million square feet of solar energy collectors. These solar power facilities have help prevent the emission of around 24,000 tons of greenhouse gases each year.

In Contra Costa County, California, Acorn Self Storage has installed solar panels on its rooftops to generate clean energy. It plans to go on a joint venture with a solar panel manufacturer to use its facilities to generate more efficient solar power production and decrease the area's dependence on fossil fuel energy. In Sacramento, Bergqam Energy Systems Inc. has developed a hot-water solar heating system that is used to supply energy to air-conditioning and heating systems for buildings. James Bergqam, owner of the self storage company, believes that solar collectors are perfect for air-conditioning and heating purposes since self storage facilities usually have wide rooftops. Solar collectors can even help produce cold air by circulating chilled water through coils and distributing it as cold and conditioned air. Bergqam believes that solar energy is more cost effective in the long run although they are relatively more expensive than traditional heating and cooling systems. Since solar panels have no moving parts, they require little maintenance or replacement expenses.

ElectriCare Inc., a leading provider of solar energy solutions in the Inland Empire area, has installed a 92.4 kilowatt DC (532 panels) solar power system in the Menifee Ranch self storage facility. The Menifee Ranch self storage facility provides individual and corporate storage services, warehousing, and enclosed RV storage services. Its new rooftop solar power system generates enough electricity to meet all the electricity requirements of the entire facility and reduce its electricity costs.

The Fiesta Mesa self storage facility in Arizona has recently installed specially designed solar voltaic panels on its roof to meet all of the facility's power requirements and also generate excess power that will be sold to the local electricity utility company. The Fiesta Mesa self storage facility also plans to install special exterior panels that have more insulation capacity than most building panels of similar price range. The facility's solar power generation system will supply both high and low voltage electricity.

Payless Self Storage facility in Richmond, California, has an 80 kilowatt solar power system that can generate electricity to power around 20 average homes. The facility has a total area of 43,000 square feet with units for climate controlled storage. The company decided to adopt solar energy systems when power costs increased in 2006. Payless Self Storage facility aims to generate about 12,000 kilowatt/hours per month to completely eliminate its electricity costs and generate extra electricity to supply power to electric vehicles. The facility also installed amorphous PV modules that help generate solar power electricity during foggy or cloudy climate conditions.

In Hawaii, the Maui Electric Company (MECO) recently installed two 1.25 kilowatt solar power systems to generate electricity for Lanai High and Elementary School. This is part of the Sun Power for Schools Program which is a joint project of MECO, the Hawaii Department of Education, and the Electric Power Research Institute.

If you own a self storage facility, using solar power can be a good option if you want to reduce energy costs and increase your income. Solar power facilities help reduce electricity costs by allowing you to generate your own electricity instead of buying it from a local electricity provider. As a result, your net operating income is increased which adds market value to your facility in case you want to sell or refinance it. Since you are substituting loan or lease payments for electricity costs, you are able to accumulate equity for your self storage facility. The loan or lease on your facility can be considered as a mortgage on your property. The level of equity appreciation for your facility is based on the amount of electricity costs that you save and the local cap rates.