In shunning modern technology, the Amish in northeast Ohio keep their homes free of electric and telephone wires. But a growing number of rooftops are sporting solar panels.
Hundreds of Amish are taken with getting energy from the sun. They see it as a safe alternative to natural gas and kerosene as a source of light.
Livestock farmer Owen Nisley of nearby Charm said getting power through solar panels is “no different from my cows eating the grass that has captured the sun’s energy. ... We love the solar, even in the winter when there are a lot of dark days.”
The equipment has become so prevalent that the environmental group Green Energy Ohio is organizing an Amish Country tour during the American Solar Energy Society’s 36th annual convention, July 7-12, in Cleveland. About 1,800 people from across the nation are expected to attend the conference and trade show.
Squaring solar panels with the Amish tradition of forgoing the fancy is easy for Jake Raber, co-owner of The Lighthouse of Ohio Distribution in Fredericksburg.
“I am a Christian and I am Amish. But being Amish is not a religion. It’s a way of life,” Raber said. “Being Amish means being independent.”
Raber and his wife, Betty, ordered $50,000 worth of solar panels last year from suppliers in Michigan and Japan and sold them all. Many of his customers are Amish families who don’t require the amounts of electricity their non-Amish neighbors use.
The non-Amish also have become interested in Raber’s product. Most are homeowners worried about the environment, fed up with high electric bills or fearful of the next blackout.
Installing enough solar power to provide all the electricity a typical Ohio home uses could cost as much as $20,000 to $25,000, said Raber, who recommends starting with a blackout backup system and slowly adding panels over
Livestock farmer Owen Nisley of nearby Charm said getting power through solar panels is “no different from my cows eating the grass that has captured the sun’s energy. ... We love the solar, even in the winter when there are a lot of dark days.”
The equipment has become so prevalent that the environmental group Green Energy Ohio is organizing an Amish Country tour during the American Solar Energy Society’s 36th annual convention, July 7-12, in Cleveland. About 1,800 people from across the nation are expected to attend the conference and trade show.
Squaring solar panels with the Amish tradition of forgoing the fancy is easy for Jake Raber, co-owner of The Lighthouse of Ohio Distribution in Fredericksburg.
“I am a Christian and I am Amish. But being Amish is not a religion. It’s a way of life,” Raber said. “Being Amish means being independent.”
Raber and his wife, Betty, ordered $50,000 worth of solar panels last year from suppliers in Michigan and Japan and sold them all. Many of his customers are Amish families who don’t require the amounts of electricity their non-Amish neighbors use.
The non-Amish also have become interested in Raber’s product. Most are homeowners worried about the environment, fed up with high electric bills or fearful of the next blackout.
Installing enough solar power to provide all the electricity a typical Ohio home uses could cost as much as $20,000 to $25,000, said Raber, who recommends starting with a blackout backup system and slowly adding panels over years.
“You can pay an awful lot of electric bills with that kind of money,” he said. “But these panels last 20, 25, 50 years. What is your electric bill going to be in 25 years?”
Keim Lumber in Charm opened as a sawmill in 1911. The Mennonite family owned business has more than 130,000 square feet of retail space and is making a special display room for solar power equipment.
“The need is there,” said David Beachy, Keim’s head of sales, who like many of Keim’s employees is Amish. “We are working with installers. The key will be to find good installers.”
It’s the same story at Suncrest Solar just outside Berlin where veteran installers Reuben Miller and his son Jonathon are working hard to meet demand. The two have done 500 installations in the last few years, and in the last two years have been doing a good deal of 12-volt wiring jobs for Amish homeowners.
“Gradually, people are learning what you can do with a solar system,” said Reuben Miller. “You can use it for lighting but also for sewing, running mixers, blenders, sweepers, even washing machines.”
That the Amish are embracing a 21st-century technology, having skipped most of the 20th century, is not lost on Jonathon Miller.
years.
“You can pay an awful lot of electric bills with that kind of money,” he said. “But these panels last 20, 25, 50 years. What is your electric bill going to be in 25 years?”
Keim Lumber in Charm opened as a sawmill in 1911. The Mennonite family owned business has more than 130,000 square feet of retail space and is making a special display room for solar power equipment.
“The need is there,” said David Beachy, Keim’s head of sales, who like many of Keim’s employees is Amish. “We are working with installers. The key will be to find good installers.”
It’s the same story at Suncrest Solar just outside Berlin where veteran installers Reuben Miller and his son Jonathon are working hard to meet demand. The two have done 500 installations in the last few years, and in the last two years have been doing a good deal of 12-volt wiring jobs for Amish homeowners.
“Gradually, people are learning what you can do with a solar system,” said Reuben Miller. “You can use it for lighting but also for sewing, running mixers, blenders, sweepers, even washing machines.”
That the Amish are embracing a 21st-century technology, having skipped most of the 20th century, is not lost on Jonathon Miller.
“I guess we stumbled into it,” he said. “I would say what started it were the battery-powered buggy lights. After that, people started seeing what else they could do. It’s about safety.”
