Arch Electric LLC on cutting edge

Plymouth electrician Ed Zinthefer, who with his wife Mindy co-owns Arch Electric LLC, is on a mission to create public awareness about the benefits of alternative energy – solar-electric systems and windpowered systems.

“Solar-electric systems convert sunlight to electricity, while wind- turbine systems convert wind to electricity. These systems then send the electricity back to the electric utility grid – thereby offsetting a homeowner’s or business’s electrical consumption. In some cases, this results in a net-zero billing or produces more electricity than a building needs.

In Wisconsin, various utilities credit a homeowner or business for excess solar or wind-produced electricity. Specific terms for the net-billing laws and regulations vary from utility to utility.

The company that Zinthefer founded in 2003 is a fully insured, electrical service provider for industrial, commercial and residential needs and has six electricians on staff. He and his wife are also one-third shareholders in another company – Renewable Energy Solutions, located in Waukesha.

Business is booming at the Zinthefers’ in-home office, Arch Electric LLC, 4499 Sumac Road, Plymouth. Zinthefer and his staff are hired for jobs statewide – however, mainly serving customers in Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Kenosha and Waukesha counties. Most of the jobs entail installation of renewable energy systems, either solar or wind-turbine systems.

Here in the Plymouth area, Arch Electric LLC electricians are in the process of installing a polemounted, solar tracking unit on Dave Lagerman’s home on County U. The system is slated for completion in December.

“Dave installed a small solar system himself about 10 years ago, but he wanted a larger system,” Zinthefer said.

Lagerman will sign a buy-back agreement with Plymouth Utilities to sell 100 percent of all the electricity his solar system produces at 30 cents per KWh (kilowatt hour), while purchasing electricity from the utility during non-sunlight hours at a rate of 12.4 cents per kWh.

“This will provide Dave with a positive cash flow,” Zinthefer said.

Lagerman serves on the Plymouth Intergenerational Center (PIC) Committee. “The committee is also evaluating the feasibility of installing a solar system on the building that will be constructed for the new Plymouth Intergenerational Center,” Zinthefer said.

In 2005, he and his employees installed a pole-mounted solar tracker on the Zinthefer property, which reduces the electric bill by one-third the cost.

“We have a 10-year, pay-back contract with WE Energies at 22½ cents per kwh,” he said.

Some other projects, among the many, that Arch Electric completed or is working on at this time include:

. Current installation of a large, roof-mounted 27KW roof-mounted solar system at Concordia University in Mequon.

. Installation of a roof-mounted 28KW solar system on Crown of Life Church and School in Hubertus.

. Installation of two pole-mounted solar systems – one tracking and one fixed – in front of the Lakeshore Technical College Trade & Industrial building in Cleveland.

. Installation of a 15KW solar system on the roof of Shorewood High School in Shorewood.

Zinthefer noted that solar-electric and wind-powered systems range in price from $15,000 for some home systems to $250,000 for larger commercial systems.

However, “There are subsidies for residences, businesses and non-profits like schools and churches, which in some cases reduce the cost of the systems by 50 percent,” he explained.

For example, “Focus on Energy will provide a subsidy of up to 35 percent of the cost. And WE Energies has grants of up to $100,000 for non-profits to install solar systems,” he said.

“For-profit and residential consumers receive up to 25 percent of the cost from Focus on Energy, a 30 percent federal tax credit and accelerated bonus appreciation, if eligible,” he added. “These systems cannot be accessed for property taxes either.”

Zinthefer is acclaimed for his expertise on renewable energy systems. A Campbellsport native, he earned a prestigious certification in 2007, from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners. He was one of the first electricians in Wisconsin to acquire this certification.

“The closest electricians having this certification are in Green Bay and Madison,” he said.

He has acquired a wealth of experience within the past 20 years. From 1989-94, he attended Milwaukee Area Technical College in the evenings, while working days as an apprentice for Specht Electric Inc. in Sheboygan.

After he earned his journeyman electrician certification through MATC, he continued working at Specht Electric for the following nine years, earned his Master Electrician certification, then went into business on his own

“When I first started the business, I had one garage to wire for a friend,” he said. “I started out on a garage and a prayer.

“Fortunately, work started coming in,” he noted. “And due to the downturn of the economy, people were looking for work. So I got to hand-pick my employees.”

When Zinthefer and some employees took training courses on solar-electric systems in 2003, “We were scoffed at by peers,” he recalled. “When we started educating ourselves at that time, we thought it was just for our own interest and not for a revenue-producing reason.”

That year, “We installed one solar-electric system for ourselves on a 14-foot cargo trailer, a job trailer. It is a mobile, solar-power generating trailer with storage batteries inside,” he recalled.

The trailer, with its roof full of solar panels, is used as a disaster- recovery power station during utility outages.

Presently, “Ninety-five percent of our work is installing renewable energy systems – solar or wind systems,” Zinthefer said.

He completed solar-power training seminars at MREA (Midwest Renewable Energy Association), located in Stevens Point. Currently, Zinthefer is an instructor for some solar-energy classes at MREA. His next teaching assignment there is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7 and Sunday, Nov. 8.

He also teaches an evening course – Solar for Homeowners – for Lakeshore Technical College at Plymouth High School, an LTC satellite location.

Teaching comes naturally for him, as he served as a drill instructor in the U.S. Army Reserves and for the latter part of his 23-year stint in the Reserves, trained other drill instructors.

Last week Zinthefer attended a five-day solar conference, the largest one of its type in the nation, in Anaheim, Calif.

He is convinced that alternative energy systems are crucial in solving our country’s energy problems. Zinthefer commended the late Thomas Edison, American inventor of a long lasting light bulb, for his foresight, expressed through a statement Edison made to Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone back in 1931.

“I’d put my money on solar energy,” Edison said. “I hope we don’t have to wait ‘til oil and coal run out, before we tackle that.”

Note: For further information about solar-electric or wind-powered systems, phone 892-7807.