DE Self Storage Facility May Branch Out Into Green Roofs and Wind Power

Delaware’s Secure Self Storage has announced that its Rehoboth Beach facility is now running entirely on solar power. The Delaware facility stopped using the local electric utility on July 7. Making a further commitment to relying on renewable energy sources, Secure Self Storage is also considering installing turbines to generate wind power at that site and at its Coney Island, New York facility. In addition, Secure is looking at the possibility of an ecofriendly green roof -- a roof that is entirely or partially covered with vegetation -- for its facilities.

During the day, the solar panels that were installed at the Rehoboth Beach facility produce more than 100 percent of the energy that the facility needs to operate. Secure Self Storage sells that excess energy back to the local energy utility -- as if its electric meter was running backwards. Even at night, the solar panels still provide enough energy for 90 percent of the facility’s energy needs.

Secure Self Storage hopes to reduce its energy bills even more, by installing a green roof on all or part of its facility roofs in Rehoboth Beach and Coney Island. A green roof would be exactly what it sounds like -- green with plant life. Vegetation on a roof can insulate a building, keeping it warmer in the winter, and reduce water runoff, which can ease the strain on the sewer system in places like New York, where sewers are sometimes inundated by heavy rainstorms. Vegetation on a roof can also extend the life of the roof.

Secure Self Storage is also considering adding wind turbines at each of its sites to harness the energy of the wind. At facilities that are located near large bodies of water (such as the ocean, or an inland sea such as one of the Great Lakes), there is often plenty of wind to turn a turbine. With the use of wind turbines added to solar energy panels, it may be even easier for self storage facilities to generate more power than they use. When this occurs, renewable energy generators can be supplemental sources of income for a small business.

Sources used:

“Delaware’s Secure Self Storage adds solar-electric system.” Inside Self-Storage. Aug. 19, 2010.

Secure Self Storage.

“Secure Self Storage in Rehoboth now runs on solar power.” Your Renewable News. Aug. 24, 2010.