Bruce and Teri Schwindt love living in their solar powered recreational vehicle. Schwindt said he probably would have put solar panels on the vehicle anyhow, but the $3,000 towards the $7,100 system he received from the Wyoming Business Council allowed him to install a larger system than he otherwise would have.
CHEYENNE—Few people can claim to have a life-style as free as the one enjoyed by Bruce and Teri Schwindt.
They spend nine months out of the year in Wyoming and use the winter months to travel throughout the Southwest, mainly in Arizona, to pursue their interest in muzzleloader hunting.
The key to their nomadic ways is that they do not own a house. Instead, home is their RV.
"We just kind of have that life-style," Bruce Schwindt said.
The accommodations are lean but sufficient, and finding a source of electricity to live on was often a concern when on the road.
They had to rely on either a noisy generator or a friendly relative who would let them plug into a power source.
That is now less of a worry after the couple recently had a $7,100 solar panel energy system installed on top of their RV, thanks in part to a $3,000 grant from the Wyoming Business Council.
The four-panel system produces up to 24 amps under bright and constant sunlight.
Bruce, 52, explained that the power from the panels runs to six 6-volt deep-cycle marine batteries that feed into a 3,000-watt inverter, which turns direct-current voltage into alternating-current voltage that can be used to power lights and appliances in the vehicle.
An interior display screen lists how many amps are charging at a given time.
"When the sun’s shining, it’s charging. It’s so cool," Bruce said of the system.
While small, the couple’s home has many of the appliances found in a typical house, including a vacuum cleaner, computer, television, microwave and refrigerator.
"Last night, we turned on our electric blankets," Bruce said.
Under mild sunlight the system will generate 13 amps. The Schwindts expect to reach the 24-amp maximum throughout most days in the hot Arizona sun.
The Wyoming Business Council has funding to award up to 25 grants a year to applicants who install a photovoltaic, or solar power energy system, on their homes. The grants can be as large as $3,000 to cover half the cost of a system. The system must not have already been installed at the time of the application, and it has to be used on a primary residence.
"They have a primary residence, they just move it more than most people," Dale Hoffman, state energy program manager for the Business Council, said of the Schwindts.
The program started slowly in 1996, generating fewer than 10 applications in its first year, Hoffman said. It has since gained in popularity. Last year, the Business Council received 47 applications.
If more than 25 applications are received this year, Hoffman said, a random drawing will be held including all of the eligible applications to determine who is awarded a grant.
The Schwindts lived in Laramie for 10 years, but now use Pavillion, a town of 165 people northwest of Riverton, as their home base. Teri, 51, has a sister there who owns 10 acres, enough space for them to easily park their home when they are in town.
The couple says they are still learning the entire potential of the solar panel system, including which appliances drain the most sun-powered charge. However, they already know it will make their already free lives even more unfettered.
"If we go out and park in the desert, we can sew or do whatever and before we couldn’t do any of that," Teri said.
The Schwindts said they were able to afford an early retirement based on Bruce working as an electrician at construction jobs throughout the country. He would live in an RV while on the road to cut down on expenses.
In the meantime, the couple invested in real estate, primarily in Wyoming and Arizona. They fixed up properties and sold them or served as landlords to be able to finance their travels.
More and more RV’s are coming equipped with Solar Panels. It’s really nothing new. Twenty years ago I ran into an old friend. I mean really old. He was 91 and still pulling an Airstream Travel Trailer all over the country. He made his fortune as the Porta Potty king and also owned Thedford Corporation, the company that manufactures the majority of plumbing fixtures to the RV industry. His name was Frank Sargent. He had a specially built 26 foot Airstream. The roof was loaded with solar panels. He said, "Dick E. Bird when I park I don’t plug-in, people plug-in to me!
