Will anyone see the (solar) light?

By Phoebe Sweet

Saturday, Aug. 11, 2007 | 7:08 a.m.

Even as a wave of green washes over America, as Al Gore wins an Oscar and Congress talks climate change, the sun gets so little respect.

Even though it's been powering satellites and calculators for decades, solar technology is still a hard sell.

Just ask Janie Lynn, president of Las Vegas -based Lighting and Electronic Designs Inc. - the company that designed the solar-powered running lights on the Luxor.

Her company is trying to persuade valley homeowners associations that use costly decorative gas lamps to replace them with solar ones.

Case in point: the homeowners association serving the gated North Las Vegas community The Parks, which wants to replace gas lamps that burn 24-hours a day and eat up a third of the association's operating budget. The lamps burn constantly to avoid the trouble and expense of relighting them each night.

The decision to say goodbye to a $9,000-a-month gas bill wasn't hard.

"When everything is going green, this is such an obvious waste," said Richard Chericho, president of The Parks homeowners association.

But the association is wavering on whether to replace them with solar fixtures or a low-voltage electric option.

Lynn said she could retrofit The Parks' 550 gas lamps with solar panels, batteries, bulbs and reflectors for less than $600 per light. Solar lamps would pay for themselves in about three years, and would no longer burn fossil fuels.

"It's the right time for it," said Jerry Laidman, vice president of product development for the lighting and design company.

But still, Chericho and his association are leaning toward installing low-voltage electric lights, which would cost less to run than gas lights and, at $440 per lamp, less to install than solar.

"We felt low-voltage electric posed the least future repair costs," he said. "With solar we have to be concerned with major vandalism repairs, making sure people keep their trees trimmed, battery replacements, park sprinklers hitting the solar collector."

The electric bill for low-voltage would average about $3,000 a year, but the product is ready-made, unlike the prototype solar devices.

But Lynn said not only is her solar product a good one - it comes with a five-year guarantee - but once one association gets on board with solar, it will get credibility and spread across the valley, neighborhood by neighborhood.

"There are a lot of associations that are looking at what happens with the first project and saying, 'If this is as good as (they) say it's going to be, we want in,' " Lynn said.

But someone has to be first.

Because the solar option is still untested on a large scale, Chericho said his association directors have doubts. A decision will require community approval, but solar looks like an underdog for now.

The solar industry at large struggles with the same problem, a perception that the technology is new or untested. And although advancements are being made all the time, some solar applications - think hot water heaters - date back years.

"As each new solar product is introduced, you see somewhat of a bandwagon effect," said Noah Kaye, spokesman for the Solar Energy Industry Association. "The more people learn about it , the more eager they are to adopt the technology."

Even Chericho, who isn't ready to gamble with his association's money on solar, admits the option would work.

"People don't think the technology is there," said Chericho. "They view this the same as the lawn lights that come from C hina."