By Ivan Pereira
Thursday, September 30, 2010
For most of the 20th century, J. Sussman Inc. has been crafting and installing high-end windows in some of the most famous buildings around the nation and an installation that is set to be completed this week to the company’s Jamaica offices will help it become more energy efficient for the 21st century.
The glassware company, which has been family-owned since its inception in 1906, had more than 500 solar panel modules installed on 15,000 square feet of its roof at 109-10 180th St. Steven Sussman, co-owner of the business, said he was interested in going green not only to cut costs but also to help out the neighborhood environmentally.
“We decided … that it was a good time to put solar collectors on our roof,” said Sussman, the third-generation owner of the business along with his brother David.
Once the panels go online later this fall, they will be able to generate more than 143,000 kilowatts of energy a year, saving the company $20,000 annually. Sussman said the project will pay for itself in about three years and the speed of the payback was one of the reasons he approved of the installation.
“It’s a large enough savings that it helps us serve virtually all of our electric needs,” he said.
The company, which has 10 office employees and 40 workers who make the window frames, glass and other materials in the location’s main work area, also received some financial help from government subsidies and tax deductions from the government that total more than $469,000.
The 3.5-by-5.5-feet panels generate and store energy year-round and are installed in a special way to collect the sun’s rays, according to John Salmon, a spokesman for Solar Energy Systems LLC, the company that worked on the roof.
The panels are positioned at a 10-degree angle and located at the southernmost part of the roof, where the sun is located in the northern hemisphere, Salmon said.
“This way you can capture the grid in the most optimal way,” he said.
Jesse Cutuia, the project manager of Solar Energy Systems, the Greenpoint, Brooklyn, construction company responsible for the installation, said the building was built to handle the solar panels.
“It’s a relatively flat roof. There are few obstructions and it’s a relatively low roof so it’s easy to get on and off,” he said.
The roof is part of the company’s century-long legacy to Jamaica. For decades it has been widely regarded for creating and installing the best in specialty windows for churches, buildings and other properties.
J. Sussman Inc. has created windows for St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the dome of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., and movie productions.
“We are the oldest window company under the same family management,” he said.
The solar project was done in conjunction with Greater Jamaica Development Corp., which has been helping Jamaica businesses for years. Richard Werber, the GJDC’s director of business services group, said he hopes other companies in the area will follow suit and install the green devices on their roofs.
“We are coming at it with the question, ‘How can we help businesses here improve and do better in their jobs?’” he said.
