The fact that electric costs for PPL customers, the Allentown-based company which serves nearly all of Lancaster County, will spike in 2010, has encouraged area residents to think seriously about alternative energy sources, Stern said.

The reason for the hike is that state-mandated caps on the generation portion of PPL bills — in place since 1999 — will expire at the end of 2009, the final step in the deregulation of PPL’s electric rates.

Which means that starting in 2010, PPL customers will pay the cost of power purchased by PPL on the open market.

Based on current prices for future power, PPL believes customer bills could increase by 20 to 30 percent, although PPL officials said it’s impossible to predict the impact.

Maybe not good news for PPL customers, but according to Stern, the reminder served as a wakeup call for many consumers to start thinking “outside the box” when it comes to energy sources.

“That news got a lot of people thinking about other ways to supplement their electric use,” he said.

SolarLion Inc., established in Intercourse in 1994, sells and installs photovoltaic solar panels, inverters and wind generators.

Dave Miller serves as the company’s vice president, and Michael Stoltzfus is its tech manager.

“We have 40 bids ready to go out to people looking for solar panels,” Stern said in late summer.

“All those calls came in within the past couple weeks.”

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Web site, photovoltaic cells — or solar cells — convert sunlight directly into electricity. Photovaltic systems use large panes composed of many solar cells connected together to work in unison.

The solar panels, which measure some 4 feet by 2 feet, are placed on the homeowner’s roof facing south, Stern said.

Rick Martin of Ephrata, owner of Wheatland Custom Homes, had solar panels installed in 1998 on the 3,400-square-foot custom contemporary home he built for himself in 1985.

Martin started with three panels but kept adding more, he said. Now his roof sports 24 panels.

“I am convinced I’m saving between $75 to $100 a month on my electric bills,” he said.

He uses the solar system to power appliances, including the refrigerator and freezer.

“A few times the power went out in the neighborhood, but not ours. I felt kind of guilty,” he said.

As the owner of a firm that builds homes, Martin said his company has yet to build a home that includes solar panels.

“We keep talking about it, but we haven’t done it yet,” he said.

Martin said he has yet to meet a customer who has expressed interest in solar panels.

“Most new home buyers would rather spend their money on updating the kitchen or bathroom,” he said.

Mervin Gingrich, co-owner of Gingrich Builders in Lititz, said his company, as a rule, does not install solar panels.

“For most builders they just cost too much to install,” he said.

Stern said he believes America is “behind when it comes to alternative energy sources.”

Japan is the fastest-growing nation when it comes to the photovoltaic market, according to the Global Energy Network Institute’s Web site.

Kauffman Gamber Physical Therapy, 804 New Holland Ave., became a solar-powered operation in July 2004, according to partner Tim Kauffman.

“The solar energy is used to power the lights and equipment and heat the water in our therapy pool,” Kauffman said.

Kauffman Gamber Physical Therapy received funding for the solar project through The Sustainable Energy Fund of Central Eastern Pennsylvania, which is dedicated to renewable energy, clean energy technologies, energy conservation and education.

According to its Web site, the SEF was founded in 1999 by the Pennsylvania Utilities Commission to benefit residential, commercial, institutional and industrial customers within the PPL energy service territory and throughout Pennsylvania.

Kauffman said working in a solar-powered environment is a natural mood booster.

“Our systems make me happy every day because I know I’m doing all I can to reduce my demands on the present electric grid.” Kauffman said.

SolarLion Inc. also sells a wide variety of energy efficient lighting sources, including light-emitting diode lights, cathode lighting and security lighting.

In fact, the company recently worked on a project with the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia.

According to Stern, they were hired to replace the halogen bulbs in the lobby of the luxury hotel with energy-efficient cold cathode bulbs.

Cold cathode light is a tubular light that works by passing an electrical current through a gas or vapor.

Cold cathode bulbs do not get hot, and the bulbs last about 50,000 hours, the longest life span of any lighting fixture. Halogen bulbs last about 2,000 hours.

Cold cathode bulbs take as little as 7.5 watts of electricity per foot.

“The hotel tells us they’ll save $12,000 a month in their electric bill with the new bulbs,” Stern said.

Stern said SolarLion goes above and beyond the call of duty for its customers.

“We design systems specifically for the customer. We install all of the systems ourselves and stand behind our products.”

Future projects include providing energy efficient lighting for amusement parks.

“With electric bills going up, businesses are going to have to resort to more energy-efficient means. If not, those costs will be passed on to the customer,” Stern said.

“For as small as we are we really are a leader in alternative energy sources.”