Changing my home from blue to green!

[Richard Crowe]

I’ll bet you expected a Photoshop tutorial on how to change colors of an image. This has nothing to do with Photoshop or any other editing program. I changed the color of my home from blue to “GREEN” by switching TO SOLAR ELECTRIC GENERATION…

Since I live in an area that has ample sunshine (at least 260 sunny days per year), I generate plenty of solar power for my needs. I would expect that in areas in which sunny days are not so abundant, solar generation might not be as cost effective as it is where I live…

I am connected to the local power company grid and draw my night time or cloudy day electricity from the grid, applied against the power I have generated. The nice thing is that I use less power at night or on cloudy days since my primary power usage is for air conditioning. The power that I generate will always be more that the power that I consume...

HOWEVER, in the event of an outage of the power grid due to some calamity, I can disconnect from the power grid and use two 1,500 watt electrical receptacles which can work independent of the grid…

That way, I would have enough power during the day to run my freezer and my refrigerator. As long as I did not open the units at night (when no power is being generated) I could keep my food cold/frozen for the limited time that the power is off. I could also recharge my phone and other batteries, use my TV for information, as well as do limited cooking using my 1,100 watt microwave…

I would expect the highest probability of the power grid going down would be on a sunny/hot day when county-wide air conditioning needs overwhelmed the grid capability or during a wildfire outbreak. We have the greatest expectations of wildfires during September through October when the Santa Ana winds bring ultra dry conditions. September and October are two of our sunniest months. Of course, the power grid could go down due to an earthquake. That could happen any month…

How long before I receive value back from the installation costs? I am receiving it already! I will receive a 30% federal tax credit for the installation and I financed the solar installation by taking a second mortgage on my house. HOWEVER, the payment on the second mortgage is only about 50% of what I had been paying each month for my electricity; so I am realizing a savings already. When the second is paid off in about 3-4 years, I will start saving the entire cost of what I paid for my electricity before I opted to go solar…

The solar system will also increase the value of my home if I were to sell. It seems like this is a win-win situation for me and for the environment!

The local power company is threatening to increase electrical rates, especially for high use customers (of which I am/WAS included) AND did I mention a GREEN HOUSE? I expect that my solar system will result in a reduction of about 15,600 kg of CO2 emissions a year with a correspondent savings in fossil fuel consumption for our nation…

It is very nice to be able to run my air conditioning at any level I desire without worrying about the cost or the impact on the environment. It can sometimes hit 100 or more degrees F. (over 37 degrees C.) in my area, especially in September or early October when we experience the Santa Ana conditions blowing hot air from the desert…

A WARNING! If you decide to go solar, ensure that you research the company you will use to install the equipment. I researched one company only to find that their reviews (on several sites including YELP) were horrendous. In fact one reviewer stated, “The only reason I gave this company a single star was that the review form did not allow me to give them no stars!”

After a lot of research I settled on a company which was neither the least expensive nor the most expensive bidder. I am very satisfied with everything about that company. Unfortunately, there are numerous people who can tell horror stories about their solar installation problems…

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Great, Richard.  We don't use our air conditioner because it is just too expensive, so on really hot days (pretty much the entire summer), we either sweat or leave town.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I think that is wonderful. So many homes in areas with a lot of sunshine in the US could do the same and save money and at the same time help save the planet. Ireland is using wind energy more and more....solar panels a little but not enough sun here :(

 

[Lynda Kamrath]

We wanted to go solar but the solar people said we have too many trees around our house and could not get the power from our roof top.  We tried some other areas on our property, but just too many trees.  It also makes it hard for gardening.  Just not enough sun on our beautiful hillside lot.  Congratulations.  It is definitely a good change for you.

[Abigail *George & Juno*]

We looked into this! We will probably still do solar panels at some point, but not in this house (only planning to stay here <10 years) HOWEVER, I think its important to note that when we were researching it and found a company, they informed us that our LOVELY governor in Oklahoma signed a bill TAXING anyone who uses solar power and makes more power than they use. Basically, they will tax you if you stop paying the electric company. How green is that?! Makes me sick, especially since we consider ourselves very "green" people. 

I'm guessing you're in California based on your earthquake and wildfire references? It's on our short list when we finally decide to get out of Oklahoma! lol

[F, Calla & Luca]

Kudos to you! I have though about solar but in my area with my roof etc. it would not be feasible. I do have a backup generator that uses natural gas for power emergencies so at least I have peace of mind.