Here it is a beautiful sunny Sunday morning in Santa Clarita, Ca. I had a great night sleep and both my wife and I managed to sleep in (no mean task considering the two dogs that seem to think they run the house). When I got out of bed I looked at Oso, our German shepherd and told him in uncertain terms…”I am not lazy, even while sleeping I have been making energy”
Solar panel energy on the roof to be exact.
I have to thank one of my patients for this….a big thank you to Neda, for she was the one who told me about her experience at the green convention at the LA Convention Center several months ago. You did not have to purchase your solar power system but you could actually lease it. I have been struggling with getting solar power because of the high outlay up front for the system…but a no money down lease? That set the wife and me in motion.
We found out that the rebates would be getting smaller and smaller as more people went on to the grid. It seems the state had mandated that the Utilities must have so many solar systems in operation and the game was on. There were many companies to choose from, and they all were very close in what they offered. We went with our gut and went with Solar City, because they are a large company that did not subcontract out their installation. (funny story…the company the school district hired..not Solar City, put panels up at the local high school….the wrong way and had to redo the install)
The team at Solar City did everything they said they would. We had to wait for city inspection (never fun to sit at home all day waiting for the inspector) and then we were told that Southern California Edison would then decide after seeing the plans if they needed to do a physical inspection or just ok it. We got the ok Friday morning and we are officially on the grid.
That meant we could hook up the monitor that actually shows us how much energy we are making. It shows by the half hour what our energy production is. Friday we made a whopping 28.5 Kilowatts, but Saturday it went up to 30. Who needs to play games on facebook…I am making energy.
Will we save money…YES. Are we helping the environment….I sure hope so. Time is running out and if you live in SCE territory, they still have some rebates to give…it was certainly very painless for us. (Just like a certain dentist I know)