I Went Solar Power Today for My Home

[originalkat]

Oh wow! That is awesome! Love the house too.

[DaisyMamma]

We use A LOT of electric. I don't know why. A recent chart sent out by our elec company showed we use 4x that of our neighbors!
There might be an open circuit somewhere but we can't figure it out.

Anyway, do you mind telling me what it cost to do this? You can PM me if you like.

[Blackcat31]

@Michael...your set up looks fantastic and kudos to you for being green!! I wish more people were willing to spend the money to save the money (and the earth)


We use solar power for our houseboat. Two solar panels power the boat (for 9 people) for an entire weekend. Including ALL the amenities of "home" (TV, microwave, hot water, stove, oven, fridge...)

We are currently looking to change over to wind power and install a giant windmill.

There are so many ways to be green now in regards to power companies...it is AWESOME!!

We have alot of people up here who live completely off the grid and provide their own power much greener and cheaper than any electric company could offer.

[Chellieleanne]

That is awesome happyface

I can't wait to buy a house and get solar. We need it with the insane heat during summer!

[sharlan]

I would love to go solar.

[dalman]

Being off the grid, for the most part, is a wonderful feeling. We had that freedom when we lived out in the country, but in the 'burbs of Minnesota, it's a whole different situation. I am wondering how this will affect the sale of your home down the road? Will you recoup your investment? Will it make it harder to sell by narrowing the pool of buyers that are interested in solar power? Or is solar power really desirable in California? I would tend to think that it is. Just wondering. Kudos to you for taking the plunge.

[Fjordbak]

Going green

Congratulations Michael, it looks great!

We got a windmill three years ago, and it is a great feeling to produce your own power.
We have thermal heating and have managed to turn our 107-years old farmhouse into a 'plus-house', meaning we produce more power than we use pr year.

I have a photo of our estate and the mill, if anyone would like to see it. Don't want to photobomb Michael's thread

Rikke

[Blackcat31]

Congratulations Michael, it looks great!

We got a windmill three years ago, and it is a great feeling to produce your own power.
We have thermal heating and have managed to turn our 107-years old farmhouse into a 'plus-house', meaning we produce more power than we use pr year.

I have a photo of our estate and the mill, if anyone would like to see it. Don't want to photobomb Michael's thread

Rikke

Feel free to add your photos...

Most of our threads start on one topic and end on another...

It's a great way to share so please do

[Fjordbak]

Windmill photo

Photo of our farm and the windmill

[sharlan]

Photo of our farm and the windmill

I LOVE your home and farm. I would love to have a nice piece of property for the kids to run on.

[Michael]

Oh wow! That is awesome! Love the house too.

Thanks, we have a beautiful back view.

Anyway, do you mind telling me what it cost to do this? You can PM me if you like.

We have a larger system. There were 6 workers that started at 7am to 4pm for two days. They said they usually only take one day but ours was a very large install. The cost is around $50k and some states also give tax break incentives.

You can also lease to buy. They will calculate your needs and lower your utilities bill by two thirds. Lots of ways to get into solar out here and there are several good companies. We called Con Ed and asked them who was the best in their opinion.

@Michael...your set up looks fantastic and kudos to you for being green!!

There are so many ways to be green now in regards to power companies...it is AWESOME!!

We are the only ones in our community. So we are looking very obvious. People will start asking.

I am wondering how this will affect the sale of your home down the road? Will you recoup your investment? Will it make it harder to sell by narrowing the pool of buyers that are interested in solar power? Or is solar power really desirable in California? I would tend to think that it is. Just wondering. Kudos to you for taking the plunge.

Good question. I think people frown upon having solar panels on a home. That it somehow detracts. I think it looks modern and that we are environmentally conscious about our environment. I hope we start a trend here and more do it. After all, when we get earthquakes, the power is the first thing we lose. So we will be the ones that will be powered up.

Photo of our farm and the windmill

That is a great looking place! Nicely done!

[mom2many]

We've had our solar panels for 3 years now and LOVE them! We actually had a credit on our energy bill this past month and it's great not having a huge bill each month.

[spud912]

We just viewed a house the other day (looking to purchase) that had solar panels already on top. Unfortunately the house was too small for our needs . I'm surprised we don't have more use of solar energy here in Arizona.....we get sooo much sun! And our electricity in the summer is painful!

Photo of our farm and the windmill

Wow ....nice!

[franwoodruff]

Keep shade issues in your mind when installing solar panels. A panel that loses 25 % of the company's light can lose half its power production. The biggest thing to make note of is tree foliage. Are any trees gonna grow among the sunlight and panels? Consider trimming rid of it somewhat.

When working with solar energy, there is no need to bother with harming the surroundings at all. Non-renewable fuels send harmful greenhouse gases off to the atmosphere, and they also help with global climate and warming change. However, solar panels haven't any influence on the planet and they are stable.