To John Carney of West Nantmeal Township in Chester County, Pa., having a 17.64 KW solar ground-mount installed in his side yard fulfills a goal he'd been contemplating for years.
"I'm a fan of renewable energy, and our dependence on electric companies is something I'm more than happy to get away from," Carney said. "I work at home, and so as a result of that, I was looking at solar as a way to cut costs because I can't set my thermostat back during the day."
Carney noted that since he doesn't leave the house to go to work every day as many do, what others can do to save money and energy at home during the day isn't necessarily an option for him.
His solar ground-mount consists of two arrays totaling 36 panels each.
"I'm a fan of renewable energy, and our dependence on electric companies is something I'm more than happy to get away from," Carney said. "I work at home, and so as a result of that, I was looking at solar as a way to cut costs because I can't set my thermostat back during the day."
Carney noted that since he doesn't leave the house to go to work every day as many do, what others can do to save money and energy at home during the day isn't necessarily an option for him.
His solar ground-mount consists of two arrays totaling 36 panels each.
With a budget plan for his electric bill, averaging out a year's usage, Carney saw his bills go from $180 to $200 in the past decade. Before he adopted solar to his home, his recent electric bills on the budgeted plan totaled $300 monthly.
Thankfully, he's seen his latest electric bills showing no balance due.
"I couldn't be happier," Carney said about that fact and knowing that he is going from using 23,465 KWH annually to instead producing around that much energy.
"The only downside is having to mow around it, but I'm having it landscaped now," Carney said about the solar arrays not far from his house.
"One co-worker of mine put in his solar energy system out in California because of the high rate of energy, and this was five years ago when I last talked to him about it," he said. "Just the materials alone cost him more than $40,000. The return on investment then was 40 years."
Since costs continually become more affordable as years go on, Carney is grateful for the opportunity to realize better pricing for his own dive into solar with GP.Energy of Berwyn, Pa.
"Now I'm looking at a return on investment of 10 years, which I think makes it the right thing to do," he reflected.
Admitting that solar is underutilized today, Carney said he pictures the future with not only more homeowners but more companies using it as a source of power.
"I think one of the neighbors put it best when she said--that's the neighborhood," Carney added about progressive and energy-intelligent approaches to reshaping how we all go about daily living and using our natural resources with solar smarts in mind. "As it becomes more cost-effective, I think you're going to see more and more people doing it."
Thankfully, he's seen his latest electric bills showing no balance due.
"I couldn't be happier," Carney said about that fact and knowing that he is going from using 23,465 KWH annually to instead producing around that much energy.
"The only downside is having to mow around it, but I'm having it landscaped now," Carney said about the solar arrays not far from his house.
"One co-worker of mine put in his solar energy system out in California because of the high rate of energy, and this was five years ago when I last talked to him about it," he said. "Just the materials alone cost him more than $40,000. The return on investment then was 40 years."
Since costs continually become more affordable as years go on, Carney is grateful for the opportunity to realize better pricing for his own dive into solar with GP.Energy of Berwyn, Pa.
"Now I'm looking at a return on investment of 10 years, which I think makes it the right thing to do," he reflected.
Admitting that solar is underutilized today, Carney said he pictures the future with not only more homeowners but more companies using it as a source of power.
"I think one of the neighbors put it best when she said--that's the neighborhood," Carney added about progressive and energy-intelligent approaches to reshaping how we all go about daily living and using our natural resources with solar smarts in mind. "As it becomes more cost-effective, I think you're going to see more and more people doing it."
No comments:
Post a Comment