Southern California Family Uses the Sun to Beat the Heat
Wednesday, November 30th 2011 1:39 PM
By GetSolar Staff.
Owning a home can prove costly just in itself. Regular maintenance and the steady improvements homeowners generally try to make can take most of their attention and more than enough of their money. Adding in a family only makes all of those expenses even larger.
Duncan Mathison lives in La Mesa, California, east of San Diego, with his wife and two teenage children. With so many people in the house, electronic device, whether television, computer or just the microwave, was constantly using power. Adding in the pool and air conditioning that can be so important in hot, sunny place like Southern California and Duncan told Greenwala that his electricity bills quickly grew out of control. In 2009, the family's energy usage was so high that it was pushed into the highest possible tier of electricity prices with San Diego Gas & Electric.
High electricity rates in the California are nothing to shrug at either. In 2009, the U.S. Energy Information Administration ranked California's retail electricity rates as the ninth-highest in the country at 13.34 cents per kilowatt-hour on average. Residential electricity rates were even higher, at 14.74 cents per kilowatt-hour, more than 28 percent above the national average of 11.51 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Duncan attempted more traditional solutions, installing more energy efficient devices ranging from light bulbs to a new air conditioner, but his efforts only made a minor dent. But by 2009, California had already been exploring the obvious alternative for years. The Solar Energy Industries Association reports that in 2009, California added a total of 220 megawatts of solar installations, bringing the state's total installed capacity over 1 gigawatt for the first time and continuing the dramatic emergence of the solar market.
After hearing about a positive experience from a pair of neighbors, Duncan decided to take a chance on a residential solar installation himself. Luckily, he was already familiar with the solar industry, as well as the technology, so when he began grilling representatives from a trio of local California solar installers he was able to quickly settle on REC Solar.
The home's roof was only a couple years away from needing its roof replaced so Duncan decided to move ahead with the replacement in advance of the solar installation. Though it cost a bit more, that meant that they would not need to redo the roof until the warranty on the solar panels was expired anyway, decades from now. REC set up the 48-panel rooftop solar installation quickly and efficiently, without a single hitch before letting it loose and starting the system up.
Duncan noted that REC's initial estimates actually proved quite conservative, falling roughly 18 to 20 percent short of the system's actual production. The 10.9 kilowatt system actually produces between 70 and 100 percent of the family's energy needs and, thanks to California's net metering laws that allow him to sell back any energy he does not use at the same rate, Duncan ends up saving around $400 per month.
Thanks to the federal tax credit Duncan has already gotten back 30 percent of the cost of his solar system. The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency reports that he should also have been eligible for $4,750 from the Californai Solar Initiative in addition to various other state and local rebates and tax exemptions. Between all these various solar incentives, Duncan expects to pay off his solar system in as little as seven to eight years. Yet, in the years since then, the EIA reports that electricity rates have only risen, averaging 15.27 cents per kilowatt-hour through July of this year in California. Duncan, however, might not notice the difference.
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Owning a home can prove costly just in itself. Regular maintenance and the steady improvements homeowners generally try to make can take most of their attention and more than enough of their money. Adding in a family only makes all of those expenses even larger.
