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Solar Energy

Page history last edited by Bryan Long 1 yr ago

Why Go Solar?

The sun is shining about 300 days per year in Palo Alto. As I write this on a cold day in February, my electric meter is spinning backwards as my roof-top solar panels pump home-made electricity onto CPAU's grid. Tonight, I'll take that electricity and more back to run my fluorescent lights, dishwasher and computers. Hopefully, over a twelve month period my rooftop PhotoVoltaic panels will generate almost as much electricity as I consume, and my net electric bill will be trivial. But it isn't just a financial calculation: my PV panels will take a few years to offset the carbon released from energy used in their manufacture, and then all the electricity I use will be carbon free. Of course it is already since I am a PaloAltoGreen customer, so really I am actually offsetting some of the carbon I release by heating my home, driving and flying. I'm not carbon neutral yet, but I'm a lot closer. It's a good feeling. I don't know if the world can respond fast enough to avert climate catastrophe, but I feel like at least I'm doing what I can, and that helps when I look at my daughters and think of their future.

Solar Cost Benefit Analysis

Ganging up on the Vendors: Start a Buyer's Club.

Don't get me wrong, here. I think the vendors are just making a living doing good business, and we need them to make a profit or else they go out of business. But if you can get together with 10-20 other homeowners, you are likely to get a much better deal on your solar installation. It's actually a better deal for the vendor that wins the business, too. They get a large multi-home project in one local area, which allows them to very effectively deploy their installation team. And they get a better deal on their wholesale purchase of the PV panels, too.

This approach is not without a little coordination effort, of course. But in the end, it will be worth it.

Find other homeowners in your neighborhood (or even across town) who are interested in a solar installation.
Set up a free Yahoo group
Use this as an excuse to meet all your neighbors. Print up an info sheet and go knock on doors. Invite your friends. Post an "ad" on this page for participants, and direct them to the Yahoo group.
Use the Yahoo group email to direct everyone to read this wiki page about Going Solar.
Hold a meeting or two with invited representatives from various vendors (probably not at the same time!).
Based on the generic "business case", narrow down your group to those who are interested in going forward with the process.
Have multiple Solar installation companies put together a separate bid for each house, with a discount based on the size of the total group order. They may want to offer "conditional" discounts, x% off if the total project is $$, y% off if the total project is $$$.
Discuss the bids on the Yahoo Group and/or in meetings. Choose a vendor and proceed.

Active Palo Alto Solar Buyer's Clubs

Yahoo Group Name/Link	Palo Alto Neighborhood	Status
PaloAltoSolar Buyers Group #1	???	New

Solar Sunnyvale

Why re-invent the wheel? The Sunnyvale Sierra Club Cool Cities Team has put together an EXCELLENT website on going solar. Definitely worth a visit to solarsunnyvale.org!