Even though it was cold (in the upper teens) this past Monday morning, the workers came as scheduled to install solar panels on the roof of our house and to convert our usage of electricity almost completely to solar energy.
Our Decision
About three months ago I saw an ad about a local (Kansas City, Kan.) firm that was wanting to talk with people about the possibility of installing solar panels. I had given this some thought previously, but not a lot. Still, it seemed like something worth considering.
On Dec. 5 a salesman from Smart Home Innovations came to talk with June and me, and before he left we had ordered the solar panel system for our house—and written him a check for $10,000.
It took more than ten weeks for them to get everything surveyed, planned, and designed, but, as indicated, installation started on Feb. 25 and was completed the next day.
Time will tell whether we made a good decision on that Dec. 5 morning.
Our Purpose
Perhaps most people have solar panels installed in order, over the long haul, to save money on their electricity bills. Given time, that will surely happen. Given June’s and my age, however, I am not confident that we will ever break even, let alone save money.
If we don’t live in our current house long enough to break even, though, the likelihood of the increased value of the house when sold (by us or our heirs) will quite certainly make the installation of the solar panels a good investment.
Nevertheless, regardless of financial considerations, our purpose for going to solar panels is for the sake of the environment and to make a public statement (some of the panels are clearly visible on the front of the house, although we had most panels installed on the back side, as you see from the following pictures).
Whether anything like the Green New Deal (which I wrote about, here, earlier this month) ever comes to fruition or not, June and I think that switching to solar panels is one small step we can take to help stem the steady, and deadly, advancement of global warming.
Our Plea
It is our considered opinion that global warming is a clear and present danger to the future of human life on earth. It is an urgent issue which, inexplicably, is not only downplayed by many people, it is even denied by others.
If adequate response to the current climate crisis is to be made, it will have to be made with massive governmental decisions—which makes it distressing that the White House now seems to be moving in the opposite direction.
According to a Feb. 24 Washington Post article, “The White House plans to create an ad hoc group of select federal scientists to reassess the government’s analysis of climate science and counter conclusions that the continued burning of fossil fuels is harming the planet.”
Evidently, this ad hoc group would seek to combat the government’s report, issued last November, which delineated the increasingly detrimental effects of climate change in the U.S.
Soon after that report was released, DJT was quoted as saying (see here), “a lot of people like myself, we have very high levels of intelligence but we’re not necessarily such believers,” in the content of the report.
There are many reasons to be negative about the Trump administration; its almost certain wrongheadedness about environmental issues is one of the main reasons for my negativity.
So while it is not much, individuals beginning to use alternative energy is a small but definite step in the right direction.
Let’s go solar!
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Congratulations - Hope you see a good ROI.
ReplyDeleteThanks! -- For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term, ROI means "return on investment" and seems to be quite common in discussions about installing solar panels.
DeleteWe have dear friends on Cape Cod who did this about three years ago. There was apparently a state tax credit or an electric company incentive to do this, but they've seen significant savings on their electrical bill in the time they've had it. Multiple times a year they have a negative balance on their monthly statements. Hope the same is true for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and responding to this morning's posting, David.
DeleteYes we are expecting to receive a rebate from KCP&L as well as tax credits, which together is supposed to offset about 45% of the cost. But both of those "perks" are declining, so those interested in going solar should try to do it sooner rather than later.
Thinking Friend Eric Dollard in Chicago writes,
ReplyDelete"Thanks, Leroy, for telling us about your efforts to reduce climate change. I fully applaud your (and June's) decision to go solar. Will you be able to go completely off the grid or will your solar electricity be supplemental?"
Thanks for writing and for your question, Eric. We will have to remain connected to KCP&L and pay minimal charges each month, but we are expecting to have 100% of our electricity produced by the solar panels.
DeleteLocal Thinking Friend Debra Sapp-Yarwood sent these comments:
ReplyDelete"Nice looking panels. Keith and I got our solar panels installed end of last month. Still waiting on the power company to complete the switch-over (weather has kept them busy). Keith and I are looking forward to doing our part.
"Your narrative about climate change and quote from DJT is so sad and distressing, on many counts. One of the disturbing things that came out of the Cohen testimony yesterday was the revelation that DJT had instructed Cohen to bully his schools and the testing agencies into not releasing his grades or test scores. I have a feeling if those were made public, we'd have a different opinion about Mr. Trump's 'very high levels of intelligence.'"
Debra, thanks for writing. I was happy, but not surprised, to hear that you and Keith have also had solar panels installed. They told us that it would take up to 30 days for KCP&L to come change the meter in order to make the switch to solar.
DeleteThinking Friend Bob Perry lives in south Missouri, and a couple of days ago he posted about the solar panels he and his wife installed on their house over three years ago. (I told him he upstaged me.) Here are comments he sent a few minutes ago:
ReplyDelete"Great blog, Leroy. You and June have made a very good decision. Renewable energy is the future."
And then there is this from Thinking Friend Les Hill in Kentucky:
ReplyDelete"Thanks for the good example, Leroy. We've wondered about the possibility. In the past I thought about giving people a solar system to replace the electric dryer--it's a clothes line wire! Ha!"
Yes, we used solar for drying clothes when we were kids -- and then for most of the time we lived in Japan. It's a shame that is still not a live option now.
DeleteLocal Thinking Friend Jerry Cain send the following comments a few minutes ago:
ReplyDelete"Thanks for sharing! Motivated by the same factors you listed in your 'Let's Go Solar' article, Linda and I purchased solar panels in the Platte-Clay Electric Coop solar farm on Missouri Highway 92 just west of Kearney. These panels do not go directly on our house but we are feeding the grid with solar-produced electricity through a communal solar farm. Thanks for bringing this import option to the table."
Here are comments from local Thinking Friend Ed Kail:
ReplyDelete"We installed solar panels in May of 2014, and have been enjoying minimal electric bills ever since. It’s annoying how much more KCP&L charges us for their electricity than what they pay/credit us for electricity we produce and feed back into the grid.
"We’re also investigating how to isolate our house from the grid in the event that the grid goes down. At present, our solar display is shut down whenever there is a power outage, so that we aren’t feeding current into wires that the repair people believe aren’t functional. I’d like for us to be able to keep operating our own appliances, even when the lines around us are dead. Electrical engineering needed here!"
Thanks for sharing this, Ed.
DeleteWe were told that there are batteries for storing the energy produced by the solar panels, but at the present time they are cost prohibitive; in a few years, though, they may be available for storing the energy one produces rather than KCP&L buying it so cheaply. (But maybe that is part of the plan in order for them to give rebates for installation.)
Canadian Thinking Friend Glen Davis writes,
ReplyDelete"Bravo Leroy and June!
"I wish we could do the same but our condo council is not willing to consider it.
"Your action is fully in concert with the biblical injunction to care for and nurture God’s creation."
Thanks for your response, Glen. -- We have sometimes thought that living in a condo would have a lot of advantages -- but it also has some disadvantages, as you indicated. We remain happy being in our own house and hope we can stay here at least until we break even on the cost of the solar panels.
ReplyDeleteHere are comments from Thinking Friend Truett Baker in Arizona, where there is lots of sun:
ReplyDelete"We had solar panels installed on our house several months ago and our electric bills have been dramatically lower. Some months we pay nothing and three months have actually made a few cents. However, our system was considerably more expensive than yours."
Thanks for your comments, Truett. -- I may have a bit misleading in what I wrote: the $10,000 check was just a third of the total cost. The rebate we hope to receive next month and the tax credit we expect to receive next year are projected to cover more than 45% of the cost.
ReplyDelete