CA Lic No 423462 • NV Lic No 0052399 • Phone: 530-642-2476 • Serving El Dorado County since 1980!

Dramatically Reduce Your Energy Costs by Installing Solar

The Advantages of Going Solar

With all the talk of going Green these days, you might be wondering about the advantages of solar power. You could use solar heating—not as a power source but as a method of heating a space, summer or winter. But of course the main interest people have is replacing PG&E with solar power for their home or business. And going green could as easily mean green as in money! Solar can save you money. Don't believe it? Get out your last PG&E bill and keep it to refer back to it as you read the rest of this page. Solar ends up being money in the bank; your bank.

Read what your neighbors are saying about their new solar installations...

It’s True: Solar Power Can Help You Retire

If you are concerned about your retirement income, consider this: if your PG&E bills were to basically end in ten years and that money became yours to keep, how would that work out? For the next ten years, that money goes to pay off your solar instead of going to PG&E. After that, it's yours to bank. Cha-ching.

Does Your PG&E Bill Have You In Tiers?

You start out with a set amount of electrical power in Tier 1. That is the least expensive power you are going to buy each month. Even if you don't have heavy use of power for a swimming pool or A/C during cooler weather, you might still run a washer and dryer, maybe several times a week. Maybe you just added a big plasma-screen TV for family entertainment. As your power consumption increases, you move into Tier 2 and spend more per kilowatt hour. Then Tiers 3, 4, and 5 get increasingly more expensive. Look at your bill; If you are regularly going into Tier 2, you probably want to look into adding solar. If you are regularly into Tiers 3 and above, you certainly want to look.

One of your first questions will no doubt be about the cost of solar. It’s only natural to first wonder what you’ll spend to add this improvement to your home. Obviously every situation will be different, but the big question to answer first is this: how much power do you want to generate? What is the maximum power you will need in winter to run heat, lights, laundry needs, etc.? One excellent way to go is to use solar to reduce (not eliminate) the power you’ll need from PG&E; that in turn reduces your payment tier levelClick to read
the PG&E info... and you buy grid power at a reduced rate.

Example: You Could Use Your PG&E Payment to Buy Solar!

We did an installation for a customer who had an $800/mo bill; Pool, hot tub, household A/C, the works. They were always using up Tiers 1, 2, and 3, and hitting Tiers 4 and 5 where kilowatt hours are really expensive. We installed a system that supplied enough power to eliminate any need for PG&E power above Tier 1.* Result? Their monthly bill is down to about $60/mo. The rest of the money they were paying PG&E is now paying off their solar equipment in under seven years. After that? They can put the saved money into their retirement fund.

*Why not install a bigger system and remove the PG&E bill completely? Because going 100% solar would have added significantly to the cost of equipment and that minimal Tier 1 payment was the better way to go.

Advantages

• Sunlight is free and infinitely renewable.
• Unlike conventional power plants, solar panels produce no polluting emissions, including those that cause global warming.
• With no moving parts, solar panels are silent, easy to operate and rarely need maintenance.
• Solar panels help utilities avoid brownouts and blackouts. When electricity demand is high, such as during a heat wave, utilities could use solar panels to generate energy rather than firing up expensive and polluting "peak" power plants designed only to operate when demand is highest.
• Solar panels installed on the roofs of residential and commercial buildings can slash utility bills. For instance, by installing solar roof tiles, Hawaii's Mauna Lani Bay Hotel will save enough in energy bills to pay for the investment in just five years.
• Solar energy is produced here in the United States, employing about 20,000 men and women in high-tech, high-earning jobs. This domestic industry helps reduce our dependence on foreign oil, coal and natural gas for heating or powering our homes.

--from Natural Resources Defense Council

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How to Cut Down on Electric Bills...

Watch this video and be surprised!

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Solar Questions

Green, green green; fine, I get it. But what about money? Tax credits and stuff like that?

How does a solar array work? (Article from Scientific American)

How long does it take to install solar panels?

Most installations are completed in a few days.

Are solar panels susceptible to weather damage?

Only under heavy snow loads!

Does solar work on cloudy days? What about rain and snow?

Surprise! Solar panels produce almost as much power even when covered with a few inches of snow as they do on a clear sky day. Rainy days? Not a problem; you'll have solar energy to run your house.

California Demand For Solar Panels Remains High - Govt Study

Demand for rooftop solar-panel generation in California, one of the world's top solar markets, has remained strong despite the recession, helped by state subsidies and falling panel prices, state regulators said in a quarterly report.

Power from Conventional Sources Results in Lots of Wasted Energy

“It's gone before you even knew it was there: As energy is unlocked from fuels at power plants, two-thirds of the energy consumed to create electricity is lost.” — New York Times article

While solar panels don’t turn every ray of sunlight into power, they are completely clean, produce zero emissions, and relieve your dependence on fossil fuels. Solar panels have no moving parts to wear out. Maintenance, as it were, might consist of hosing them off once in a while if they get really dusty!

Solar power changes lives in Ethiopia...

Two years after the installation of a solar power project funded by international aid groups, villagers in northern Ethiopia say the sun's energy has turned their lives around.

CA Lic No 423462 • NV Lic No 0052399 • Phone: 530-642-2476 • Serving El Dorado County since 1980!