Solar homeowners: they’re just like you. Tom L. is from San Diego, CA with a background in science and engineering, and he worked for a defense contractor for most of his career. He keeps informed of technical developments, travels a lot, and enjoys spending time with his family and grandkids. His solar system was recently interconnected to the grid.
Q. Why did you start looking into solar?
I started thinking about going solar when our rates increased and more increases were expected. We were typically in Tier 4 so electricity was getting rather expensive. A friend had installed solar and was very happy with the results. About a year ago, I obtained three bids which were similar in design but a range of prices. None of them had a satisfactory payback time. Recently, a family member recommended Sungevity, so I applied on their website.
Q. What were your first impressions of solar?
I’m a retired engineer so I recognized that Sungevity had a better system design for our house, a better price than the others, and a shorter payback time. Over 20 years, we will save a lot of money.
Q. How did your friends and neighbors react to you going solar?
A friend who was also a Tier 4 user was interested in our system and purchased a solar system from Sungevity soon after we did.
Q. What’s the coolest thing about going solar?
It was cool when we turned on the solar system and watched the meter run backwards. I can monitor the system performance on Sungevity’s web site and track my hourly net energy use on SDG&E’s website.
Q. Do you have any advice for people thinking about solar?
Solar doesn’t work for everyone. A family member also applied but due to the roof design Sungevity said they couldn’t install enough solar panels to help much. An alternate design was possible but Sungevity showed their integrity in that they would not install such a design, as the risk of severe wind load was unacceptable. I recommend Sungevity and solar to anyone who is tired of high electric bills and is concerned about them going even higher.
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