By Sarah Gaetano
Bob Gordon, of Gresham, OR recently had a 3.24 kW Schuco PV system installed on his roof. I had a chance to speak with Bob on the phone today about his home. It turned out to be quite an interesting story.
Bob’s home is what used to be the garage of his former home. He converted the garage into an 850 square foot apartment that was carefully constructed to be brilliantly sustainable. The entire building, including the windows, is super insulated. That means the climate inside the house rarely changes. Since it has been built, Bob has not needed to turn on the heat pump, and the temperature inside the apartment has stayed between a very comfortable 68-77 degrees. Bob can use the windows and skylights to cool down the temperature at night if the forecast is calling for high heat the next day. That is the only climate control he needs!
The solar electric panels further reduce Bob’s carbon footprint. He expects his summer bills to be in the negative, which means the electric company will be paying him for the extra energy his panels have produced! He drives a Toyota Prius, and his current record for best mileage was 59 miles per gallon. He plans to soon either purchase a new Plug-In Prius, or retrofit his current Prius to a plug-in so that he can juice up his car and drive to work on pure sunlight!
Bob’s sustainable lifestyle doesn’t stop there, though. He also has an enormous garden where he grows a copious variety of fruits and vegetables. To name just a few, he’s got: figs, peaches, raspberries, rhubarb, asparagus, apples, plums, strawberries, blueberries, corn, beans, cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes. Since he lives in a friendly neighborhood, he lets his neighbors “steal” some delicious produce every now and then. He also shares what he can’t eat alone with his co-workers, and he is planning on purchasing a solar food dryer to preserve the excess, as well.
We are so pleased to have Bob as one of our amazing customers. He had noticed the price of solar dropping in the state of Oregon, but finally decided to jump on the band-wagon when the net cost dipped down to $0. A very smart man, if you ask me! Bob was able to take advantage of the new SunRun Program that we are currently offering. Bob paid $6,000 up front for his system, but he will get that money back over the next 4 years through the Oregon state tax incentive ($1,500 per year for four years). Over the course of the year, Bob’s system will provide 33% of his electric usage.
If you’d like to Sunlight Solar to come to your home for a free evaluation and to learn how to take advantage of this great opportunity through SunRun, please give us a call!