Our SunRun Solar 1st Anniversary!

OK, it's kind of weird to be talking about solar power during a snow storm, but here we go!

It's been a year since we "threw the switch" and started generating electricity by solar power at our house.

I guess the best phrase that describes the whole experience is "Exceeds Expectations." Frankly, when the representative from SunRun came to our house I expected a high pressure sales pitch. But about half an hour into the presentation, we were asking "Where do we sign?" It just made sense from the get-go.

There are as many options as to where you want to install your system as there are ways to pay for it. The key part is it's affordable and it works.

Every part of the process from permitting, HOA approval, structural checks and getting an additional meter installed that runs both ways (more on that in a moment) by Xcel Energy took a very short time. Our system has 24 panels on the part of our roof that has about a 98% southern exposure. Our location was prime for solar. But the folks at SunRun can facilitate just about any roof design for great production. The actual installation took about 3 days. Every step of the way, the folks at SunRun were very helpful and professional.

So how did we do?

• We've generated over 8500 kWh of power.
• We've consumed about 7700 kWh. We produced more than we used, so at the end of the year we'll get a credit back from Xcel. We sold power BACK to the power company. A neat feeling! Our Xcel meter goes both ways, nice to see not what you're using, but how much you're selling back to the utility!

We certainly used a lot of power this past summer, with a record number of 90+ degree days. But it was good to have the AC running and not worry about sticker shock when the electric bill came. The best days to generate power obviously are sunny days. But even on cloudy days you still generate power. Where's there's light in the sky, those solar panels are doing their job. 

How did we do helping the environment? Here are the numbers:

• We saved over 13 thousand pounds of CO2 Emissions. That's over 6 tons. Just one house.
• Installing the system was like NOT driving over 13,600 miles in a car.
• It's also equal to planting 153 trees. (And you don't have to rake the leaves!)

There are several options to monitor your system. We have the meters at the back of our house, there is a small electrical box installed in the basement and of course you can login to your account online.

I recently testified to the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission in support of the oil and gas industry. A bit of an oxymoron in a way but my point to them is we folks on Main Street are finding alternatives that in the long run will make us energy dependent and earth friendly. (I also drive a hybrid) But it's going to take a generation or even two before the impact of alternative energy will be felt.

Government, in my opinion, is full of pie in the sky ideas of massive solar and wind farms. Thousand of acres in size. Yeah, right. This is the same government that designed our tax code and has us over $16 Trillion in debt.

The solution lies on Main Street USA. We're going to need a thriving oil and gas industry for years to come, a well-regulated industry but one we'll need to depend on, at least in the short-term. But solar is real, it's here and you can start using at your house in no time.

Look at what we generated at our house, and the positive environmental impact it had. All from just one house. Go Green, Save Green. Some day when we put our house up for sale, we can advertise "Free electricity!" How's that for curb appeal?

Clean energy dependence starts at home. One house, one street, one community at a time.

It works.

Brian Olson

Owner/Consultant-Conversation Starters Public Relations

"We start the conversation about you!"

Solar Power's Future is with Free Enterprise

This disclaimer: I have no financial interest or investment in the companies discussed below. My point of view is a personal one as a consumer only.

I just ready this article in Bloomberg Businessweek about what the magazine describes as a "Bright spot" in a solar power industry troubled by scandal, over-promising and under-delivering. One of the companies mentioned is SunRun. We weren't surprised as we worked with SunRun on the solar power installation at our house.

Solar panels are priced to move, and companies like SunRun have figured out a way for solar power to work for their business model, and more importantly for folks like us on Main Street USA. We installed a 24 panel system at our house, but instead of buying the system, we're leasing it from SunRun. No money upfront and the monthly cost is half of what our power bill used to be. During the lease, SunRun pays for all warranty and maintenance. We can pay off the lease anytime we like, but right now it makes sense not only on the financial bottom line, but the environment as well.

No money up front, reduce cost of electricity and cut emissions. Ka-ching.

Here are the stats for this past January, our first full month with solar power:

• We generated 460 kWh of power, more than we consumed.
• Saved 652 pounds in Carbon Dioxide emissions.
• Saved 1.66 pounds of Nitrogen Oxide emissions.
• Saved .59 pound of Sulfur Dixoide emissions.

A "Clean" sweep!

All this during the shortest times of daylight of the year. As the days grow longer, we'll generate more power. I should also note that we've had a couple of 2-foot snowfalls which cover the solar panels and on those days you don't generate much if any power. The key is total generation each month.

REC Solar did the install and it just took a few days. The roof of our two story home is quite high so you can't even see the panels from the street. An advantage we have is the side of the roof where the panels are installed face due south, so we get 98% exposure to daylight and the height keeps the panels clear of shade from trees etc. The system even cranks out power on cloudy days, but it's the sunny days where you really generate the juice and we get about 350 days of sun here in Colorado.

The company provided all the technical information, installation diagrams etc for our HOA which approved everything in less than two days. In fact both SunRun, REC and Xcel have been terrific before, during and after the installation.

Three meters are installed, two by Xcel Energy and one by RunRun. The first two measure net power use and that generated by your system. When you generate more than you use, we'll get credits back from Xcel. We're selling power back to the power company! In our basement is what's called the inverter, which is about the size of a mini-fridge and mounted on a wall out of the way. You can also measure system production there along with RunRun's website where you can log on and monitor:

• Daily/Monthly power generation
• Total power generation of the life of the system
• Emissions savings
• Projected vs actual power generation
• Projected weather for each day

Just like the hybrid SUV we drive, we went solar because it just makes sense. The technology and business model have reached the point where you save money from day one. We didn't need some massive government program telling us to do it, it just made good economic sense.

Companies like SunRun are generating jobs, saving people money and are a classic example of identifying a challenge, then making it work for them and us. Something our government has proven incapable of. (Over and over and over)

Free enterprise IS the future of solar power. As stated in the Businessweek article, companies like SunRun are proving it.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations