Are you ready for home solar? Good Morning America certainly thinks so!

This morning, Good Morning America’s Sam Champion and SunRun’s Lynn Jurich discussed how easy and affordable it is to get solar for your home with SunRun.  SunRun buys the panels and pays for installation so you can switch to clean home solar power for little or no cost. SunRun also takes complete care of your home solar system, which includes professional monitoring, maintenance and repair, insurance, and a money-back performance guarantee.  All you have to do is simply pay for your home solar electricity, just like you pay your utility today. But, unlike utilities that can raise your rates at anytime, SunRun lets you lock in today’s rates for the next 18 or 20 years. See if your home is right for solar with a free home solar quote!

Watch the ABC Good Morning America clip on SunRun home solar below!

Adam Shuster's 11-year-old son, Kenny, encouraged him to get home solar to save the planet.

A growing number of Massachusetts residents are going solar, according to an article in today’s Boston Globe. Climate change, along with recent environmental disasters such as the BP oil spill, coupled with rising energy prices are motivating residents to make a choice about where their electricity comes from. According to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, 274 Massachusetts home solar systems were installed in 2007, 494 in 2008, and 847 in 2009! And there’s been a 37% increase nationally in home solar since 2008.

According to the article, “beyond the dollars and kilowatt hours…what is driving many to the solar option is something harder to quantify but perhaps more significant: an awareness that what happens in Louisiana or Iraq has a direct connection to choices they make at home.” For many, home solar means more than generating electricity. By offering affordable home solar options, SunRun has been able to turn this emotional connection and desire to a practical and feasible solution: quality solar installations by top SunRun-certified partners Alteris Renewables and groSolar, locked in electricity rates, and professional monitoring and maintenance.  All for little to no upfront cost.  Doug Herberich, one of the several SunRun homeowners featured in this piece, has been able to cut his electric bills to about 2/3 of what he used to pay, but that’s just an added bonus to the peace of mind that comes with knowing that he’s making a difference.

Take a look at the Boston Globe article to learn more about Massachusetts residents turning to solar and read interviews with several SunRun homeowners!

We’re excited to announce a new partnership with Toll Brothers and PetersenDean to provide new solar homes at The Preserve, a community in Yorba Linda, California. The Preserve, a community of 90 luxury homes that’s set to open in September 2010, features solar energy as a standard feature.   The community is being designed and built by Toll Brothers, the solar roofs are being built by PetersenDean, and SunRun is providing affordable solar service.  Homeowners will be able to move into a brand new solar-powered home for no additional upfront cost, and simply pay monthly for clean solar electricity.

Homeowners at the Preserve will pay a fixed rate of $42 per month for their solar power for the next 20 years.  They will save anywhere from $50-$100 month compared to homebuyers who opt out of solar panels.  SunRun will take complete care of every system, including maintenance, monitoring and insurance. Homeowners will move into a state-of-the-art home, complete with a solar roof designed and installed by PetersenDean.  It can’t get much easier and affordable to switch to solar than this.

Toll Brothers is leading the way in providing new homebuyers with things that are important to them – a more sustainable, affordable luxury home. It’s encouraging to see that a leading home developer such as Toll Brothers recognizes the advantage of clean solar electricity in building more affordable homes. Whether you’re looking to go solar in an existing home or in the market for a new home, SunRun offers a clean and affordable alternative to your utility.  If the enthusiastic early reaction to The Preserve is any indication, we hope to do a lot more of these homes with our partners in the future!

Happy Energy Independence Day from SunRun!

This July 4th, declare your independence from your utility, rising utility prices, and dirty electricity. Now, you have a choice. SunRun home solar is the best alternative to your utility today. Not only is home solar clean, but you’ll also be able to lock in your current electricity rates for the future. And best of all, it’s easy to switch – with SunRun, you can upgrade to solar power for little to no cost and your rates will be fixed for the next 18 years. No more unpredictable utility rate hikes.

It’s gotten even easier this summer to declare your freedom and bring clean solar power into your home, with SunRun – sign up with SunRun by July 5th and we’ll give you $610 cash back once you’re up and running. There’s no need to mail in any forms or take any other action. Just sit back, watch the fireworks, and you’ll have $610 cash back in your pocket.

Energy Independence means different things to different people, whether its freedom from rising electricity costs or dirty energy. The recent BP oil spill in the Gulf has been the most recent reminder of our nation’s need to free ourselves from the grip of fossil fuels. Running a country on dirty energy comes with costs outside of our electricity bills, including the loss of human lives, destruction of our environment, and devastation of our local economies. One SunRun homeowner likes the idea of being energy independent in his house because it’s about “saving money and leveraging the sun.” Another homeowner believes that we have to “get ourselves free from importing energy into our country.” And many simply believe that they are being “raked over the coals by the utility.”

What do you think? What does going solar mean to you? Let us know by leaving us a comment!

SunRun had a fantastic time last weekend at MAKE Magazine’s Bay Area Maker Faire 2010, teaching people about home solar power via our 6 foot tall solar infographic, solar craft projects, Suntech solar panel, and “Unplugging Challenge” competition.  We took a ton of great photos so check them out on our SunRun Facebook Fan page.

To keep with the spirit of energy conservation and sustainability, SunRun also gave away a free home energy audit in a random drawing.  Congratulations, Beth of San Francisco!

Learn more about the festivities on our Maker Faire page on the SunRun website. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth and we hope to see you at future solar events!

SunRun is a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 Awards and the San Francisco Business Times 2010 Green Business Awards!

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award celebrates outstanding business leaders who have created jobs, encouraged innovation, development, and growth in the local economy.  SunRun president Lynn Jurich and CEO Edward Fenster have been selected as one of the top entrepreneurs who have not only demonstrated success in their performance but personal commitment to their community.  The winners will be announced on June 12, 2010.

The San Francisco Business Times Green Business Awards honors the top leaders in clean tech and green business and the winners will be announced on June 9, 2010.

SunRun has given thousands of homeowners across the nation access to clean, home solar electricity, and Lynn and Ed have made sure the company’s commitment to community is not forgotten in SunRun’s growth.  Congratulations to Lynn, Ed, and SunRun for their commitment to sustainability and community!

These days, high school students know a lot about solar power.  As the need for clean, renewable energy becomes more pressing, the topic is increasingly integrated into school curriculum and lesson plans.  Solar power is not a topic of discussion for the future, but a lesson of today.

Or so we discovered this past Earth Day. Last month, SunRun employees visited a handful of Bay Area high schools, including Castilleja High School, San Francisco University High School, and East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy, to speak to students about our current energy crisis and the importance of renewable sources of electricity.  We discussed the story of coal, sources of energy, solar power, green jobs, and what the students could do to conserve energy and save the earth from imminent climate change.  The students were curious and excited, peppering us with questions and comments.  Many of them had already been studying solar energy in their science classes.  At East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy, which is relocating next year, the visit ended with the students urging their teachers and administrators to go solar in their new building, “Why can’t we get solar panels for our new building, Mr. B?”

Why can’t we?  For this generation of students, the idea of turning away from dirty fossil fuels, such as coal power, and towards the sun for our power is intuitive, a no-brainer.  It’s this kind of attitude we all need to adopt to steer our nation to a clean energy economy.  How can we secure a sustainable future for our children?  Just ask our children.

As the saying goes, mothers know best, and they want the best for their families.  That’s why this Mother’s Day, SunRun is thanking all the mothers out there who decided to get clean, solar power for their home.  These are the mothers who wanted to make a difference in the environment and their children’s futures.  They are the mothers who believed in securing a clean, green earth for future generations.  These are the moms who wanted their home solar electricity choices to set good examples for their children and grandchildren.

To these mothers, thank you!

Check out SunRun’s home solar success stories to read more about SunRun mothers who decided to make the switch to clean home solar power for their families. Many of these moms chose to go solar with SunRun because SunRun takes complete care of your system., allowing them to focus on more important things.  As one SunRun mother said, “it allows my son to live his life and not have to worry about mom and her power.”  Mothers can rest easy with SunRun, knowing that for once, someone else has got it covered.

Want to see a home solar power system installed in three minutes?  Or three minutes and 45 seconds, to be exact.

Now you can, thanks to one of our customers!  A SunRun customer decided to film his solar installation by Acro Energy and create an excellent time lapse video from the footage.  It’s great to see people are excited about home solar and we’re glad he was able to express his passion in such a creative way with a solar video.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think!