Our fourth customer guest post is from Easthampton, MA homeowner, Frank Lepine. A homeowner since age 22, Frank’s been waiting to go solar for 30 years!  He loves his solar home and is excited about the difference he is making in the environment. If you’re interested in contributing a guest post for our blog, send an email to nami@sunrunhome.com.  We welcome all SunRun homeowners and solar enthusiasts!

Back in 1979, I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase a 4-room Cape from my parents, the year before I got married.  At the ripe age of 22, I quickly learned what owning a home really meant…and how expensive it was as my fiancée, Sharon, and I began to renovate our tiny home.

Our family began to grow, and our house expanded to twice its size as we added several rooms and many more square feet of living space.  Home equity loans added to the fun.

I looked into solar photovoltaic power in the 1980s, but my solar dreams were quickly dashed. I didn’t have $40,000 in my wallet, nor did I have enough home equity for additional loans.

Solar technology continued to improve over the years, but it seemed as if “Big Oil” kept getting in the way of homeowners who wanted energy independence from the utility companies. So, I waited. Thirty painful years.

Enter SunRun – a whole new and creative way to lease the expensive solar photovoltaic equipment (with little or no money down) and lock in your electric rate for 18 years!

For me, going solar with SunRun was a “no-brainer.” My out-of-pocket installation costs were $1,000 here in Massachusetts. Alteris Renewables, our installer, came to our home for a straight-forward, simple panel installation, and the rest is history!

Being a technician myself and already somewhat savvy with solar power, I was shown several different solar plans to choose from. We selected a 22-panel 4.51 kW system, with equipment built right here in Massachusetts to promote local business, that would provide our family of 6 (and a 240 volt hot tub) with approximately 50% of our electrical needs.  I had preferred to have a solar photovoltaic system that would produce 110% of my electricity needs, but only Massachusetts solar PV systems up to 5kW in size qualify for many of the tax incentives. Compromise, compromise…

Because we had decided on local equipment, low supply and high demand pushed our installation back three to four additional weeks. But, I was willing to wait. After all, I’ve been waiting for 30 years – what’s another three to four weeks? I also requested a home energy audit and completed a heat loan intake form from my utility company. This confirmed that all of the energy saving steps I had taken over the years (Insulation, CFL lightbulbs, caulking, weather stripping, annual furnace and chimney cleaning and tuning, etc.) had helped dramatically reduce my energy expenses.

I believe that the first step to going green is seeing how much you can do without. Quantify the current amount of energy you use – whether it’s kWh of monthly electricity, cubic meters of city or well water, gallons of oil, or therms of gas. Then, see how much you can reduce. It takes sacrifice- but well worth it. Once you’ve reduced your energy, use those units for your SunRun solar proposals.  Your wallet and the earth will be better for it and using less with a smaller ecological footprint sure is satisfying. (Note: our hot tub has been defined as a “necessity” and is not something that can be taken away! )

I’ve experienced many benefits of having a home solar PV system:

1. The value of my house increased without any increase in my homeowner’s insurance (SunRun insures the solar equipment). Advice: request a certificate of liability insurance from your PV installer and forward it to your homeowner’s insurance company.
2. The resale value of my house has increased with no increase in my city tax assessment/property tax. Being the first SunRun installation in my city, I invited the city assessor over while Alteris was finishing up the install so both parties could chat.
3. We’ve reduced the amount of energy we use and most of what we do use is now generated on my roof!
4. I locked in my SunRun electricity rate for 18 years. It’s estimated that if my local utility raises its rates 6% annually, I will save nearly $32,000 in 25 years in just electricity costs. That’s absurd – think what you could do with this extra cash!

I look forward to a lot of things – the days when I can retire and enjoy life more fully without working two jobs, grandchildren whom I can spoil and love, and ways to reduce my carbon footprint even further. The thought that I’ve helped – even just a little bit – to use less and reuse more fulfills my inner being.

Sincerely,

Frank Lepine

Posted by: Frank Lepine on September 10, 2010.

Tagged as: guest post