We've Gone Solar

First let me apologize again from my extended absence. Thank you to all you fantastic readers who have continued to visit and email me. The last six weeks have been a whirlwind for us. As I wrote in my review of Squeasy gear, we were all quite sick. I was also sick, not just with whatever the kids so wonderfully picked up and shared but also with morning sickness. We are very excited, although I am also still incredibly nauseous and exhausted. I am just under 12 weeks so we are still pretty early but that hasn't stopped my body from reacting to all the hormones flowing around inside me. Thankfully my stomach, although very unhappy, tends to hold its contents. The exhaustion though has been hard and I am afraid that this website has taken a bit of a backseat to every day tasks and extra sleep. If little E would stop spending her nights awake (new teeth?), it might also help. So again, thank you for all your continued support while I am not being as diligent as I ought to be.

In other great news, we got solar panels installed this summer. They were turned on in August but we have had a number of inspection from electrical and building to our final state inspection this week. So here we are:

We got a smaller system, approx. 40% of our needs will be supplied by solar, due to some roofing limitations. We decided to lease our system mostly due to financial reasons i.e. no money down. My husband does wish we owned them but we both agreed that going into debt was not worth it. I think that leasing them is the perfect solution for us because"

1. It didn't cost us anything.
2. Should any maintenance be needed, it isn't something we need to do. Repairs don't cost us anything.
3. We do no pay the insurance on them.
4. It is a 20 year lease. Hopefully in 20 years, when they are removed free of charge, the technology will cost less and be much better.
5. Also, should we need to replace our roof, they will remove them for free and once the new roof has been installed they will put the latest i.e new panels up in their place without extending the lease.
6. Finally, although we are not planning on selling our house, should we need to, we can just sell them to the next owners.

The sales person was great and walked us through all of our options. The paperwork was very clearly worded and easy to understand. The installation team was professional, quick, tidy and very conscientious about safety, especially with the kids. Once installed it took a week to get our building and electrical inspections, then another week for our electric company to come and install a new meter box. Then Bam, we were up and running. With the final inspection this week from the state we have officially passed all the necessary inspections. So far we have been saving about $30-$50 a month. Next summer we should see a better savings. Either way, it feels pretty darn good knowing where a percent of our power comes from.

Do you have solar?

This article was shared on Natural Family Friday, From the Farm Blog Hop,