Nearly 4.9 million homes in California are now powered by the sun's rays
Unknown why so many lights over a parking lot but presumably for security.
Jacquie Barnbrook had grown tired of the high electricity bills and her gas-guzzling luxury car when she finally decided to take the plunge last year.
The 52-year-old Los Angeles resident joined an ever-growing number of Californians who are switching to solar power for their energy needs in a bid to not only save money but to also do their part for the environment in a state setting the pace for the rest of the country in that sector.
"At this time of year, my power and water bills usually were around $400 a month," Barnbrook said. "Right now, it's $150 a month."
As for her vehicle, Barnbrook said she ditched it in favor of a hybrid one that she now plugs in and charges at her house.
"I was previously spending $80 dollars on gas every three or four days and now I haven't put gas in my new car since the beginning of March," she noted. "That's four months ago!"
Phys.org: Californians take a shine to solar power
Ed: Balderdash! Anecdotal crap! She just got lucky!
Oh really ...
Nearly 4.9 million homes are powered by solar energy in California—the nation's green trailblazer and the most populous state—and that number is expected to continue to grow, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, a non-profit trade association.
- PO
How does it look with almost five million more anecdotes.
Here's a look at the rate of growth.
He added that a clear sign of where the industry is going is the number of installations—which cost between $15,000 and $20,000 for an average size house—his company is handling.
"When we started in 2012, we did about 10 installations a month," Petrosyan said. "Today, we do about 120 a month ... and it will definitely keep increasing."
Such projections are good news for a state that has mandated that 50 percent of its electricity come from renewable energy sources, including solar, by 2030.
- PO
Taking this back to our anecdote, Ms Jacquie Barnbrook, we see she must have ponied up about twenty grand for solar for the house. There's probably thirty grand, easy, in acquiring a new hybrid vehicle and her report of savings is confounded by the inclusion of savings on water which are not a part of this.
We know she is fifty grand down but she's recovering at about $250 a month so long as we allow water savings to be part of that calculation. Her payback will be extremely slow in coming ... but ... it will come. At that stage she will have achieved near zero-cost energy self-sufficiency at a much higher level of cleanliness than is possible now.
Perhaps you will permit some Pollyanna since we see the rate of installations for solar power for homes so there must be a foreseeable point at which it's realistic to expect solar will already be installed for a home you are buying. By that time, evolution of EVs should have proceeded apace and you may well already have one. The actual up-front cost of solar at that time may be minimal except in terms of general maintenance.
I don't think that's too much Walt Disney so, with that, I'll tip my hat and take my leave.
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