In 2008, I started with solar hot water on my small, south-facing roof that was shaded in the afternoon by my neighbor’s tree. I also got 2.7 kW of PV panels on the west slope of my main roof. When my friends asked me about the “payback time”, I asked them what the payback time was on their new car. I had been wanting solar panels since the 1970s, and I finally had them. 

In 2011, my house was on a Build It Green tour with the city due to the solar projects, heat pump heating and cooling system, an early EV (2007 ZAP Xebra), a rainwater collection system for watering the garden, plus disconnected downspouts, a vegetable garden, and a Backyard Habitat certified yard. I enjoyed making signs for all the features and a flyer to help guide people around the house and yard. There were too many people to talk to them all personally, but I enjoyed the conversations I was able to have.

In 2019, I was invited by Solar Oregon to have my house on the Goal Zero Tour. The homeowners got to see each others’ houses the weekend before. I was so inspired, I looked into getting more PV panels on my east roof slope. The price had come down a lot since 2008, so I added 7.3 kW. Imagine Energy added some power optimizers to the 2008 panels and installed a new inverter to handle the extra panels. There was even a calculated payback time of 16 years, assuming some moderate inflation in energy cost. As we have seen lately, inflation isn’t always moderate.

In 2022, I finally got rid of my last two gas appliances - a small, free-standing gas fireplace and my gas cook stove. Friends were remodeling their kitchen, and I bought their used induction range, as they were buying a brand new one. I love the speed and control that I get with induction cooking. I had the gas meter removed, and I don’t miss the $12/mo fee just for having an account.

I am hoping to add house batteries in the near future. Fellow Solar Oregon volunteer, Edward Louie, recommends DC instead of AC batteries. Edward pointed out that net zero energy is good, but minimizing carbon can be achieved by using batteries to collect your own solar energy thereby minimizing your use of electricity from the grid.