Your going solar stories

Poll: Solar-charging

What is the most enticing reason to solar-charge a car?

	fueling independence
	true zero emissions driving
	reduce global warming
	it makes economic sense
	other

Top 10 Reasons to Solar-Charge an EV!
10. You help drive solar – and EVs – forward!
9. No more trips to the gas station – ever!
8. Big long-term savings – and no more money to Big Oil!
7. “Drill, Baby, Drill!” crowd eats crow!
6. G-L-O-B-A-L W-A-R-M-I-N-G
5. Complete fuel independence!
4. Cleaner air – in your garage, in your neighborhood, in your city, everywhere!
3. A solar-charged EV is a true ZEV (zero emissions vehicle)!
2. The looks on neighbors’ faces when you tell them you power your car with sun…
1. Is there anything cooler than running your car off the sun?

Going solar in Littleton, Colorado

Tuesday, 15 February 2011 10:46 | Written by Pete Dignan, SCD Guest Columnist |

It took more than six months between signing the contract and getting the system online, but Littleton, Colo. resident Pete Dignan's house is now 100-percent powered by solar energy. [Photo Courtesy of Pete Dignan]

pete-guest-column1 solar-resources-flowers-pic1 Pete Dignan, a homeowner going solar in Littleton, Colo. writes about his experience in the third of three installments in this guest column for SolarChargedDriving.Com.
-->Link to Part I
-->Link to Part 2If you read the first installment in this series, you know that we were eagerly awaiting proposals from the three solar installation companies we had contacted.

It’s been quite a while since I delivered the second installment in this three-part series. That was mid-September, and now it’s mid-February. But I’m happy to announce that our new 7.72 kW solar system is installed and working, as of Feb. 4, 2011.

One lesson learned: choosing, installing and commissioning a home solar system might take longer than you expect. Our process started in mid-summer, and ended up taking about seven months, start to finish.

It was our choice to be guinea pigs – the first joint project between solar leasing company Sungevity and local solar installer Bella Energy. So I can’t complain too much about the rough edges in the process we experienced.

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Walking the talk by going solar: Weighing the bids

Wednesday, 22 September 2010 21:34 | Written by Pete Dignan, SCD Guest Columnist |

This Littleton, Colo. house will soon have a home solar system powering close to 100 percent of its annual electric use. [Photo Courtesy of Pete Dignan]

solar-resources-flowers-pic1 Pete Dignan, a homeowner going solar in Littleton, Colo. writes about his experience in the second of three installments in this guest column for SolarChargedDriving.Com.
-->Link to Part I
-->Link to Part 2 pete-guest-column1 If you read the first installment in this series, you know that we were eagerly awaiting proposals from the three solar installation companies we had contacted.

Namaste Solar proposed a 6.075 kW system with a central inverter. The installed price was about $2.50 per watt after utility rebate and tax credit, which seemed consistent with market data I had found online. But the system would only produce an estimated 8,364 kWh of electricity – just 77 percent of our consumption last year. Namaste believed we didn’t have enough south-facing, unshaded roof space to install more capacity. One other concern arose; due to their phenomenal success, Namaste had a backlog of installations. Our rep estimated it would be six months before Namaste could put panels on our roof and connect the system to the grid. I was really eager to get this project moving, so the six-month delay was a real concern.

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Walking the talk by going solar: Part I

Saturday, 11 September 2010 19:48 | Written by Pete Dignan, SCD Guest Columnist |

This Littleton, Colo. house will soon have a home solar system powering close to 100 percent of its annual electric use. [Photo Courtesy of Pete Dignan]

pete-guest-column1 solar-resources-flowers-pic1 Pete Dignan, a homeowner going solar in Littleton, Colo. writes about his experience in the first of three installments in this guest column for SolarChargedDriving.Com.
-->Link to Part I
-->Link to Part 2 We’ve been thinking about solar for a couple of years, out of concern over climate change and a desire to “walk our talk” by taking meaningful action. But we knew we were going to need a new roof first. Our cedar shake shingles were starting to leak and we were finding more and more shingles in the yard after every big storm.

It wouldn’t make sense to put a new solar system on an old roof, only to have to carefully remove and re-install the solar system when the roof needed replacing. This spring (2010), we decided it was time. So we made a plan to have the roof installed in August, then to shoot for a solar installation before the first snow flakes.

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