Well, we now own our second solar energy array. Our first was the one atop the house in Sausalito. The solar energy system atop the house in Atlanta has been happily producing electricity now for a while. It’s significantly larger than the solar system we had in Sausalito. (Because GA Power only pays 50% of the value of the electricity solar generates. Shameless!)
The maximum electrical output is just barely under the GA legal limit of 10 kWh. To date, even with all of the rain, it has produced 934 kWh of electricity—enough to power 30 houses for 1 day each. It has offset the carbon equivalent of just under 1,400 trees. At the present moment it is percolating over 7.75 kWh of juice from the sun with a total production so far today of over 19 kWh.
The size and shape of the roof on this house allows us to have 31 panels without using 2 additional (significantly larger) roof areas for panels. We chose not to use those roofs as panels there could be seen from the roof-top, outdoor deck. The current design makes the panels completely unseen from the ground or the roof-top deck.
We used Solar Energy USA to design and install the system. Bill Zagorski, my primary contact at the company is knowledgable (a builder in his previous career), friendly, helpful, and an all around great guy. If you live in the Atlanta metro area and are considering adding a solar system to your home or business, I recommend these guys.
So, once again, we are driving on sunshine. I can’t wait until the Enphase/Tesla joint venture providing home batteries goes commercial this year. Then we will be able to go completely off grid: charge the batteries in the garage during the day and run the house off of that stored energy during the night. Living more sustainably feels awesome!