2024: A Bright and Brilliant Year
As we reflect on 2024, we want to share our thanks with you, Solar Family. As a family-owned business, we truly understand the effort it takes to do something that matters—bringing energy and sustainability to homes across the Bay Area. This year, we’ve added over 3,836 kW of renewable energy systems to our community—that's more than 320 new installations contributing to a greener planet! Here's the impact in perspective: Generating enough energy to fully charge around 8,100 electric cars with 60 kWh batteries Offsetting the equivalent of burning 315,000 gallons of oil Powering a 50-inch TV for about 3,200 years nonstop That’s no small feat! We’ve accomplished so much together—and we couldn’t have done it [...]
Electric Vehicles and Solar: What You Should Know
Solar Family, are you thinking about buying an electric vehicle (EV)? Or maybe a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV)? EVs are becoming more and more popular, and they’re only going to get more prevalent as time goes on. But if you’re considering going electric, there’s one thing you need to know: an EV or PHEV will save you money on gas… but it will increase your electric bill! While an EV may reduce or eliminate your gasoline bill, it still needs a power source to drive it. If your home's power system isn't prepared to take on the added load, it could [...]
Thank You for Shining With Us
We’ve put in a lot of work together this year, Solar Family. As 2022 draws to a close, we wanted to take a minute to thank you for being in this thing with us. We’ve arranged solar panels, installed battery backups, and helped so many people generate more clean energy—people like you. And it’s been well worth it. This year, we surpassed 10 gigawatt hours of generated power across all systems. That's over 10 billion watt hours! Thanks again for being part of our solar family. Your business is greatly appreciated, and we hope to see you on our next [...]
Inflation Reduction Act Secures a Greener Future for All
Solar power users are celebrating a win for green energy—and keeping more green in their pockets. This month, the US government passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which introduces $369 billion in budgeted energy and climate spending. It aims to increase US energy independence as well as lower clean energy costs for all Americans. In fact, $9 billion has been allotted to consumer home energy rebate programs alone. What does this mean for consumers? Our solar investment tax credits for your year of purchase have been raised from 26% to 30%—and secured for all new buyers for the next 10 years. Plus, people who go solar [...]
Lock In Your Savings Before Solar Incentives Go Away
NEM-3 Decision Delayed—What Does It Mean for You? If you’ve been holding out on getting solar because you’re worried about the new Net Energy Metering (NEM) legislation… breathe a sigh of relief. The decision to implement the new NEM-3 legislation has been postponed temporarily while legislators work on a revision to the final decision. What is NEM-3, anyway? As it stands, the NEM-3 proposal would negatively impact solar users’ benefits for the future. Here are just a few: Decreased ROI Changes to credits compensation rate (meaning you get less money back) New tariffs and higher fees Overall, there would be much less to gain by going solar. And [...]
Pros And Cons of Going Off the Grid
As electricity costs rise higher and higher, the idea of completely cutting ties with your electric company may sound more and more attractive. Going solar is a big step toward greater savings on your utilities, but for some, going off the grid is the ultimate goal. If you’re a home or business owner who’s made the switch to solar, is going off the grid the right choice for you? Freedom from electric bills and being totally autonomous when it comes to energy needs are worthy goals, but there are factors you may want to consider before making an informed decision. [...]
A Light of Hope
It’s the season to be thankful—and we’re thankful for so many things. We’re thankful for the California sunshine that powers our homes and businesses. We’re thankful for our wonderful team, who have worked tirelessly through the ups and downs to keep us powering through 2021. And we’re thankful for the opportunity to build a better future. But most importantly, we’re thankful for you, our solar family. Your shining commitment to becoming energy independent, reducing our collective CO2 emissions, and conserving our environment is a much-needed beacon of hope. You truly light up our lives. So from all of us to [...]
Alert! NEM-2 Savings Are Ending
There are major changes on the horizon that will impact how much you can save by going solar. The current net metering program, NEM-2, will be replaced by NEM-3 this year, and PG&E and the other big utility companies are pushing to reduce the cost-saving benefits solar customers enjoy. While we don’t want to be the bearer of bad news (who does?), it’s important to understand how NEM-3 could negatively affect you if you wait to go solar. Your ROI will decrease. The big utility companies suggested that “bill savings eventually cover the cost of the investment over the life [...]
Lights Out for 2020!
Wow, what a year it’s been. Things were a little different than we originally imagined but we’re finishing out 2020 with immense gratitude for our solar family. Because of this community, the installations we completed helped offset our carbon footprint, allowed you to become fully energy independent, cut down CO2 emissions, and conserved trees. Your contribution to the planet and future generations is not lost on us. As we wrap up the year, we hope that the rest of your 2020 is full of family time and relaxation. We’re excited to see what the new year holds. From the entire [...]
How one customer saved $2,700
Things are looking really bright for the Ruiz family—they saved $2,700 in ONE year by making the switch to solar. Last week they received their yearly True-Up bill and to their delight they saw that PG&E actually owed them money. How? You’ll see from their bill that PG&E tracks how much power (kWh—kilowatt hours) is consumed each month. Some months the net usage is negative, meaning you produced more solar power than you needed. Other months it can be higher depending on the power you use (think air conditioning and heating). Because they had the right size system for their [...]
As we reflect on 2024, we want to share our thanks with you, Solar Family. As a family-owned business, we truly understand the effort it takes to do something that matters—bringing energy and sustainability [...]
Solar Family, are you thinking about buying an electric vehicle (EV)? Or maybe a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV)? EVs are becoming more and more popular, and they’re only going [...]
We’ve put in a lot of work together this year, Solar Family. As 2022 draws to a close, we wanted to take a minute to thank you for being in [...]
Solar power users are celebrating a win for green energy—and keeping more green in their pockets. This month, the US government passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which introduces $369 [...]
NEM-3 Decision Delayed—What Does It Mean for You? If you’ve been holding out on getting solar because you’re worried about the new Net Energy Metering (NEM) legislation… breathe a sigh of [...]
As electricity costs rise higher and higher, the idea of completely cutting ties with your electric company may sound more and more attractive. Going solar is a big step toward [...]
It’s the season to be thankful—and we’re thankful for so many things. We’re thankful for the California sunshine that powers our homes and businesses. We’re thankful for our wonderful team, [...]
There are major changes on the horizon that will impact how much you can save by going solar. The current net metering program, NEM-2, will be replaced by NEM-3 this [...]
Wow, what a year it’s been. Things were a little different than we originally imagined but we’re finishing out 2020 with immense gratitude for our solar family. Because of this [...]
Things are looking really bright for the Ruiz family—they saved $2,700 in ONE year by making the switch to solar. Last week they received their yearly True-Up bill and to [...]
