The other day on the Ferris Wheel at the Irvine Spectrum I spied…solar panels on the top of Macy’s.
They made me smile. And think I should probably shop at Macy’s more often.
Tag Archives: Orange County
Journey to Solar – Part One, Making the Decision
We are in the process of going solar at our house. I want to document our journey to demonstrate how simple, easy and cost-effective it can be. And hopefully inspire some of you to consider solar panels for your own home.
We are a few steps down the road at this point, but I’ll start back at the beginning with Step One – making the decision to go solar.
The reasons to choose solar energy are numerous and well documented. Let’s just say for me, it breaks down to either powering our home using solar (a clean, non-polluting, completely renewable energy source) or continuing to run off fossil fuels (a finite source that pollutes our water and air, and is a primary contributor to climate change). It’s kind of a no-brainer.
With that said, I will focus primarily on the financial aspects of going solar. Quite simply, it can save you A LOT of money.
In general, when looking at solar purely from a financial perspective, it makes sense for those who own their homes, are planning to stay there in the near future, and generally have an electric bill that is over $150 per month.
For us, our journey to solar started shortly after we moved last year and received our first electric bill – over $400! I couldn’t believe it. I had never seen an electric bill over $200 in my life.
Since then, we have implemented some energy-saving, cost-cutting measures, like switching all our bulbs to CFL or LED, turning off appliances not in use, and installing a new dual-speed pool pump (that alone has saved us about $75 a month). With these measures, we have reduced our bill to about $300.
Still, way too high, and using far too much energy from the grid.
So, I started interviewing solar companies.
It turns out, we can go solar for no money down, lease the panels for around $200 per month, and reduce our electric bill to about $40. That means, we can start saving money every month, right away, with NO MONEY OUT OF POCKET. Not only that, but as the years go by and Edison’s rates continue to increase (vs. our fixed-lease rate for our panels), we save even more money. I’ll give you more details and the full breakdown in my next post.
The next step is to select a solar contractor to perform the installation.
After looking at many companies, and meeting extensively with three, I settled on Solar City.
So far, I am very happy with my decision. Solar City’s service is excellent, their technicians are timely, and they take care of the entire process for you – including engineering, financing, permits, installation and ongoing monitoring of your system performance.
Now, we are on our way. Actually, the van showed up today to get us moving forward. I was so excited. I felt like a kid on Christmas.
In my next post, I’ll break down the three main ways you can pay for solar, how the math works in our case, and how it may work for you too.
For a good overall summary of the process, check out this short, informative video, “Affordable Solar Power and Better Energy”.
(Point of clarification: Solar City in no way compensated me or provided me with any type of discounts for this recommendation. I selected them solely because I felt they were the best provider in California.)
Wordless Wednesday: Be Present
Art is everywhere in Laguna Beach – sometimes hidden down paths overlooking the beach, reminding us to live in the moment, and enjoy the beauty of nature.
Farmers’ Market Report: Huntington Beach
I love discovering new Farmers’ Markets. There are many throughout Orange County. My goal is to find and report on each and every one – well, eventually.
Last week, I happened upon the Huntington Beach Farmer’s Market at Huntington Pier.
Held Friday afternoons in Huntington Beach at the Pier Plaza parking lot (just north of the HB pier), it runs from Noon to Five.
The Farmers’ Market runs year-round, except during the U.S. Open in late July.
There is plenty of organic produce:
Other offerings include sustainable seafood, locally-grown flowers and some great healthy snack items.
My favorite find of the day was Delaverde chips, salsa and guacamole.
Wow, this stuff is good. Made locally with small distribution just in OC, this is a real find. The guacamole is the only guac. I have ever purchased that actually tastes like homemade.
It’s locally made, with fresh ingredients, and preservative-free. If you visit the HB Farmers’ Market, make sure you pick some of this stuff up. You won’t be disappointed.
This Farmers’ Market is often held in conjunction with a shopping fair of hand-crafted gift items such as jewelry, clothing, rugs, artwork, plaques, home decor and much more from around 50 – 100 crafters. We ventured to the craft fair next door and checked out lots of locally made goods as well.
And shopping right on the beach with a beautiful ocean breeze – you can’t go wrong.
So, which Orange County Farmer’s Market to visit next? Anyone have suggestions? Would love to hear about the markets you have visited in your area and what you recommend.
Sawdust Festival: Check it Out Before it’s Gone
Although many kids are back in school, some of you may still have kids at home this week. If so, you might (like me) be running out of inexpensive, local activities to keep the kids entertained during these hot late-August days.
A great way to cool off and inspire your kids’ creative side is to check out the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach.
The Sawdust Art Festival is a tradition each summer, and it ends this Sunday. It’s not only a great activity to do with the kids, it supports local artists in Orange County. The Sawdust Art Festival is a non-profit group educating the public and promoting the art created in Laguna Beach.
It’s open daily from 10-10. Admission tickets are $7.75 for adults, $3.25 for kids 6-12 and free for kids under 5. There are also discounts for seniors, free admission for members of the military and their families, and resident nights with free admission for local residents after 5:00pm. For more information on ticket prices and discounts, click here.
There is plenty to entertain the kids, including a kids art center, reserved just for young artists to make their own creations – at no charge. There are also free live art demonstrations and art workshops (additional fee for workshops).
My kids love watching the glass blower – it’s one of the highlights every year.
This year, for the first time, my kids also tried the “throw-down experience” where they got to create their own pottery on the potter’s wheel – with some guidance from experts to help them.
For just $8, you can have their creation fired and painted, ready to pick up a few weeks after your visit.
With over 200 local artists with their work on display, live entertainment , tasty food and a beer garden, there is plenty of fun for adults too.
Parking at the Festival is $10 but there is also metered parking along Laguna Canyon Road. With many back in school, this is a great week to go and avoid the crowds.
The fun ends this Sunday, when the Sawdust Festival grounds close up until the annual Winter Fantasy, beginning November 17th.
OC Green Mama 