A decades-long dream is realized

I have wanted solar panels on my home, since the mid-1980s. Back then, the cost was prohibitive and my income was limited. Heck, I could barely afford the mortgage! Over time, the cost of solar has come down and financing options, including leasing the panels, were created. Our acquisition of a plug-in vehicle changed us, and continues to change us.

We were on the same treadmill as most Americans, starting out with a small home, moving up in quality and size every ten years or so, until we reached the largest and nicest home we’d probably ever need. We were living in Colleyville, Texas (a suburb in the Dallas / Fort Worth area), when I was involved in a car accident that totaled my Lexus ES300. The guy that rear-ended my Lexus was texting while driving and had not noticed that the entire freeway had come to a stop. Since then, I have become a pretty vehement opposer of texting while driving.

I started shopping for my dream car, a two-seat convertible, but my wife Bonnie objected. She was concerned that if her car broke down, while our daughter was with her, I would be unable to pick them both up, due to seating limitations. She found a very nice, preowned Lexus SC430 at a Dallas dealer and sent the information about it to me. I went on a test drive and was ready to buy, but looking at the monthly payment plus the terrible gas mileage the car offered, decided to keep looking. I ended up inheriting my wife’s ES300 and she got a Toyota Highlander Hybrid (our first foray into fuel-efficient vehicles).

Eventually that last Lexus started having problems, so I started car shopping once more. Then one day, I came across the documentary, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” Gasoline was very expensive and the documentary got me thinking about alternatives to convertible sport cars. There were so many questions to answer, though. I started my research and shopping and had a brief flirtation with the Nissan Leaf. My wife fixed that, and on August 12, 2012, I leased a Chevy Volt. As I mentioned above, this event changed our lives much more than we ever could have predicted.

We grew dissatisfied with the life we had been pursuing. We didn’t want the swimming pool we hardly used (and the maintenance and energy costs it entailed). We didn’t want the huge house, with rooms we almost never entered. Two of my three daughters had reached adulthood and moved out, so our home started to seem, well, almost an obscenity, to us. We built a new, smaller home, and placed a priority on energy efficiency. When we found a builder we liked, we asked if there were any rules against adding solar panels. We were directed to a website that showed the homeowner association rules, so we checked it out. The rules regarding solar panels exactly mirrored the Texas law on them. We had no problem with the requirements, so we contracted to get the house built.

The HOA opposed our plans. Texas changed the law so that HOAs could not prevent us from installing solar panels. We reached out to Solar City once more for a proposal, but their lease pricing had gone up so much, it was no longer feasible. We looked around and found a new solar panel provider, EnergyOne. We also had decided to switch from leasing to buying our solar panels.

Now that you’re up-to-date on all that, here’s the thing: OUR SOLAR PANELS HAVE BEEN DELIVERED AND INSTALLATION HAS COMMENCED!!!!! Of course, on the day the installation was to commence, it began to rain. The local forecast calls for rain, and much cooler temperatures, over the next four days.

Anticipation, anticipation
Is makin’ me late
Is keepin’ me waitin’

Here are some other photos, as things get underway:

I will keep posting about the panel installation and will write about our return on investment, as I collect data, over the months/years.