Introduction: Why I Chose SOLAR POWER

Hi, my name is Bryan. A couple of years ago I had to find a way to save on my electric bill. It was a time with record high temperatures (had to run the a/c) and Edison had a big rate hike. My electric bill for the month of June 2006 was over $700.

I can't blame Edison for the whole thing since the year before I had built a 10,000 gallon water garden and Koi pond with a stream and two big water falls. The pumps for the pond were a large part of my energy usage. My wife and I really enjoy the pond so I wasn't about to shut it down. This left the question of how to have the same energy usage for less money.

Since we live in Southern California, there is no lack of sunlight. With my electric bill so high, I had to act right away.

I contacted several Solar Power contractors for pricing and advice. Since I am big on doing everything myself I did not want to spend the money to have a contractor install a system for me. I purchased the equipment and installed a 5 kilowatt Grid-Tie Solar System. This took 4 days to install and saved nearly $10,000.

Since putting my Solar System on line I have not had an electric bill over $250. This is a savings of over 60%. The Solar System should pay for itself within 5-7 years and should continue to produce power for at least 30 years.