I am a conservative person. 

That comment surprisingly, is neither Republican or Democrat in a political sense, it is neither pro-growth or anti-growth in a development sense,  it is neither sparse or luxurious from a lifestyle sense. 

Most simple stated, it is way of living that  promotes long term thoughtful decisions that build on each other.  Couple that with a desire to walk lightly on this earth, using resources where possible that are provided by nature, and you have my definition of conservative.   

It goes far beyond environmentally friendly green standards, although those are an inseperable part of conservation, and embraces equally important concepts such as sustainability, community building, synergy, and preservation. One of my favorite quotes I use often is,  “A good plow horse will make you more money than a bad race horse,”   Living conservatively is more akin to being a good plow horse.

Julie and I have built our home and most recently added a solar power generation plant,

It is more complicated  and takes longer to build your own home than to buy an existing house or mass produced new house.  It does not take more money.   Our home was cheaper to build than the track house offerings in our city and our property taxes are less than the vast majority of  those new homes. 

The “building your own”  path takes years,  you have to imagine your home because you can’t see it.  You plan, dream, stress, and you build with passion a home designed for your family as its occupants.  Approx. two to three years later you get to move in. 

The buying an existing home path is,  there it is,  you can touch it, see it, gauge weather it works for you,  and move into the home in 30 to 60 days.   Then after moving in, you can customize and retrofit to adapt to your lifestyle. 

Either path works,  however in today’s culture where we change jobs every few years, where we move every four years, and where marriages are defined as long term if they last more than five years,  the easier path is the later. Who has three years to waste?   That in my opinion is the number one reason why more people don’t build their home and the number one problem in our culture today.  Money has very little to do with it.    

Our decision to buy our own electrical generating power plant, our solar photovoltaic system,   is the same type of long term planning where at first glance it can appear to be an expensive luxury.

Our system was $25,000.  That is in the range for the vast majority of us to purchase. We spend that much or more on cars, motor homes, desert toys, planes, boats, swimming pools, in ground Jacuzzi, landscaping,  kitchen remodels, I think you get the picture.  How many of those improvements pay you $140 per month and increase in value? I would suggest that a solar P.V. system is simply a choice, a conservative choice, available to the masses as opposed to a luxury.  

Buying a  solar P.V. system is just like buying a home.  Your payments are fixed and the capital investment grows in value creating wealth.  Did I mention it is using a resource provided by nature?   Just like buying a home, it is more expensive than renting for a few years. In the long run your house payment remains the same and the rental prices continue to escalate, soon far in advance of your house mortgage payment.  

Our system is a 4.5 KW system installed by Stellar Solar of Carlsbad. It generates approx 550kw per month of electricity on the average, less in winter more in summer. This equals +- $140 a month in savings.   If the system were financed on the mortgage of the home, the payments would be $175 a month. Remember this would then be tax deductible as interest, making that payment a net of $140 a month or the same price as the electricity you would otherwise pay SDGE.   So out of the gate it is a net neutral and over the years as the payment remains the same and SDGE rates continue to climb the system really starts to payoff in a large way.   

As rates go up, especially in the higher tiers, the value of the system goes up as a capital investment.   So for example in ten years you sell your house, the system may very well add 40k to the price of the home depending on the electrical rates at that time.  Think of it as renting your power every month with the rate hikes every year or owning your power plant with a fixed rate that never changes.

This generation level combined with a modest effort at conserving power will result in Herons House being a net zero user of power.   Our home and our car, will be powered almost entirely by the sun.  How incredible is that! 

Speaking of the electric car,  I am putting approx 3000 miles a year on the Gem car.  In a gas powered car getting 15 mpg on average that equates to 200 gallons of gas. 200 gallons at $3.25 a gallon is $650 a  year in savings by driving the Gem car around town.   How much does it cost to power the Gem car those 3000 miles?  ZER0!  Thanks to the power and energy of the sun J 

I am looking forward to the day of plug in cars and freeway able electric cars. My "gas station on the roof" is awaiting the need to fill er up! 

The world is changing, and it’s changing for the better.  That is neither a convenient or inconvenient truth.   It is a simple truth.  As Tom Cruise said in Risky Business, “The Future is so bright, I have to wear shades"

Cheers! 

Peder

Back