CONSCIENTIOUS LIFE
However, the home of the Brown Family in Fishers, Indiana is
in a suburban neighborhood with mature trees, and has a modest, 6kW roof-mount array which has paid for 100% of their
annual electric bills.
When these micro-power plants are tied into the grid, the homeowner gets a credit from their local electric utility company when
they produce more energy than the home is using. This is common in the summer, but not so common in the gloom of winter,
when the sun is lower in the sky and days are shorter. In that
case, the credit they built up during summer is applied towards
any deficiency winter production. But no matter how much
energy the solar panels generate throughout the year, a homeowner does not actually make money from the power company.
INDIANA & YOGA MAGAZINE ISSUE I
Although it is technically possible to get completely “off the
grid” by installing a rechargeable battery system to your solar
panels, these require a much higher investment, plus higher
maintenance costs, and the grid is the most reliable backup for
your nighttime and winter electricity. When going solar, every
home and homeowner is unique. ■
29