In October of 2003, Dr. Blake lost his home in a firestorm, called the Cedar Fires. In the process of rebuilding, he and his wife Charene decided to build a solar powered home. With the help of their builder and Home energy Systems of San Diego, their dream came true.

 

The reason for building a solar powered home was to help with the Global Warming issue facing us today. As a result, we have an electric bill of $5.00 or a credit each month. Our neighbors are paying any where from $300 to $500 per month. The financial savings is wonderful but knowing that we are helping the planet is a beautiful feeling. Four of our neighbors, who lost their homes have done the same. If we have a brown out, we have enough electricity produced by our five homes to help our neighbors have enough power left over for them to use as well.

 

The California Solar Initiative offers cash incentives on solar systems - currently, $2.50 a watt for existing homes. California Solar Initiative incentives, combined with federal tax incentives, can cover up to 50 percent of the total cost of a solar system.

Net Energy Metering (NEM) is a program we have been using and is offered by most local electricity providers to customers installing photovoltaic, solar electric or wind generating systems. Through interconnection with the power grid, your electricity company is able to measure the "net" difference between the energy generated by the customer and the energy purchased from your electricity company. The NEM program is a 12-month program that automatically renews at the end of each 12-month cycle. Under this program, residential customers need only pay the electric portion of their utility bill once every twelve months. Contact your Home Energy Systems or your local utility company for more information.

Here is a picture of our home in San Diego, with our Home Energy System Photo Voltaic Power plant. We have had no problems with our system for the past two years and continue to be very happy with our choice to go GREEN. You can do the same and help prevent Global Warming and at the same time reducing your energy costs.

If you live in the San Diego area, contact Martin or one of his fine staff members at Home Energy Systems, http://www.hessolar.com 858-278-2300. Tell them Dr Blake and Dr. Louie sent you, and they will give you gift when you sign up for one of their wonderful systems. Thank you for listening and caring about our planet. Please share this information with all of your friends and ask them to do the same. I call this paying it forward. Make today a great day.