Allan and Marcia – Orlando, Florida

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Sunshine is free, and the cooperative is a better price.

Allan and Marcia – Orlando, Florida
Went solar with the Orlando-Winter Park Solar Co-op in 2015
System size: 11.44 kW

Why did you decide to go solar?

My initial interest in solar energy was just the concept: “free” energy from a non-depletable resource, the sun. When the solar approach began to make economic sense for me, I purchased a system.

Why did you decide to go solar with the co-op?

Buying solar through a co-op seems like an obvious way to go, lower price is the reason.

Has anything surprised you about going solar?

I am pleased with the performance of my system and am surprised that it performed as expected, unlike other energy saving ideas that had been sold to me.

Do you have any data on your solar system’s performance?

For 2016 my return on investment was 18% based on the electricity cost of the previous year. My system produced 18,230 kWh in 2016. Our average electric bill was $231 per month before solar in 2015 and a credit of $17.82 per month after solar in 2016. Our house is approximately 4000 square feet and we are not shy about using the AC and heat. We also have a pool pump that runs about eight hours a day and, oh yes, my electric bill also includes charging my Chevy Volt, our only car.

Our electric company has dropped the production credit they offered (I am grandfathered in for another four years), so I will not be running a credit balance after that. My bill will be about $20 per month after that. They do, and presumably will continue to, buy excess power production at full retail price.