Over the past weekend, #MeandD celebrated six months of living in our forever home within the gates of Pauma Valley Country Club; a time filled with copious amounts of love, many life lessons, and LOTS of unexpected expenses. First, we had a huge rodents issue. Next, there were our outlandish electrical bills. And then on Saturday, our air conditioning unit suddenly stopped working. Yeah, who knew you could learn/spend so much in so little time? I know I sure didn’t :/ but let’s not focus on the negative here and instead let me share with you the positive experience we had in getting our house’s energy from the sun!
See a few short months after moving into our home, we received our first electrical bill from San Diego Gas & Electric and, well, let’s just say it was a doozy [like a $1300 doozy] that absolutely shocked us to our very core. I mean who wants to spend that much money to keep the lights on, right?! PLUS, during our escrow disclosures, we were given copies of past electrical bills that reflected more the $500-$600 range, so yeah, we were surprised. But then again, we didn’t know that the former owners were not living here full-time either . . . so it’s pretty much a no brainer as to why we decided to go the solar route 😉
And luckily, because of my participation in a San Diego BNI group, I already knew a local solar-energy company by the name of Solar Watt Solutions. Through Solar Watt, my husband and I were not only able to get our electricity from the sun but also a new roof, solar panels for the water heater, a variable speed pump for the pool, AND solar panels to heat said pool [giving us 3+ extra months a year of “pool-time”] for the whopping amount of $0 down! Can you believe that? At first, we actually didn’t either but it’s true! All the way down to every new shingle you see on our roof in the picture below 🙂 here’s how the process worked:
Shortly after contacting Solar Watt Solutions in Carlsbad, California, the owner, Dave Watt, personally came out to our home to assess our “high electrical bill” predicament. Through Dave’s guidance, we were able to create an action plan to transition our home to solar AND get approved for 100% financing.
We also found out that we needed a new roof 🙁 which is NOT something we had planned for. I mean sure, from our housing inspection, we did know that we would need to replace our roof within five years time; what we didn’t realize is that taking off solar panels for a new roof and then putting them back on is just as expensive as having solar installed for the very first time. Yikes! But the good news is we were able to add the roof to our solar financing. Not to mention, Dave also had a roofer who could start the job within a week’s time . . . in the middle of their busiest season! Can someone say RAD?!
That’s right! Solar Watt Solutions was able to contracted Adan Cruz Roofing within no time and I quickly found myself mulling over shingle samples and reviewing roof warranties!
We decided to go with the Timberline’s Natural Shadow Lifetime Shingles in Charcoal for three reasons = #1. These are the same brand of shingles my parents’ used on the farm and continue to use till this day. #2. Its dark hue will go nicely with color we plan to paint the trim of our house with in the new year. And #3. they have a lifetime warranty, so one and done! Who doesn’t love that?! And as soon as we made that decision, Adan Cruz Roofing got to work; first by tearing off the old roof.
Bye, Felicia!
Once the backside of the new roof was almost complete, Solar Watt Solutions got to work on our “solar” installation.
And talk about a well-oiled machine! Coming from the Midwest, there have been many times the past seven years where I’ve been disappointed by the work ethic of others, but man, I was really impressed with Solar Watt Solutions. They worked so efficiently and were eager to please. They even met my crazy request to color-match the solar electrical box to the brick of our house! Such gentlemen.
I even decided to get in on the renovation by painting the roof’s pipe caps to match the new color of said roof!
And then Solar Watt Solutions contracted Naylor Solar to install our pool solar including a variable speed pump!
To be honest, the installation of the pool solar didn’t go as smoothly as we would have liked when compared to the electrical solar and water heater solar install, but that’s okay, though! It wouldn’t be a true construction project without a little drama 😉
But other than that, the entire experience was a positive one. We now have a new roof, a home powered by the sun, a heated pool, and are well on our way to saving $500 by the first year with a $7,000 tax credit AND a $50,000 savings in 20 years. How green can one household get?! Lol!
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” — Buddha
Needless to say, we are beyond happy with the service we received from Solar Watt Solutions and highly recommend them if you’re considering solar for your own home in San Diego, Orange County, or Riverside counties. Just tell them that Jenna Pilant of Lucky Little Mustardseed sent you! I promise they will take magnificent care of you!
