Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
READ MORE ABOUT:
Though simply signing up for a green energy program, if your electric supplier has one, is probably the most simple and the least expensive way to make the switch to using renewable energy, there are virtues to owning your own solar power system. And what do you do if you own your home and don't have a green power program in your area?
Well, One Block Off the Grid may be the answer for you. Started in San Francisco, the program just expanded to 20 new cities (list at the end of the post), and works like this:
If you own your own home or investment property, are listed on the electric utility bill and are willing to make energy conservation changes such as installing CFLs, running the dishwasher at night, and similar simple changes you can join 1BOG.
By joining together with other homeowners who want to buy their own solar power system, 1BOG says it can negotiate substantially better rates on the cost of buying and installing solar panels. On their website the say that instead of the usual rate of maybe $9-10/watt, by joining together, program participants can install a system for $1-2/watt cheaper.
The example they give is for a "typical 3 kW system, volume pricing can reduce your total cost by up to $6,000. On an after rebate basis, this can reduce your net cost by up to 50%!"
One Block Off the Grid works in the following locations: Aspen, CO; Austin, TX; Bergen County, NJ; Berkeley, CA; Boston, MA; Brooklyn, NY; Chicago, IL; Denver, CO; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; New Orleans, LA; Miami, FL; Oakland, CA; Portland, OR; Sacramento, CA; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Seattle, WA; Washington, DC.
More info at: 1BOG.
Read more about solar power:
Living Off-Grid: Solar Powered Blogging
Test Out Your Home's Solar Power Potential with RoofRay Online Solar Calculator
15 Photovoltaics Solar Power Innovations You Must See
-
- {}
