Like most Angelenos in this fragile and declining housing market, I won't be buying a different home any time soon. I want to make the most of the property I've got. I want to turn it into the most efficient, self-sustaining and worry-free space I possibly can.
To do that, part of my plan was to go solar. My reasons for wanting a photovoltaic system were pretty predictable. It's just common sense to use an energy source that's so abundant -- a source that doesn't need to be dug out of the ground in a land far, far away, then trucked and burned to produce power. Even though the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power leads the country in its integration of solar energy, less than 1% of the city's electricity is generated from the sun; 44% of L.A.'s power still comes from non-renewable, greenhouse-gas-emitting coal.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, November 05, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 73 words Type of Material: Correction
Solar panels: A photo caption with a Home section article Saturday about residential solar panels said that the panels pictured at a Monrovia house were installed by Exterior Specialty Construction of Sunland. The panels, which were part of the home's patio cover, were installed by La Crescenta-based Phat Energy after Exterior Specialty Construction built the supporting structure. Also, the photograph of the patio cover should have credited Phat Energy, not Exterior Specialty Construction.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday, November 08, 2008 Home Edition Home Part F Page 2 Features Desk 2 inches; 72 words Type of Material: Correction
Solar panels: A caption with a Home section article Saturday about residential solar panels said that the panels pictured at a Monrovia house were installed by Exterior Specialty Construction of Sunland. The panels, which were part of the home's patio cover, were installed by La Crescenta-based Phat Energy after Exterior Specialty Construction built the supporting structure. Also, the photograph of the patio cover should have credited Phat Energy, not Exterior Specialty Construction.
I wanted to make a difference now.
I also wanted to lock down my energy expenses. With prices increasing for seemingly everything and an insecure job market, I didn't want to be subject to rising electricity costs if I could avoid it. The DWP, which is implementing a new fee structure next summer, projects electricity prices to rise about 9% in 2009.
Making my own electricity hit all the sweet spots. Reducing pollution while promoting self- reliance? What's not to love? The only sticking point for me was cost. Like many middle-class parents, I have more good intentions than I have cash. I'd looked into solar years ago and dismissed the idea as too expensive.
But the incentives today have never been more alluring. Through a combination of federal, state and city programs, many California residents are eligible to recoup as much as 75% of their solar installation costs, which average about $35,000 to $40,000.
The biggest push comes from the $700-billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, a.k.a. the Wall Street bailout; it includes a major incentive for installing solar power -- specifically, an extension of a homeowners tax credit that had been set to expire Dec. 31. The tax credit for homeowners who install solar power now runs through 2016. Even better, effective Jan. 1, the old $2,000 cap will be replaced with the dollar amount equal to 30% of the cost of the system.
In California, that federal credit is enhanced with substantial rebates through the Million Solar Roofs law, or SB1, which kicked in Jan. 1, 2007, and required municipal utilities to create their own solar rebate programs.
