Ron and Deborah - North Wiltshire
What made you decide to go solar?
The first thing was the footprint. We are are trying to cut back on our ecological footprint. This house uses a lot of electricity and we felt that using the natural resources was better than using the power that comes from electric companies. And we had already moved from oil to electric and so we wanted to take it one step further. And we knew that we were on property where we had room for panels.
What was it like before you had solar?
The electrical bills were quite high, we ran our appliances at different times. Now we run the dishwasher in the daytime and the washer and dryer on sunny days and vacuuming etcetera. And that’s actually quite interesting and that shift is interesting, its working out nicely in the long run. And I think before we had solar I think in terms of the heating we were much more conscious of, we haven’t lived though a winter yet but were much more conscious about the temperatures and about keeping the temperatures low and sometimes not being as comfortable as we might want to be because we knew the electrical bill was high.
What made Sunly stand out to you?
Okay, we looked at a lot of different companies that were around and we’d done a little bit of research and listening to people how they, and how they felt the companies that they had responded, I liked the professional approach to the advertising, I liked the things that were said online and when we got the feedback from you when you came in that sort of sealed the deal for us. Ron’s a researcher, I’m not a researcher and I said to Ron will if I like the guy when he comes we’ll take it from there. And then you came and here we are! It all worked out.
What was it like between the purchase and install?
It was good, it was good! One the things that we really liked was that you guys, Sunly, did the paperwork for us, we didn’t have to do that. Other people who we knew already had solar had to do those applications by themselves. And it was so straight forward with you guys. We did the math on the contracts and everything worked out perfectly. There were no hidden features, it was all right up front. That was quite nice to see. Yeah, pleased about that.
How was the installation?
Quite good, quite smooth! In fact there were a couple of challenges in terms of the geography of the field we put them in and there was some things about angles and they worked that all out mathematically and I was watching how they dealt with all that. There was some drilling issues to cause some of it was shale and they did a great job meeting the challenge of the whole thing. And I have gardens out there and I was worried about the trench touching the gardens or destroying the gardens and it was perfect. I never though that bobcat would fit through those spaces. But it was a very neat job for the trench. All the guys worked hard. It was good! They were careful, they were friendly, they really seemed to know what they were doing. And that bobcat guy was a magician, and the amount of time these guys worked on things and especially because it was incredibly hot was incredible. Bunch of guys 12 hour days, it was amazing! It was all very impressive!
Have you noticed a difference on your electric bill?
Huge! Absolutely, absolutely! We’re basically down to the minimum for the summertime. It will be interesting to watch as the winter unfolds. How that works, but I’ve had some people who have had the experience explain it to us and the credits will be used and that will be kinda neat to see. We have two meters out there so we can see the power that we’re making and the power that we’re using. So, it’s like a giant hockey game with a giant score. With the weather the way its been and the summertime the way it is it’s almost a 4:1 ratio generating versus what we’re using right now. And that’s stuff that’s in the back pocket for winter so that’s kinda exciting!
Would you recommend solar to other home owners?
We have already! Absolutely yes! We know of two people who are going to be using Sunly and some intimately and some next March. So, yeah absolutely!
Why should other homeowners get solar?
Well there’s a responsibility in terms of environment for one thing. Secondly, it just makes economical sense. You’re going to save in the long run because the price of electricity is going to go up and in the Sunly situation the price stays the same and eventually it’s paid off. The thing that I find interesting is the people who see you have solar are all very different from each other, their situations are all very different. There’s us in a kind of a modern house and a fairly big property, there’s an old farm down the road that has Sunly panels, we have friends who are going to have it installed and they live on a small property in a cottage on the water, and they’re all very different situations and it seems to suite lots of different people. So, I find that very interesting. And a guy down the road has Sunly on his roof and he’s running his business using that. So, as you said diversity is good.
Would you use Sunly again or recommend us to others?
Well we have recommended to other homeowners. And I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t use Sunly again. I think we have to wait for a whole year to see how the electricity, how the solar spreads out over a year and what that really looks like through the winter. But the interesting thing was you guys did that installation in the spring even though we had done the sign up in November. So that the way you explained it we will have long days and lots of sun so we can build the credits so that the first winter would be the same as all the other winters. So that would be interesting to see how that works out.
What made you happiest about working with Sunly?
I enjoyed the conversations with the workers! Because they always have time for you, even when they were a little bit under the gun because as they say there were some issues there that they had and in the meantime they were still very friendly and very conversational. And they knew about the island and they like to talk about the island. All that was pretty nice. And I’m very productive of our space and our things and our property and I like it when I see people who work here who are respectful and they were very respectfulI. I never felt for a moment that I couldn’t take my eyes off them because something was going to get spoiled or broken or damaged or treated poorly, no. It was great that way. I felt completely at ease with them here.
What is the main reason you would recommend Sunly?
Well, we feel good about contributing to the environmental movement and you know contributing to the fight against climate change. In my case I think if we take the next step and we start getting an electric car or something that we will be able to continue that. So for me that’s a big reason. And in terms of Sunly as opposed to another company when you get a combination of professionalism and friendliness and person-ability that’s very important for me. And that’s how I felt about the whole installation and the whole process. Was that people knew what they were talking about, they weren’t making stuff up, they weren’t telling you just what you want to hear because it was a sales pitch. So there was that professionalism, but when the work was done it was very friendly as well.
What would you tell someone that’s considering going for Solar?
Don’t worry about the change, because it’s a big change or it seems like it’s a big change. One of the pieces of bits of resistance is the fact that it’s all new to a lot of people. So they’re a little hesitant. And a little worried that it’s not going to work out the right way. But don’t worry about the newness of it all is one thing that I would say. And also I think it seems to be very expensive upfront, but you guys have a great financing plan and it really makes it worthwhile and at amortizes the payments and really you’re in the black after month two. So you really can’t go wrong. It’s a no brainer!
How would you describe the aesthetic of solar?
Well, I find the panels very beautiful, I don’t find them ugly at all. They are in our backfield and so the silhouette is lovely because it’s trees and open space behind but they also sent a message. I really feel like they send a message about who you are, and what you’re doing, what you care about so I like that a lot. And the combination of solar panels and hay bales which we had very briefly on that field I found was very beautiful. It was the two worlds. The real modern world and the traditional farming world at the same time.
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