Patrick Nahm installs solar electric panels on his home.
From an interview by Maureen Wallenfang in the Appleton Post-Crescent:
Ingrid and Patrick Nahm, owners of Appleton Solar, practice what they preach by using the technology they sell on their Appleton home. . . .
Q. How much do you save with solar electricity in your home?
A. Patrick Nahm: We make 80 percent of the electricity that we use for lighting and appliances. We're saving about $500 a year. Our goal is to make everything we're using. Ingrid Nahm: When we first got started thinking about solar electricity, we did make a number of changes to our home in general to try to reduce energy costs first. Replacing light bulbs and putting power strips on big appliances and auditing the refrigerator and freezer. From there, we could assess how much of a solar electric system we needed.
Q. How much did it cost?
A. Patrick: Before incentives, it was $32,000. After all the incentives, it was $23,000. Ingrid: Ours is 4,000 watts and the average system you usually see is 3,000 watts. It could be $24,000 to $32,000, before incentives. The incentives are going to get better, from the federal government at least, because of the renewal of tax credits.
Q. How long will it take to pay back?
A. Patrick: Our system is roughly 18 years. Our energy costs are essentially locked in. But you know electricity prices are going to climb over the years. That's how that payback comes in to play. Right now it's 11 cents per kilowatt-hour. Fifteen years from now, who knows what it's going to be. The panels are warranteed for 25 years and they expect them to last for 30 to 50 years. If people are (looking for) a way to save money today, solar electric isn't the right thing. It's for people saying, "I want to do the right thing for the environment. I want to invest in something that will pay me back over time." The utility pays you money when you're making extra electricity. Ingrid: It just depends on how much you use and the size of your system.
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