Lets make some Power!

So we've talked about building an energy efficient house, high performance windows, foam insulation, low watt lights, etc.  At the latest Raleigh Home Show I was curious about a Thermal solar system (water) to save even more energy and that's when it started, I inquired about Solar PV (electric), a few weeks later and we're on our way to a 24 panel multi-kilowatt PV system AND a 2 panel Thermal Hot water system!  Talk about excited.  We worked out what we think will be a great system at a great price with Southern Energy.  We have to take out a few extra trees but the benefits should far outweigh some trees missing on the side of the lot.  There's a lot to take into consideration when looking at solar, Southern Energy definitely helped answer many of the questions we had, but you also have to do your homework and know the tax rules to take advantage of the tax credits.  We still have to work with our tax lady and tweak stuff for probably the next 3 to 5 years to take advantage of the all the tax credits, so we'll have to post about those items over the coming years along with the power output/savings that we gain from the system.  You definitely don't want to just jump in without doing your homework first.  Solar combined with the exceptionally energy efficient house that Olde Heritage will be building I'm sure will be an awesome combination.   So are the Swayneys turning into "tree huggers"?  No, we just want to take the opportunity to do our part in reducing our carbon footprint which I think anyone should do if they have the opportunity, being green isn't always about saving a buck, sometimes you need to spend a few bucks to do your part, it's like giving to charity, except this charity is for our little spec of dirt in the galaxy called earth.

We'll post more as the systems are installed and definitely once we start making some power!