That talk with my neighbor Mike about solar panels stuck with me

Last Tuesday, Mike stopped me while I was hauling bags of leaves to the curb and just flat out asked why I wasn't getting solar. He pointed at his own 12-panel setup on his roof and said he cut his electric bill by 80 dollars a month. I told him I was worried about cost but he said the federal tax credit covered almost a third of his install. Has anyone else had a regular person convince them, not a sales pitch?

3 comments

3 Comments

wren_walker6216d ago

My uncle was the same way with switching to LED bulbs years back. He just showed me his electric bill one day and said "that's all you need to know." I think people trust neighbors more because they got nothing to sell you.

willow67216d ago

Hold up though, is saving a few bucks on your electric bill really worth all the hype? I mean yeah LED bulbs use less power, but they cost more upfront and sometimes the light quality is just harsh and cold feeling. Plus if you're like me and you forget to turn lights off half the time anyway, the savings probably aren't that dramatic. My neighbor switched his whole house over and his bill dropped maybe like 8 bucks a month, which is nice but not exactly life changing. Maybe I'm missing something but it feels like this is one of those things people get really worked up about when it's really just a minor convenience.

zarapalmer13d agoTop Commenter

8 bucks a month is 96 bucks a year, which is what I told my buddy who complained about the same thing. He spends more than that on fancy coffee in a week but acts like changing a lightbulb is some huge sacrifice. People will nickel and dime their electric bill but not think twice about a daily latte habit.