A Family's Journey to the Sun: Part Two

It is National Energy Awareness Month and we're celebrating by continuing our story about a family who is reducing their energy use.

In Part One of this story, we found out about the energy Will Finn and Sandra Beirne are saving at their home through an energy assessment and upgrades. Just around the time of this HomeRx Assessment, Solarize La Plata was accepting participants. Finn and Beirne signed up to take part.

As part of the process, Shaw Solar came to their home and did a site assessment. The outcome was not what they'd hoped for.

Shaw solar's utility bill analysis surmised that they would need a 6 kilowatt (kW) system to power their family's needs. The roof is marginal because they are shaded by a hillside and many trees. The house is oriented on north-south axis with the roof facing east and west. Because of these issues, Shaw recommended a pole mount system, which would have shaded their family garden and created what some might consider an eyesore in their neighborhood.

Though this was a setback for the family, sunnier news came quickly in the form of a Community Solar Garden. 

John Shaw & Friends
 at the Girls and Boys Club

At about the time they found out that the roof-mounted system would be out of reach, La Plata Electric Association approved Policy 366, which made it possible for the creation of Community Solar Gardens. Shaw Solar had two gardens to choose from- one in Ignacio and one in Durango. 

Because the Durango array will be located on the Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County building, Finn opted for this closer array so that his son could see where their power was being produced. Since the array will be visible from Main Avenue and  it is located on a non-profit that works with kids, there is a good chance that his son and other kids will be learning about the benefits of solar in their community- which were positives for Sandra and Will.

Using a 5% increase in electricity costs, Shaw estimated their payback to be approximately twelve years. Finn's family feels good knowing that electric prices will likely be rising faster than that (potentially producing a faster payback) and the environmental choice to take part in this Community Solar Garden was clear for them. They are now signed up to subscribe for 6 kW of power from this garden and feel much relieved that this was an option since their own roof mounted array was not.   

So they've got a safe and efficient home. They are on their way to solar power. What more can they do and what is next?

Find out the surprising answer in the third and final part of this series by subscribing to the 4CORE newsletter.

About the Family

Will Finn is an internal medicine physician and his wife Sandra Beirne is a pediatrician. They have a four-year-old son Jasper. Previous to moving to Durango, Dr. Finn spent four years practicing broad-spectrum Internal Medicine on the Navajo Reservation in Shiprock. He and his wife enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking, and skiing. He believes that if everyone could make their home more energy efficient, we would make our community stronger and our world more liveable.