Confessions of an Energy Addict

Hello, my name is Gregg Dubit, and I am addicted to energy.

I feel better having said that. I am also the Director of 4CORE, and this is my first ever ‘web log’ or blog.  I am honored and proud that 4CORE is helping to Solarize our community and blogging seems like a great way to tell my thoughts and story on ‘going solar’.

Remember when your mom said, ‘eat your veggies before you have desert’? The same analogy applies to energy use in the home. Insulate, air seal, and maintain or upgrade your appliances first, to have an efficient home. Hire an energy auditor and prepare your nest for the winter. Then for dessert; ‘go solar’.

Our family still eats our veggies: We boosted our attic insulation, we insulated our basement, and we continue to look for ways to make our home more energy efficient. I still have to chase my kids around the house to get them to power down and turn off the lights, ROKU, Wei, computers, TV and the list of high energy consuming plug in devices seem to grow monthly.

I personally thought solar photovoltaics (PV) was not within my financial reach. I thought solar was for wealthy people, and it has been. My wife and I discussed going solar a lot. We were on the fence between our 10-year old daughter (Lydia) needing braces, and the need to upgrade a vehicle, as well as another set of snow tires. There was always something to keep us from investing in solar. I have admired the concept of ‘Going Solar’ but thought I could not afford to put solar on my house.

But I still did not have the cold hard cash to throw down.

Enter Solarize La Plata (SLP), never under estimate what a committed group of volunteers can accomplish. The SLP committee has made ‘going solar’ easy. Solarize La Plata is a grass roots effort to make Solar possible for more people, maybe even you. Competitive local loans, and very competitive pricing on solar installations with professional NABCEP certified, local contractors.

On top of all that, La Plata Electric Association (LPEA), is a proven leader among the 44 electric cooperatives under Tri-State for supporting solar on your home with well-organized, professional grid tied interconnect policies (meaning you don’t need to buy $10,000 worth of batteries to go solar), and you will even qualify for a renewable energy credit (thank you LPEA).

What was the tipping point for us on the solar decision? 

Actually there were several tipping points.

After doing the math, subtracting the incentives from the LPEA Renewable Energy Credit, and then subtracting the 30% federal income tax credit available - ‘going solar now’ is possible. My wife Gretchen and I piloted a loan to put PV on our home. Our system went live just a few weeks ago and we are now offsetting our home’s use of electricity. We plan to pay off our loan over the next seven years and we are hedging that utility prices will increase, making our investment even smarter.

Solar power is an opportunity like a back yard garden. We still depend on others for most of our food, but the elk, broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, berries, and lettuce we grow or get locally just taste better and make me feel good. I will still depend on LPEA for electricity, and I greatly appreciated how quickly they performed repairs after the last wet snow storm a few weeks ago. But I'm smiling, having gone solar and knowing I am making electricity while the sun shines.

My Energy Use Confession

I built a ‘hillbilly hot tub’ 10 years ago with a cattle stock tank and an aluminum submersible wood stove. We enjoyed many years of soaking, but splitting an additional chord of wood to heat it was not that relaxing. To upgrade to a modern electric hot tub, or not to upgrade.

Remember when I said I was addicted to energy? Let me tell you, Gretchen and I  really fought over this new appliance. Keeping 300 gallons of water 102 degrees outside is not sustainable. After all, the leader of 4CORE could not be caught relaxing in an electric hot tub, supplied with coal fired power (I imagined that I should be tarred and feathered). Gretchen made the case that this electric hot tub would be an investment in our marriage, soaking under the stars after the kids are in bed – and she was right (again). But compromise often comes with conditions, and my condition for the hot tub was that we invest in solar PV, before I turn 50.

So there you have it. I have come out of the closet – The director of 4CORE is addicted to energy.

What about you? What is your story about energy use?

If you have money, aka cash, solar offers a smart return on investment (ROI) which will outperform most stocks and bonds, and this is represents a local investment, with local contractors. If you don’t have the cash but still want to ‘go solar’ check out the competitive lending options.

If you would like to check out my array, come to the 1st Solarize Open House we are hosting, this Sunday, November 3rd  1:00 to 4:00 pm at our home: 2525 County Road 124, La Plata Canyon, direction signs will be posted – (please leave your dog at home- we have plenty).

Thanks for reading,

Sincerely, Gregg

About the Author

Born and raised in the Washington D.C. area Gregg Dubit has been in Southwest Colorado for over 20 years. Gregg has a Bachelors degree from The University of New Hampshire, Durham in Forest Resource Management, and from Fort Lewis College, Durango in secondary education. Greggs’ previous experience includes Commercial energy auditing, Residential Services Network training and certification, residential general contracting, residential real estate inspection services, high school math and science teacher, former ski patroller, and aged outward bound instructor. In addition, Gregg is an avid dog musher, proud father of Lydia and Hayden, and happily married to Gretchen.