Our family is living off the sun by subscribing to solar

When my wife and I purchased our first home 20 years ago, we were really interested in installing solar panels. But after looking into it for a couple of years, we quickly dismissed the idea. The price tag was like taking on another mortgage and the look of the traditional solar panels was incredibly unattractive, in our opinion. At that time, we were even worried it would negatively impact our home’s resale value. Over the years, I occasionally researched the idea again but solar never seemed feasible financially or aesthetically.

Subscription clicked

I’m a big car guy and have enjoyed following Tesla’s growth in the automotive space. When I came across Elon’s tweet launching a solar subscription service, I was curious. One monthly flat rate, no installation costs or long-term contract — it’s certainly different from anything I’d seen over the past 15+ years. And comparing the monthly price of a system against how it would help offset my monthly energy bill, it was clear the financial math worked. Over the course of a year, I could save money by generating my own clean energy, rather than just buying it from my electric company. I also loved the newer, slim and clean profile of the panels, which reminded me of the clean, slick design of Tesla’s vehicles.

With all of that said, I was still nervous to switch from solely utility power to the addition of my own solar power. I didn’t know many people who had installed solar panels in our area and it felt like uncharted territory. I spoke with the Tesla team and I learned that I could cancel my subscription at any time, for any reason. This gave me the reassurance I needed, and I decided to subscribe to solar. It took almost 20 years, but I finally installed solar on our home through Tesla and I couldn’t be happier with the results!

The economics just make sense

Before solar, I was paying an average of $200/month to my power utility. Within two months, I was already seeing substantial savings. My electricity bill dropped to just about $12 a month (includes the utility’s customer service fee) by generating over 800 kWh of power in 5 months – and that’s before our days have gotten longer here in the North East! Adding in my subscription cost of $150, I still save on average $38/month and nearly $500/year . Throughout the process of transitioning to solar with Tesla, there has been no outlay or catch and zero effort from me to install and monitor our solar system beyond just having internet. The entire subscription model is in my favor and the savings truly add up.

The Tesla app has changed the way we use energy

We were always conscientious of our energy usage – turning off the lights and unplugging unused appliances. But the Tesla app makes it fun and engaging to teach my kids how we can live more sustainably. During the day, they see the clean energy the panels produce. At night, we also learn about how much energy is drained when we leave all the lights on in empty rooms. It’s been amazing to watch them change their behavior at such a young age and become more conscious of our impact.

Solar was the first step for our family to become more energy independent. It powers our daily lives, allows us to be the first sustainable house on the block, and puts a little money back in our pocket. Our neighbors give us a big thumbs up when they walk by and our first neighbor is already installing a Tesla solar system of their own. My wife and I intend on purchasing a Powerwall to further enhance our system and we hope to purchase a Tesla vehicle soon to take advantage of all that clean energy!