Chronicles of Climate Action: McElwain Household Turns Lemons Into…Solar Panels!

Read this and other success stories of climate action chronicled every Friday from now through mid-October! We are currently gathering teams of households eager to take on Season Four of our Home Energy Challenge. We hope these success stories inspire your household to join!

The McElwain household was part of the GREENbrier team. Can you guess which neighborhood they are representing?! 

Last August, the McElwain’s experienced an intense storm that turned disastrous — taking down multiple trees and part of their home. 

Prior to the loss of tree canopy, their home and lot were extremely shaded. Though the storm and it’s subsequent property destruction were not ideal, it did provide an opportunity to use the new-found sunshine. So they moved forward with a rooftop solar installation, enabling them to receive the full 30% tax credit and affordably finance the panels. They received a 30-year term on financing with monthly payments that are lower than their average utility bills prior to installing the panels. An instant return on the investment!

Since the McElwains live in an older home, it was important to make sure the energy produced by the solar panels wasn’t being wasted to inefficiencies in their home. Sigora Solar was able to provide a whole home energy efficiency assessment and improvements as a part of the solar panel installation, including an insulation overhaul and lightbulb replacement. The McElwain family found that Sigora’s customer service was helpful in moving through some of the complexities of the installation.

With solar panels and energy efficiencies in place, the McElwain’s utility bills are looking quite different. Their average bill is about $7/month, a representation of the distribution and city tax, because all of their energy use has been produced by the panels.

Things are, literally, looking sunnier for the McElwain family!

Read about the Purdue Household next. And if you or someone you know is interested in joining the Home Energy Challenge, contact andrea@theclimatecollaborative.org.