Best solar company in davis

YoloShines: Yolo Crisis Nursery

As we’ve shared, every time a homeowner goes solar we donate $500 to the local nonprofit of their choice. We call this program “YoloShines,” in great part because we believe nonprofit organizations are the underlying fabric of our community — they make it shine! — and, thereby, we have a responsibility to support such groups.

Over the past year, seven Repower homeowners have selected Yolo Crisis Nursery (YCN) for their YoloShines gift; hence, we had the fortune of donating $3,500 to YCN in 2017. In an effort to shine a light on YCN and engage the community to join us in our support, here’s a quick profile of the organization.

First, a story that amplifies the impact of YCN:

About one year ago, a distraught young mom named Jess first came the Yolo Crisis Nursery.  After the birth of Jess’s second child she was home alone with her newborn and her toddler, and realized she was having trouble caring for them both by herself.  Jess’s decision to call the Nursery probably saved her baby’s life.

Over the phone, YCN staff invited Jess to bring both children to the Nursery, where we could care for them at no cost and give her a much-needed break.  Once the family arrived, the situation took a dramatic turn.  Executive Director Heather Sleuter looked at the baby and saw that he was far too listless.  She asked when he had last been fed.  Jess said she could not remember.

Heather directed one of our caregivers to comfort and care for the toddler and then drove both the baby and Jess to the hospital. 

The emergency room staff attended to the child, successfully treating him for severe dehydration.  The doctor told us the baby had come within hours of death.  Meanwhile, Jess received the medical attention she needed.  County authorities made arrangements for both children to move into temporary foster care.

While county officials and Jess worked toward family reunification, her health stabilized and the children eventually returned home.  The family was then enrolled in YCN’s Family Life Skills Program.  A Nursery staff member visited the family’s home for two hours a week for 12 weeks for hands-on parenting education.  Families who complete our program significantly increase the likelihood that they will remain together,’

Today, a year later, this family is doing well.  Jess is working and the children are happily enrolled in day care and preschool.

Wow. Thanks to Cam Stoufer with YCN for sharing the story of lives saved and changed.

All organizations have a purpose … Why does Yolo Crisis Nursery exist? The mission of the Yolo Crisis Nursery is to provide early intervention services to nurture healthy and resilient children, strengthen parents and preserve families. Our vision is that every child in Yolo County grows up in a safe, loving and stable home. The Nursery’s overarching goal is to prevent child abuse and neglect among young vulnerable children by partnering emergency childcare with wrap-around services for families in trauma or crisis. In doing so we keep children safe and families whole in our community.

In 2017, Yolo Crisis Nursery’s accomplishments included:

  • Families receiving childcare services who did not become clients of CPS: 99%
  • Families linked to case management counseling and community resources: 267
  • Families completing referral to wrap-around services: 98%
  • Children served and childcare slots provided: 178 (individual count - up 45% over previous year) and 2,342

Very significantly, 98% of the families the Nursery serves do not become clients of Child Protective Services.

Now, our punchline ... here’s how you can help (monetarily, personally, professionally): Yolo Crisis Nursery is a 501c3 nonprofit organization (Tax ID #47-1006055) which welcomes support from individuals, businesses, foundations, service and faith-based organizations in our community.  The Nursery provides care packages to our families and in-kind support is always welcome in the form of diapers, formula, clothes toys and other items for children.  Volunteer service projects occur throughout the year to maintain and enhance the Nursery facility for our children and families.  Volunteer positions are available annually on the Board of Directors and ongoing as members of the Friends of the Yolo Crisis Nursery, the fundraising and advocacy auxiliary of the Nursery.  Lastly, the community is invited to participate in the annual Krustaceans for Kids Crab Feed to support the Nursery’s programs.  This year the Crab Feed will be held on Saturday, March 24 at the Woodland Community and Senior Center from 6:00 to 9:00 pm.  Tickets and sponsorships are on sale now.  More information is available at: www.yolocrisisnursery.org.

Please join us in supporting Yolo Crisis Nursery, a shining light in our community.

Expanding your solar system to charge an electric vehicle

Increasingly — at least once each week — we are contacted by solar homeowners who recently purchased, or are contemplating buying, an electric vehicle (eV). To wit, they are interested in adding panels to their current solar system to cover fueling (charging!) their new eV.

The good news: Solar-charged electric vehicles are the least expensive form of four-wheel transportation, let alone the virtue of aborting fossil fuels. For RepowerYolo homeowners, the average cost to generate solar electricity on their rooftop is 8 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). For every kWh of charge, eV owners garner ~4 miles of range. Hence, if you have an electric car that’s powered by sunshine, your cost to drive is ~2 cents per mile.

The challenge: While it’s technically (almost lego-esque) easy to add solar panels to a system, the process is, unfortunately, somewhat pricey. There are two scenarios:

1. Your current inverter has sufficient capacity to accommodate additional panels. If this is the case, then the challenge is locating and purchasing comparable (wattage) solar panels. Depending on the vintage of your current system, this could be simple, or it may be that you need to purchase used/refurbished panels.

2. Your current inverter cannot accommodate additional solar panels. Thereby — this is what I did when I added nine panels on my roof to charge my Leaf — you need to either add a second inverter or proceed with micro-inverters. Again, securing compatible panels is the next step.

In both scenarios, we are required to perform full design-engineering-permitting for your additional solar capacity. Though this is not complicated, it adds to the cost; it’s not simply lego-esque, snap-a-few-panels-in-and-go.

An additional caveat: Homeowners can only claim the 30% Federal tax credit once every five years. So, if you went solar in the past five years, you may want to wait until you re-qualify for the credit. 

Net-net, we’re happy to help. There’s no cost to receive an assessment of your current system, analysis of your historical net-energy use, modeling of your future electricity demand (for your eV), and an analysis + recommendations for your additional solar capacity. Feel free to contact us or swing my our workspace.

Evaluating solar options? The Model T days are over; four key considerations.

You've decided it's time to (re)-investigate installing solar. Your hesitancy may be logical: You do not need to go solar, and you’re unsure how to assess and assemble the pieces, let alone compare offerings. It can be puzzling. Your caution (and even procrastination) actually positions you well. The solar industry has improved dramatically from the Model T days.

Early car buyers had similar concerns: Do I buy internal combustion engine, electric, or steam? What starter makes sense? What about the brakes, or the dashboard, or the tire lifetime? Do I need a car? If so, who can I trust and will it work/be dependable?

Homeowners who went solar in the early days had to consider panel composition, wiring, inverter design, roof attachments, warranties, and even potential fire hazards. Fortunately, solar equipment is now similar to automotive offers from the early ‘80s. We no longer need to ask about where the engine was made, the engine compression, the electrical system, etc. For cars, we now shop for benefits and outcomes, and we have specific metrics to help gauge alternatives: fuel efficiency, acceleration (zero-to-60), safety test results, stopping distance plus all the new features and benefits available.

For solar, here's what matters most on the equipment front (i.e., questions you should engage and pose to your solar provider):

  1. What is the likelihood the system will generate the annual energy forecasted? Thereby, can the solar company point to a significant group of local, monitored homes and compare forecast to actual generation? A simple metric to calculate system productivity: total annual electricity (kWh)/system size (kW-DC). For south-facing systems with no shade, this number should be about 1,500 kWh/kW. East- and west-facing systems produce ~8% less. (The likelihood of actually generating the energy promised falls dramatically as the actual productivity value increases above this threshold.) And, don’t get confused by panel efficiency: It simply reduces the area required for a system, and has a modest impact on the system’s production.
  2. Does the equipment come from Tier-1, investment-grade suppliers? For solar panels: Canadian Solar, SunPower, LG and a handful of others qualify. For inverters: SMA, SolarEdge, and ABB.
  3. What is the likelihood my product warranties will be valid? Amplifying the above point, the current and future financial stability of the manufacturer is imperative. A 25-year warranty is only as good as the company behind it; do your homework (or, better yet, press your solar provider to evidence the manufacturers’ solvency).
  4. How do I know I’m getting a fair price? One way to standardize pricing for an apples-to-apples assessment: Divide system cost by the the system size (watts), so you have the cost per watt. The gross investment (pre-tax credit) for most home systems today should be $3.50 per watt or less for a Tier-1 system installed by a first-rate contractor.

Solar is transitioning from an art form to science. In so doing, your task is simplified as you endeavor to generate your own power. (And, solar, in our opinion, is the only investment in your home that generates a reliable return.)

Thank you

Yesterday we were named the Best Solar Company in Yolo County by Davis Enterprise readers.

Wow.

We are honored. We are humbled. And, we are more committed than ever to help members of our community evaluate and go solar.

Above all, thank you to property owners who have trusted us to shepherd their solar process. More than 7,000 Repower solar panels smile at the sun today thanks to you. 

Thanks too to our parents who raised us, our wives who support us, our children who keep it real, and our friends — be it over a beer or bite, on the tennis courts or golf course, or in the boxing ring or gym — for keeping our egos in check!

And thank you to the dozens of community and nonprofit organizations we collaborate with. Since we have not spent a dime on advertising or marketing — and we do not employ salespeople — the organic word-of-mouth of our comrades has been imperative to our growth. Thereby, we are proud to have donated more than $40,000 to local nonprofits through our YoloShines program.

This is the first year the Enterprise entertained votes for Best Solar Company in Yolo County. Some say, "it's about time solar got its due." We believe it's a signal solar has come of age, particularly since one-in-four Davis homeowners now have solar PV systems.

Best is an superlative, subjective adjective. At risk of sounding trite, here's what we do to earn the trust of our community: Deliver high-quality solar systems installed by a first-rate contractor at a competitive price. Thereby, ensure property owners get what they paid for, and make sure the solar system does what it’s supposed to. We are there every step of the way — from initial assessment to financing to design and engineering to permitting to installation to PG&E interconnection to solar system monitoring. That’s our job, and we both love it and take it seriously.

Finally (and importantly!), congratulations to our friends who also were honored as Best in Yolo County … we’ll have beers soon to celebrate:

It’s a pleasure to do business with you and collectively serve our community.