Msongs here, a songwriter/artist in Riverside, Southern California, about 55 miles east of Los Angeles. We are seriously considering converting our house to rooftop solar and have had 4 estimates from reliable solar contractors. Details of these bids will follow in the "body". The point of this diary is to solicit input from those of you who are knowledgeable about solar installations, and hey, even from those of you who are not.
The City of Riverside has its own utilities and is quite a bit less expensive overall than Edison or PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric). We have net metering, where the meter can spin backwards during solar input, and we are credited against times of peak use, usually July-August-September.
Our household is quite frugal already, with our thermostat set at 85 during the summer, though we would run AC more if it was cheaper. We also have a pool - our 25 year old way inefficient pump was just replaced by a new 4-speed electronic job that uses 1/4 of the energy. Traditionally I have run the pump less than recommended due to expense.
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