A Family Full of Sunshine

Earlier in the year, we wrote an article about one of our clients, which we interviewed one afternoon.

We have reprinted the article below, since we never had a chance to run it on our website.

Jan. 24, 2013 - It was an overcast winter day in the Bay Area when I was asked to come along for an inspection of a small Vallejo family's solar system. The sun was hidden somewhere behind the clouds, so it wasn't an ideal day for a photo shoot. Regardless, I came along optimistically, this being my first assignment as a staff writer for AllBay Solar.

The family's home was off of Glen Cove Parkway, a neighborhood that was very quiet, and that offered beautiful scenery. When we arrived at their two story house, I couldn't find the solar panels until they were pointed out to me: they faced a small valley that was sure to bask in a lot energy when the skies cleared.

When I met Jenny Marshall, the homeowner we were visiting, I felt immediately that she herself radiated with energy. It seemed as though sunshine was something she carried within herself, not entirely the result of her reduced PG&E bill. She was sweet and welcoming, and seemed humored by my fear of heights as I climbed a ladder to the roof of her house with our company electrician and the county inspector. Jenny had a sixteen panel solar system that she was very happy about.

"It was the price," she told us. "We saw on the T.V. that converting to solar energy was a good way to save money, so we looked into a few companies, and we found that AllBay Solar was one of the most affordable."

Jenny, like many Bay Area homeowners, discovered that rising energy prices was a problem that her family needed to work on. Yet an adequate solution couldn't be found by simply reducing energy usage on her end. Solar panels required the least from her: she didn't have to drastically change her family lifestyle. Jenny discovered that she could produce her own energy by investing in solar energy.

"During last year's holiday season, we saw that our energy bill for December was over $350 dollars," she said. "So I went over to my husband and I said 'Oh my goodness! This is like paying for a car!'" But with her sixteen panel system, the price reduced to something more like paying for a single user cell phone bill. "Over time, the solar panels pay for themselves," she added.

The panels will continue to help her save money long after they finish paying for themselves. "I will pass the house down to my children one day," she told us. Her children will be fully prepared with a solar home.


-Alfredo Sabillón, Staff Writer