So I’m retired now, and I have decided it’s time to go solar. What does one thing have to do with the other, well, I wish I had something more noble to say but really I just want to save money on my electricity bill, I want to add value to my home, and I have enough time on my hands now to actually get it get it done. Fortunately in life I have learned how to maintain a position in which I can be a picky about what I want and usually get it (usually). When it comes to installing solar panels I had no idea what I was getting myself into, so i had to buckle down and do some research and pray that would find a solar company that could meet all of my demands. I wanted the very best technology installed on my house, Solar provider I wanted it to be made by a deep pocketed reputable company in the U. S. A, and I wanted a long term warranty.
Originally from New york, I relocated to Tucson about 12 years ago to escape the cold weather. People complain, we get a yearly average 300 plus sunny days here, but no matter how hot it gets, I would take each and everyone of them over one bone chilling New york day. Not to mention that instead I sold a shoebox sized condo and had more than enough money to buy my 24, 000 square foot 4 bedroom house is located in a quiet suburban neighborhood. There are a lot of old people like me that live around here, I meet each week with a group of ladies at the neighborhood club house and play cards. Janet, one of the gals, has solar panels on her house. She said her electricity bill for the entire year was $16. 80. I wasn’t certain if i believed her, but she sparked my interest, so i decided to do some research.
I used Google to find information online about solar manufactures in the U. S., Kyocera, BP Solar, Evergreen Solar, Sunwize, and Solar World are some of the companies that claim to be U. S. companies, but not all of them are really American, and most of them don’t manufacture their parts in the U. S. they assemble them here. Evergreen was the only actual American owned company. They manufacture all their parts and the entire panel in the U. S. – but after making $84. 5 million in the second quarter of 2010, they are setting up shop in China in order to make more profits. (I wonder how much more money they need to make in order to keep creating green jobs in the U. S. and stop giving jobs to people who are forced to work in miserable conditions for peanuts).