EmPower Solar Clients Embrace Electrify Your Life® Lifestyle Trend

It’s been two years to the day that we trademarked the term “Electrify Your Life,” incorporating it into our brand and everything we do. We empower our clients to go beyond switching their everyday electric use to clean energy, inspiring conversations around what else they can do to move away from fossil fuels and toward a 100% renewable energy lifestyle. For many clients, this means getting an electric vehicle, or using ground or air-sourced heat pumps to heat and cool their home.

In honor of our trademark-iversary, we surveyed our clients to learn more about their electricity habits and we found some interesting results!

Vroom, Vroom: EV Ownership Survey Results

Out of 94 survey responses, 55 reported being EV drivers, 25 reported using electricity for heating/cooling, and 18 people who did both.

When it comes to electric vehicles (EVs), 44 clients reported having one electric vehicle and 11 of these households have two or more EVs, including two clients who are expecting to receive their second EV later this year.

It’s no surprise that Tesla is leading the pack in EV popularity among our clients. We love Tesla too! The most popular vehicles were the Tesla Model 3 (11 clients) followed by Tesla unspecified vehicles (6) then the Chevy Volt (5). Four clients have the Tesla Model X, four have the Model Y, and three have the Model S. Other brands included BMW i3 (3 clients), Toyota Prius Prime (3), Nissan Leaf (2), Honda Clarity (3), and Chevy Bolt (2). These vehicles were each reported by a single client; Audi Etron, BMW x4 45e, BMW x5 PHEV, Ford F150, Gford c-Max, Hyundia Ioniq, Hyundia Kona, and Mitsubishi Outlander.

Make Yourself Comfortable: Heating + Cooling Survey Results

When it comes to heating and cooling, the most common electric source was ductless units, mini-splits, or other air-sourced heat pumps – 24 clients reported using one of these technologies. Four clients heat their home with geothermal energy, and two clients heat their home with radiant heat as their primary source. Twelve clients have plans to make the switch to electric heating/cooling in the near future.

When it comes to using solar power to electrify their lives, 100% of survey respondents are using solar to power some or all of their electric needs with solar panels. We found that 40% of clients who have either EVs or electric heat (or both!) are able to offset 100% or more of their electric demand with solar panels. Fourteen clients are not producing enough solar energy to offset all of their energy needs, but don’t have room for additional panels, and 12 clients are interested in adding more panels to their system now that they have higher electric loads.

Hear What EmPowered Clients Are Saying

Here are some exciting testimonials from some of our clients who have begun to electrify their lives!

Paul Alexandrescu –  “I started the journey into electric 3 years ago when I installed my solar panels. I’ve always been a person focused on reducing wasteful electrical use and migrated early to LEDs and used various tools and methods to identify areas of overuse. Earlier this year, I made the jump into electric vehicles, but in addition to that I’ve also started to take advantage of time-of-use billing. My house is a two family even though one family occupies it. It has two electrical meters each fed by separate solar panels (11 for main floor, 3 for top floor, bedrooms). Since most of the usage of the 2nd floor happens at night and I’m charging the car at night, I’ve switched my 2nd meter to time of use. This allowed me to fully cover my day electric use via the 3 solar panels and take advantage of lower rates during off peak time. I would love to explore more efficient solar panels, and I keep up to date with industry changes. I have been also considering installing solar panels in the back yard as a canopy. I’ve also been an active member of Astoria homeowner groups and promoted solar installs.”

Carmine – “I switched from a 1930s-era boiler with steam radiators to central air/heat via air-source heat pump. I was paying over $400/month for oil. Thanks to solar, I now pay about $800/year for electricity, which includes all heating, air-conditioning and “fuel” for my daily-driver EV. Plus, the basement doesn’t smell like oil, and the whole house doesn’t shake when the heat comes on.”

Mary Norwood – “I bought my home because I am retiring soon, and I wanted to go off the grid as much as possible. I have enough panels on my roof to ensure I can make that happen. I have enough stored energy to make it through the winter months. Considering that we are working from home because of the pandemic and the use of electricity has increased – I still had enough stored to complete the year without any more money. My plan is to purchase an electric car when I retire. The battery life on current vehicles is not long enough for the drive I do for work every day.”

Cezar Rizea – “We switched 5 and a half years ago, and it was the best decision ever. We drive electric, have a heat pump hot water tank, and heat pump mini splits in all rooms in our house. We’re pretty frugal with lights and electric consumption so our 8K+ system covers all our electricity need.”

Umair Tariq – “I had bought my house in 2018, being a environmentalist as I have my master’s degree in environmental science and engineering, I truly believe in nature energy and using its sources for your home. Yes, it may cost a little, but in the long run the Pros outweighs the cons. Once my house was fully solar, I then started looking at anything in my house that requires major use of gas. I then replaced my gas dryer with electric dryer, this year I replaced my hybrid vehicle with an all-electric vehicle. My vision does not stop here, I want to be able to use 100% natural resources and add that to my home. Not only does it improve my house value but it also gives me the peace of mind that I don’t have “extra bills” to worry about.”

Rawle Shah – “I love the idea that my family and I are doing our part to reduce our carbon footprint. I enjoy teaching our young girls about sustainability and what it means to use renewables and recycle.”

Kartik Mani – “We moved to this area with 2 small kids a few years ago. We installed ground source geothermal to replace oil heating and a very old AC. We then got our first electric car the following year and then added solar panels after that. We also have all electric appliances so almost no fossil fuels are used aside from the occasional fireplace or firepit on the patio. We love setting a good example for our kids (3 of them now) and they love telling people how we get our power from the sun and our heat from the ground!”

Zak Umanoff – “We replaced our gas-powered car with a Tesla and installed a 220W charger in the driveway. We replaced the AC unit with an air-sourced heat pump unit, which is still backed up by a propane furnace (we plan to replace both with a geothermal system, asap). We replaced our propane pool heater with a heat pump unit. We installed solar panels on the roof (thanks Empower!). We are working on swapping our propane hot water heater with a heat pump water heater (with pre-heating from the geothermal desuperheater). The last step will be to replace the propane oven with an induction oven, at which we will be 100% electric.”

“By the end of the year we’re going to be the greenest house in Seaford.” Said Imran Khan. Even better, he’s already inspiring neighbors and family to make the switch to solar as well!

Saving Money, Saving the Planet

While many of our clients make the switch to solar and clean energy due to the enormous savings that are able to be recognized, many also make the switch to lower their carbon footprint. We are proud of all of our clients who have taken steps in their own lives to make their impact a little bit lighter.

Clients interested in adding solar panels or an EV charging station to their existing solar system can contact our customer experience team at CX@empower-solar.com or 516-837-3459 to set up a consultation.

Clients interested in connecting with one of our heating and cooling partners or an EV partner can email Tara McDermott at tmcdermott@empower-solar.com.

Say goodbye to high-energy bills and hello to worry-free solar

Say goodbye to high-energy bills and hello to worry-free solar

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About the Author

Tara represents EmPower Solar as the Chair of the Long Island Solar & Storage Alliance where she is the government liaison for policy issues related to solar and energy storage. In 2018, Tara was named one of the Top 50 Women in Business by the Long Island Business News. She was also inducted into the Social Justice Distinguished Scholar Academy for her work in environmental justice issues in collaboration with Farmingdale State College.