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THESE EAST SETAUKET HOMEOWNERS WENT SOLAR, AND THEIR PANELS ARE POWERING ALMOST EVERYTHING THEY DO.
Several years before deciding to go solar, Anthony Palumbo was spending $1,500 a month on gas for his family’s fleet of cars. It was 2008, gas prices were high, and his Cadillac was getting 17 mpg. So, as his first step towards energy independence, he decided to buy a hybrid to cut down on fuel costs. He felt a small sense of financial liberation but was not thrilled with the performance of the vehicle, so in 2011, Palumbo bought his first electric vehicle; a Chevy Volt. He still drives it today and it gets around 64 mpg traveling around 100 miles per day, so the car has essentially paid for itself.
It’s no secret that electric vehicle owners are the perfect candidate for going solar. After seeing Palumbo’s Volt at his office building back in 2014, we connected over our common enthusiasm over electric vehicles. From there, it took only a short introduction to solar power to get him onto his home solar panel journey.
In his neighborhood, and among his circle of friends and family, he’s always been the one people call to fix their electrical problems when something goes wrong. Palumbo has a beautiful home and electrical technical knowledge, so when it came to going solar, he put a high value on aesthetics and quality workmanship. It wasn’t an easy sell, but eventually, he chose SunPower panels and us as the installer.
“My system is the nicest, cleanest job I’ve ever seen! My wife loves it too. She checks the monitoring app every day because she loves to see how much money we are saving,” states Palumbo. “I have very high standards when it comes to my home, but I inspected every detail and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Even with two electric cars, a battery backup system, and a two-story colonial house to power, Palumbo has a zero dollar electric bill each month and more often than not, actually gets a check from PSEG for excess power he generates!
“We don’t have many extended power outages in our area, but we have enough intermittent power loss events, often when we are at work or out of the house,” said Palumbo. “We had a portable generator for extended outages and tolerated the intermittent losses, but decided to get an installed backup system as the best solution to our needs.”
“The installed battery backup system provides a seamless process to continue powering the house whether anyone is there or not, keeping power to essential areas and appliances, like refrigerators and freezers, without requiring me to do a thing. It’s convenient, safe, reliable, clean, soundless, environmentally friendly and maintenance free. I don’t really think any other choice made sense.”
Since going solar, he has applied almost all of the different aspects of Electrify Your Life! He redid the roof, double insulated his house, and installed LED lights throughout the indoors – so, energy efficiency, check. A home backup power system, check. Electric vehicles, check. The only thing Palumbo has left to do is install electric home heating and cooling, which he’s already shopping around for.
The electrification of Palumbo’s life doesn’t just apply to his home, either. His new office has workplace EV chargers, and the conduit is already in place for the solar system he plans to install there. His nephew also went solar with EmPower Solar!
Say goodbye to high-energy bills and hello to worry-free solar
Say goodbye to high-energy bills and hello to worry-free solar
About the Author
EmPower Solar develops, engineers, installs, and services solar and battery systems for residential and commercial clients. Since 2003, EmPower Solar has empowered thousands of New York homeowners and businesses with 47 megawatts of distributed solar. Its vision is to create a new energy paradigm powered by clean, renewable energy for a more prosperous, healthy, and civil world. The company culture is defined by the EmPowering Way, which results in consistent 5-star customer service reviews. For more information visit empower-solar.com.