When Don Hutchins decided to rebuild his chicken houses at his historic Petaluma, CA homestead and former chicken ranch, one of the requirements from his wife Miriam was to consider incorporating solar power. An environmental activist, Miriam convinced Don of the virtues and good sense of going solar. Working with the restrictive codes of the historic California property, Don developed a plan that renovated his old dilapidated chicken coops into a 6 kilowatt solar power plant.
Don and Miriam are very pleased with the way the panels look on the buildings. “Miriam’s insistence on using solar power for our project convinced me of its good economics and that it can be incorporated into the design of buildings in an aesthetically pleasing way.”
Don’s positive experience working with Real Goods on his own solar project has led him to consider offering it as an option to his clients. Give Don a call at 707-762-4720 if you’re thinking of building a house in Northern California!
| System Information | |
| Tech Specs | Two 3 Kilowatt grid-tide solar systems. Each system consists of one Sunny Boy 2500 watt inverter and 18 sharp 165 watt solar panel. Each system will produce 325 kilowatt hours electricity per month. |
| Power Contribution | 75% annual load |
| Install Time | 4 days |
| Property Value Increase | $34,000. Fully exempt from property tax increase. |
| Payback | 9.5 years (11.5% RII) |
