The weather is still beautiful in Rancho Cordova- cool nights and perfect days. This isn’t the time to be thinking about the oncoming cooler weather, or is it? Experts are expecting the costs to heat our homes this winter to increase dramatically, up to 40% in some areas. With our grocery bills, our gas bills, and just about everything else, what’s one more increase, right? Months ago we focused on stretching our gas mileage. Today, we’re still focusing on how we can stretch food in the kitchen (see this weeks “Pinch a Penny” series). Some worry that heating expenses are not something that so easily stretch as miles per gallon or beans in the kitchen.

Luckily for Rancho Cordova, the city is home to not one, but two solar power contractors. That’s right- solar power. The sun is our most vital and easily accessible source of energy and it’s up to us to tap into that now and start saving. If you are feeling a little green-friendly and the new PG&E solar power program just isn’t cutting it, or perhaps you’d just like to make it though this winter with a little extra cash, going solar could be on this weekend’s to do list.

Gone are the days of bulky solar panels.  Many homeowners and community organizations still worry about the aesthetics of solar power.  Solar shingles and tiles will blend seamlessly into your roof’s natural shape and the installation is far more simple than you would imagine. You can also have solar panels installed to appear like skylights. Swansea University has taken solar aesthetics to a whole new level by developing a way to actually paint solar cells on to roofing panels. You could effectively have solar power painted on your roof! If this innovation is successfully mass produced it could change the face of solar energy as we know it.  

Another perk of going solar is the increased property value. It is widely accepted that a solar system is worth 20 times your first year energy savings.  With most solar systems paying for themselves within the first 5 years, that’s a great deal of combined savings. The savings will only continue to increase as heating costs rise. If you produce more solar power than you use, you can actually sell it back to the utility company.

Solar power, especially for heating, is becoming increasing popular in California. In fact, Ikea announceed in August that they have plans to start selling solar panels within the next year. There is so much information available for residents looking in switching to solar energy, especially in our area. To estimate the amount you’ll save using a solar heating system, click here. Rancho Cordova receives vast amounts of sunshine; more than enough to power our space heating, our hot water heating, and heating for our spa. It just depends on what kind of system you’d like and what you’d like to do with it.