If you've followed our journey you realize it was not an overnight decision and we have had some glitches. But, here we are more than 70% self-sufficient on most days and enjoying watching our power bill usage decline.

One thing I need to mention is that our learning curve has been more fun that we expected. With a storm heading our way, NOAA will do it's best to keep our solar at its peak. We may actually experience a true outage, not one under our control. We can come and go off grid at will and it was sure a learning curve to charge our Teslas, the dryer, water heater, etc. in the morning instead of the evenings or overnight. We enjoy letting the sun run our appliances and cars!

Next: What Fun!

 ... we have received an email from Alabama Power ... it appears we have some choices to make. Honestly, it never occurred to me that we'd have to make some decisions about staying on the grid and how. Don't get me wrong, we didn't expect to be 100% self-sufficient, but ... well, I guess I just didn't know quite what to expect.

Regardless of what your solar company salesman tells you - as they are likely to work with many different utility companies - be prepared to handle some stuff with your power company, if they'll even play. We are fortunate, I feel, to have Alabama Power.  They have been more than helpful and happy we are 'going solar.' Apparently not all power companies feel the same way.

• Alabama Power's Solar Information page / They also have information about hydroelectric power, and nuclear energy.

But wait, there's more! It's confusing ... I mean for the average 74-1/2 year woman to clearly understand, that is. Alabama Power emailed me way more information than I could possibly need and it's overwhelming. But, I know who to contact and I've already sent an email. Stay tuned!

Next: August 30, 2024

Tom and I feel we are in a good place. We'll know for sure when our first power bill on solar arrives. We had a duh moment or two, but in good humor we made some adjustments and eventually had to think outside the box.

We have been trained by our power company for years to minimize our usage during the day when rates are higher and to reduce the load on the grid. Makes sense. Now we need to do the opposite. When our solar storage is full we are literally wasting the sun's energy. It has no where to go! When the batteries are full, they are full. There is no squeezing in any more. Since we haven't made the decision yet to sell extra power back to the grid, we need to be good stewards and use the sun while we can.

So, we now schedule our dishwasher to run at 10 am, plus we charge our cars in the morning. This has increased our independence from the grid. Last night, we were 91% self-powered! Now, that's what I'm talking about!