After Going Solar, I Felt the Bliss of Sudden Abundance | WIRED - "My rooftop panels showed me that a world powered by renewables would be an overflowing horn of plenty, with fast, sporty cars and comfy homes."
I used to worry about using too much electricity.
If one of my family members left their bedroom and forgot to turn off the air conditioning? I’d snap at them: “What, you want the planet to cook extra fast?” If I found lights left on overnight, I’d fume.
Reader, I was insufferable. In my defense, I’d been worrying about climate change ever since Jim Hansen’s 1988 landmark congressional testimony about it. With every cool blast of AC, I knew more carbon was being dumped into the atmosphere. So I turned into an energy miser. I’d go around the house turning lights off; if no one else were home, I’d leave the AC off entirely, even on blazingly hot days.
But 3 1/2 years ago, author Clive Thompson bought some solar panels for his house.
The panels were predicted to supply 100% of the house's electricity consumption, but on hot summer days, they supplied 25% more, and on sunny spring and fall days, 50% more. He saved $2,000/year, enough to amortize the cost of the panels over 7 years.
no longer walk around finger-wagging at my family members. Want to blast the AC? Crank away. It’s coming from the sun, and I can’t use all that electricity even if I try. And I’ve tried! I’ve charged an electric bike, run multiple loads of laundry, had many computers and a game system and a TV going, and still those panels were kicking out a net surplus. I’ve idly thought of running a power strip out to the sidewalk with a sign saying “FREE ELECTRICITY,” just to be the Johnny Appleseed of solar.
In essence, I went from a feeling of scarcity to a sense of abundance.
After noting that many people feel that using renewable energy means depriving oneself of a lot, he noted that many people who got solar panels came to feel what he feels: a lot less inhibited about the use of electricity.
