{"id":23887,"date":"2021-07-01T19:33:13","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T02:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/?p=23887"},"modified":"2021-07-03T16:37:16","modified_gmt":"2021-07-03T23:37:16","slug":"solar-sheridan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/2021\/07\/solar-sheridan\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar Comes to Casa Sheridan"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Casa
Casa Sheridan With Solar Panels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve noticed, but it sure seems to be getting hotter outside. I remember about 6 years ago when we started seeing late summer temperatures in the 90s. I would whine about the temperature, and my friends in Arizona and Texas would inevitably tell me how much hotter it was where they<\/em> lived. I would always politely point out that they have air conditioning in their homes because it\u2019s always hot. I would go on to explain that in the coastal cities of Southern California, air conditioning has never been necessary. The climate is temperate and we\u2019re cooled by the ocean breeze. These infrequent temperature spikes were a mere nuisance.<\/p>\n

But each year, those infrequent temperature spikes have been happening more and more often. I will admit that I am a big whiner when it comes to hot weather, but I do feel my complaints are legitimate as a podcaster. When I\u2019m recording a video tutorial for ScreenCastsOnline, I have to have my door closed, my windows closed, a thick sound isolation blanket over the window for sound isolation AND I am wearing headphones. You can imagine how delightful that is when the temperature is pushing 100\u00b0F.<\/p>\n

I tell Steve often that the best podcasting investment I\u2019ve ever made is my Dyson fan. I did a write-up about the $300 Dyson Air AM06 just a year ago (along with the explanation of my sound-isolation blanket)<\/a>. I know, $300 for a fan<\/a> sounds ridiculously expensive but it doesn\u2019t just cool me, it also makes no noise so I can actually use it.<\/p>\n

\"01
Original Tile Roof<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But year after year as climate change accelerates, the temperature continues to rise and our high temperatures are lasting longer and longer. What was once a day or two per summer is now a week or more a couple of times per summer. Steve and I decided it was time to get central air conditioning.<\/p>\n

And yet, we were torn. If we get air conditioning, we\u2019re contributing to the whole environmental problem. There was a clear answer. In order to be ok with getting air conditioning, the responsible thing to do was have solar panels installed so we could actually lower or even eliminate our energy usage from the grid while getting cooler at the same time. This sounded like a daunting effort to undertake but we finally got the energy up to start the project.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s of value based on the numerous<\/em> questions that have come as Steve has posted photos of our progress to get solar panels installed on our house. Many of our friends and acquaintances are asking the right questions and are telling us that they\u2019re overwhelmed at the prospect of doing this, and yet they really want to get solar.<\/p>\n

Background on our house<\/h2>\n
\"Steve
Steve & Tesla with Spanish Roof Tiles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before I dig into the decisions we\u2019ve made, I need to give a little background on our house and our electricity needs. When we bought my Tesla, we had a Tesla charger installed in our garage. This required a connection to our electrical panel on the side of the house. During this process, I learned that the car charger would be hooked to a 50A circuit. That number is important because our oven requires 50A as well, and our electrical panel is limited to 100A. I did not know that I couldn\u2019t bake cookies, charge my car, and then turn on a hairdryer! Good thing I don\u2019t bake cookies.<\/p>\n