AF couple uses solar energy to eliminate their SRP bill

Arizona seems to have an endless amount of sunlight, and one Ahwatukee Foothills couple has decided to use the sun to create solar power and eliminate their SRP bill entirely.

Wayne and Becky Sandifer, longtime Ahwatukee Foothills residents, enlisted the work of My Solar, LLC to convert their roof into an efficient producer of solar energy. The Sandifers have been environmentally conscious for some time by installing energy efficient appliances, tinted windows and CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) light bulbs, but installing solar panels on their roof is the biggest environmental step they have taken.

“I have 10 grandkids and want to leave something for them,” Wayne Sandifer said. “I wish everyone would do a little something to help out.”

The Sandifers had 63 solar panels installed on their roof, and the boxes will all use light energy to convert it to electricity. According to Skip Welch, Ahwatukee Foothills resident and president of My Solar, LLC, the solar panels are all connected to two boxes on the Sandifer’s roof, which convert the solar electricity into the same electricity that is brought to all Valley homes by SRP.

“The home will use the solar electricity first, and if it runs out it will use SRP electricity,” Welch said. “During the winter months they will get a credit from SRP because their home won’t need to use any SRP electricity. It’s almost like rollover minutes on a cell phone when you have minutes left at the end of a month.”

Having solar energy offers various economic benefits aside from the obvious benefit of conserving energy for the environment.

“When you put a solar system on your house it increases your value because a buyer of your house would have no electric bill,” Welch said. “SRP increases their rate 3.5 percent each year, so people with solar power have basically pre-bought their electricity at the current price.”

Wayne Sandifer is not sure how many years it will take him to break even on his solar power system, but he is not concerned about it.

“I know that if we sold the home tomorrow I could add the cost to the asking price and get my money back,” he said. “It’s also worthwhile because of all the incentives.”

According to Welch, it costs the homeowners $7 per watt to install the solar power system, but SRP offers a $3 per watt rebate back to homeowners. There is also a 30 percent federal tax credit and a 10 percent Arizona tax credit. In the end, the homeowners pay about 1/3 of the initial cost to install the system.

“It’s worthwhile with all of the incentives,” Sandifer said.

Currently, the Sandifers’ solar power system is installed and ready to go, but they are waiting on SRP and the city of Phoenix to make a final inspection.

To find out more about My Solar, LLC and solar power systems, visit www.mysolar-us.com or call (480) 626-8763.