Going Solar is a Family Affair
“The kids think the solar system is great, and we’re using it to teach them to think about energy conservation and human impacts on the environment.” — Graham Barnes
Victoria and Graham Barnes’ “Family First” ethic inspires many of their environmental choices, from their rural lifestyle to the decision to go solar.
The Barneses decided to raise their children, Nicola, Bessie, and Ian, in Sunol, CA, about 40 miles southeast of San Francisco, because it was a safe and healthy environment. Now they are active residents of their rural community, volunteering for the school district and serving on the board of Save Our Sunol (SOS), a grassroots organization currently working with the Sierra Club and local agricultural organizations to protect open space from mining interests.
“We feel very connected to the environment and it is very important to us,” says Graham, a telecommunications entrepreneur. “While we’re very involved in the high-tech world of Silicon Valley, we try to be thoughtful in our choices. For example, we choose to have no TV connections at our home because we don’t want our time or our children occupied in passive, and consuming activities.”
Victoria agrees. “Living in Sunol turns you into an environmental activist; every single day you are reminded of the beauty of nature, and the powerful forces that could take it all away,” she says. “I am deeply concerned about the health of the world we are passing down to our kids. Putting in our solar system was an important step that we could take in the right direction.”
When Graham and Victoria realized that their electric bill was consuming about $1,000 per month, they knew this was an educational opportunity for their children, but they were concerned about the challenges of integrating a solar system into a major home remodel. Real Goods’ full-service turnkey package was the right solution.
“Real Goods did an excellent job specifying the system and handling all the PG&E requirements to make it very easy for us, at a competitive price, and they took care of the rebate paperwork,” say Graham and Victoria. “The Real Goods people were able to work very smoothly with our contractor, even when that occasionally meant moving very quickly to get something done within a particular window of time.”
Good parenting and responsible stewardship complement each other: In addition to helping their budget and increasing the value of their property, Graham says, “The kids think the solar system is great, and we’re using it to teach them to think about energy conservation and human impacts on the environment. We know we’re doing the right thing for our family and for the environment. We are helping solve the problems of the future.”
