The exciting news is that 1BOG has selected an installation partner and the installer will be visiting my house tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what the whole process is like.

I have two questions in particular:

1) I will definitely be getting a plugin hybrid car when they are available in 2-3 years. I’ve been told that driving a PHEV about 10K mile a year would be easily covered by an additional 1.5KW of solar panels. Should I get a larger system now, even though PG&E will not pay me for electricity over and above my usage? Or should I wait until I actually get the car?

2) I live west of Twin Peaks, meaning that July and August are foggy for most of the day. Should I get a larger system to compensate?

The pricing is pretty darn good even for the larger systems, so even if PG&E gets electricity for free, I don’t think I would worry too much about it.

By the way, the installer is Real Goods Solar. They have a wonderful store called Solar Living Center up in Hopland.