The economic slowdown should have scared me.
Okay, for a few days it did set my mind into the spiraling doom effect we are all too familiar with in an economy that cycles through booms and the inevitable busts that follow. I had begun to see my friends and family lose their jobs, post their hard earned toys up on Kijiji and give up on plans for retirement.
Scary stuff.
It was hard to not worry when all around you people are finding themselves in dire circumstances. I shook off this mindset when I realized I had an ace up my sleeve. Nobody was going to shut off my electricity if I didn’t pay the bill. I don’t have a bill - I have an off grid solar power system.
This was the first time my solar system and the economy had crossed paths. The realization that I had handily eliminated the threat of electricity bills I couldn’t pay if my work dried up and finding myself sitting in a dark home with a freezer full of rapidly melting food was powerful! Though it sounds like a great excuse to sit down to a tub of ice cream. “Hey, it had to be done, you can’t let Rocky Road - Extra Chunky go to waste!”
Not that this would alleviate all the problems people are facing, but in my case it certainly took some of the stress I was carrying off my shoulders. I was liberated of this threat hanging over my head and found myself with breathing room. I had the chance to take control of the situation if things came to that.
The other benefit I harvested from my PV system was that for the last 10 years I have been able to keep my costs down for my clients; my electricity costs simply never went up so I was able to keep my rates attractive through the years. When it came time to figure out who to purge and who to keep, it couldn’t have been a hard choice for them to make in a shrinking economy.
I originally looked to Solar for environmental reasons and because I liked the idea of it; it was just kinda cool to think you could create power from the sun. Also, when I ran the numbers, it simply made more sense. So this freedom and autonomy in rough times was just an unforeseen added bonus!
I would imagine those people out there with Grid-Tie Solar Systems are feeling much the same way right now. The sun is offsetting their bill every month and without a doubt every dollar saved in rough economic times is welcome. I’d even bet there have been more than a few people who have done a little dance of joy that, when they were building their boom time dream home, they opted to put in a net Zero Solar array instead of an extra large entryway. Short of renting out the massive entryway as an Airbnb, it isn’t helping the bottom line!
So add another plus to all that is great about Solar Power: The ability to smooth out the highs and lows of an economy that sometimes seems to be stacked against you. Now, bring on another boom, I promise I won’t blow it all this next time! (instead I’ll buy even more solar panels).
This was a guest post from a happy Sunfind Client, Keith Ahlstrom.