Chris and Bernie Waters have lived in their San Diego home, which they bought from Chris’s parents, for many years. Home ownership is important to the Waters family because, as Bernie puts it, “Rent is just throwing money away.”
“Stability is in homeownership,” Chris agrees. “ It’s your own little piece of the USA.”
Bernie, a U.S. Air Force veteran and Chris, an accountant have taken on the lifelong task of raising their two grandchildren, ages 7 and 13. This means a lot of energy consumption: there’s laundry everyday, 4 televisions going at all times, tablets and phones to charge. Saving money is a priority for them and they recognized high, changeable electric bills were making this very difficult. “It’s getting ridiculous: charging more for kilowatts and changing their peak hours,” Bernie vented. “It’s going to make it hard for a lot of people.”
In their quest to save money while doing something for the environment, the Waters looked into solar. They researched other solar companies but were impressed with the work GRID did for a friend, so they contacted GRID and were delighted to find out they qualified for a free system through our Energy For All Program.
The Waters continued to be impressed as they watched the GRID volunteers and solar trainees using their roof as a classroom, expertly installing the Waters’ 13 solar panels. This system will save the family around $28,000 over the course of its lifetime -- ensuring the Waters’ home can stay in the family for many years to come.