Happy Solar Family: Chris in Dulwich Hill

What’s this man doing sitting up on the first-floor ledge at the rear of his Dulwich Hill home?

It’s our new solar- and battery-owning member Chris Atherton, sitting proudly next to his new home battery.

There are very clear rules on where home batteries can be installed, and in this case the best location was on this ledge. Yes, we did have to get Chris to climb a ladder to get there.

Chris’ solar journey began years ago, but it wasn’t until he came to our Summer Hill solar information night in February that he felt confident to move forward. (Our next info night is on October 27 in Dulwich Hill.)

Working with Inner West Community Energy took the hassle out of going solar.

“You guys have a narrowed down panel selection,” he says. “So I think that’s really helpful for people. And I did a lot of research, I read the Solar Quotes guidebook, I did a lot of work, talked to lots of people. I still got one or two quotes, too.

“But I realised it’s not just the cost, that’s only one element. It’s who’s the installer, are they reputable, what’s the quality of the panels, what’s the efficiency of the inverter, what batteries do they work well with. All that. And that’s where having you there was really helpful, right?”

Chris, who works in risk management, wanted to install solar to cut his power bills, take advantage of government rebates, and to do the right thing for the environment.

“We want to reduce our carbon footprint in terms of electricity consumption and coal consumption from regular grid power,” he says. “I want to keep my daughters happy, making sure we do something good from an environmental perspective.”

Chris has two teenage daughters. His power bills used to be between $250 and $300 a month, but his last bill was just $50.

Our next event, Go Solar and Storage in Dulwich Hill!, is on Monday, October 27 at Butchers Brew Bar, starting at 7pm. It’s a free event but bookings are essential through Humanitix here.