A lot of people asked me if I would be willing out to share the details of the new Solar Experience at Bedlam Farm, and I will be happy to. It’s the least I can do for Momma Earth.

So far, so good, the panels are up, the cables laid, the system connected to our power line. All we need now is for the electric company to come and inspect the installation, and then it will be activated. This will take another week.

I’m already getting lots of unsolicited warnings from people about battery storage and pictures of the workmen walking on the panels. It’s like getting a dog, ignore the warnings, and follow your own instincts. (They wear special sneakers.)

If you read this, please don’t waste your time sending me warnings. I don’t do Internet warnings.

I’m not strong on technical details, but as I learn, I’ll pass what I know along. As to money, we put no money down and will not pay for our small credit union loan for one year.

We borrowed around $9,000 (we got $10,000 in tax credits altogether from the stare and federal governments), and the payments on the loan will be substantially less than our average monthly electric bills.

Every bank is different and offers different options. If you have the money (we didn’t) you can purchase the panels outright and just pay to have them installed.

The solar packages are flexible and vary from state to state. Check with your electric company for information in your area.  We use National Grid, they very much support solar energy.

You don’t need a lot of money – or really, hardly any money – to do this.

The bank put a lien on the solar panels, but not on our home. The solar company estimates our electric bill will be  80 percent smaller on average, and zero in the summer.

We will have monthly payments to the bank in a year, they are a lot less than the electric bills we were paying, especially with Maria’s studio in the winter.

The installation is in two parts, one to install the base, the other to load up the panels and connect it to the house electrical system. The panels are often installed on rooftops in densely populated areas with little spare land.

If you have a big Southern exposure like we do in our pasture, you can get a larger panel that will cut the electric company power bill even more. That’s what we did.

So we are saving money, but of equal importance, we are beginning to do what we can for the environment. We have to start somewhere, right?

I’ll keep every posted as I learn more.