solar panels

Gary Kinzel posing with one of his barns

“Sunshine is free.” Solar panel sales companies hammer the point over and over; they know it’s an idea that resonates with potential customers. 

“The first company made it sound like we would have instant savings, that we would have no electric bill at all,” Kathryn says. “It sounded good to start with, but when we really started digging in, we realized maybe it wasn’t right for us.”

Before they pulled the trigger, the Reeds reached out to Kyle Hurles, an energy advisor at South Central Power. Hurles met with them to review their goals and go over the results they could realistically expect.

A sunset shining on solar panels

June is that glorious month when we enjoy the longest days of the year. In fact, Ohioans get more than 15 hours of sunlight on several days surrounding the summer solstice later this month. In recent years, it’s also been a time when solar power draws significant attention as something that seems like an obvious solution to America’s ever-growing electricity needs.

But even as more electricity is added to the grid from solar resources, it’s important to understand that solar power alone cannot meet our nation’s electricity needs.