West Ryde resident Suzanne Mann had wanted to go solar for “years and years” for environmental reasons. Three months ago she finally got her wish and now, with the bushfire emergency across Australia, she’s more determined than ever that installing solar PV was the best decision.
“I guess it strengthens my view that we all have to do everything we can as individuals to move towards renewables,” Suzanne says, “and governments have got to get policies and actions happening about zero emissions.”
Suzanne despairs that while her local Council, Ryde, seems to be doing what it can on climate action, there’s too little action from the Federal and State Governments.
“Higher levels of government just aren’t acting, and they have to do something,” she says. “It’s getting quite depressing and quite overwhelming really. It’s almost too much to cope with and I just have to do what I can at the local level. It’s all I can do.
“It’s causing anxiety and distress across the nation, I think. It’s so distressing as it seems beyond the control of individuals, but governments are just not moving.”
Suzanne had solar hot water on a previous house 30 years ago and she loved it, so when she and partner Michael Fitzpatrick moved into their house in West Ryde a few years ago, she wanted solar PV installed.
Michael wasn’t convinced. “I’m someone who naturally probably takes a long time to make a decision,” Michael told us. “I like to research things. I don’t just jump out and do it. The other thing also is, I wanted to make sure it was at least financially viable. I’m not someone who thinks: ‘Well, OK, this is environmentally friendly, it’s going to cost $10,000 and it’s going to have a payback of $10’.
“I wanted to see that it would really actually work for us as well from a financial point of view.”
Suzanne and Michael came to our Solar Information Night at the Rose of Australia in Erskineville in mid July (our next one is February 13). Michael – who works for an insurance company in administration and customer service – fired questions all night but came away reassured that solar made sense.
When he got the quote from one of Inner West Community Energy’s preferred solar installers, Brightside Solar and Electrical, Michael realised they could spend around $7500 on a top-quality, large, 20-panel system that would then almost eliminate their power bills.
He gave it the thumbs up!
“I’m comfortable with the decision we’ve made now, very comfortable in fact,” Michael says, “and I’ve been spruiking it to friends and family. But I just wanted to get my head around it.”
Suzanne, a Work, Health and Safety Officer for the Public Service Association, says going to the Erskineville session helped Michael understand solar PV. “That really shifted him, I think.
I’m just so glad we went.
“It just made the information so accessible. Because there’s such a flood of information it’s hard to get your head around it. And I felt you guys made it so accessible and I saw how Michael reacted to that forum. I knew you guys had got him over the line that night.”
If you’re interested in going solar, our next Solar Information Night will be at the Petersham Bowling Club at 7pm on Thursday, February 13. Book via Eventbrite.
- Gavin Gilchrist0407 663 125
- Project manager
default