Making the Switch to Solar Energy with Arcadia

The average American household uses an incredible amount of unsustainable energy. Residential energy use accounts for roughly 20% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. In especially affluent suburbs, these emissions can be 15 times higher than nearby neighborhoods. These energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions stem from heating, cooling, and powering households, and we are nowhere near decarbonizing fast enough to hit climate goals we need to. Running our electricity sources off of fossil fuels is a huge issue we have as a country, and it’s going to take new, disruptive companies and technologies to make the change.

Jamie and I were adamant that we needed a green energy source to run all of the electric appliances we were going to invest in, but a few meetings with different companies who would install solar panels for us left us reeling at the cost. Whether we put them in our field or on our roof, we were looking at more expense than we could afford. However, for anyone looking in Maine Efficiency Maine does amazing loan options if you would truly like to invest in these!

Enter onto the scene our discovery of Arcadia, a community solar company that was the solution for us and a solution for many other Americans. Two-thirds of Americans can’t take advantage of rooftop solar for various reasons. At Arcadia, they’re building technology to connect you with a local solar farm so you can get all the benefits of solar with none of the hassle.

Their founder, Kiran, grew up in Appalachia, a region heavily impacted by the coal industry. He knew there had to be a better energy solution. In 2014, he started Arcadia to give people an easy way to choose renewable energy. Since he began,  Arcadia has expanded to unlock clean energy for customers in all 50 states.

So how does it work? When the solar farm generates electricity, your community gets clean energy and you get savings on your power bill — up to 10% off your conventional bill and I can attest to our costs having gone down since we joined with Arcadia! The sign up took just a few minutes with no credit checks – it was an amazing experience to be able to make such an impactful change with so little effort.

In connecting home to local solar farms helps increase demand for clean energy which will increase the amount of clean energy within a power grid. We have been able to plan for the big changes like heat pumps, a car charger and an electric water heater knowing they would be running off of electricity that was coming from a more sustainable source than solely fossil fuels. It’s been an incredibly positive experience to enroll in community solar at a time when there is such negative news about the climate crisis. 

None of these investments have been cheap, but we chose to prioritize our heating and car over other renovations in the house and I cannot encourage new home owners to consider doing the same enough. We are in the midst of a climate crisis that is being felt more and more each days – droughts, heat waves, forest fires and food scarcity are all now realities and if you are in a position to look at your own lifestyle and make impacts that are so important then I do feel it’s our responsibility to do so. 

Please join me in signing up for Arcadia with a special link to give you $10 off your first electricity bill here! 

Follow along the day to day journey @corahilts on instagram!