Straight-Up Solar Testimonial
by Dianna and Jim Oleskavich
We live in a south St. Louis City bungalo home in the Historic Shaw Neighborhood. With a long-time interest in native plants and sustainability, checking into solar panels was a natural next step after recycling and energy saving became our "norm". We began by checking with friends who had solar panels and started asking questions to educate ourselves from their research on panels, productivity and options. We also talked to Show Me Solar to better educate ourselves on what to do and ask in finding an installer and getting the best bid possible. We interviewed with 2 companies and chose Straight-Up Solar.
Dane with Straight-Up Solar, came out to do an assessment of our house and property (a tiny city yard!) and gave us a great packet of information, options, costs and details – which we studied pretty carefully, calling him often for answers that popped up. He was always responsive to our calls and emails. Straight-Up Solar’s proposal was very detailed and complete. One of the issues was how to install panels on a clay tile roof. We knew the wood under the tiles was old and may need replacing or additional support. We felt Straight-Up Solar’s plan made the most sense and contracted them.
Our next order of business was to talk to the neighbors about permits needed to meet Shaw Historic codes. Our first permit application was denied, so together with Dane, we gathered signatures, contacted our alderman, and prepped for the City Planning Commission Hearing. Our alderman was there with us when Dane gave the Commission a very professional presentation.
The Commission wouldn’t approve a permit for the panels to be installed on the house because a small part of them would be visible from the street! They actually asked if we could install red panels to match the color of the red tile roof. Dane then came up with an alternative plan that would meet the restrictions and desires of the Commission. Through some conversations our ‘Plan B’ was accepted. This meant we were approved to put panels on our garage roof instead of the house.
We had engineers check out our garage roof and reinforce the decades old structure to weight standards to support the panels. We also had a short trench dug for the electric lines to go from the garage into the house. The actual installation was easy – workers came prepared, cleaned up after themselves and did their work with courtesy, explaining everything we wanted to know. We’re hooked up to wireless and regularly check out the meter Ameren installed and an online monitor system.
We have received federal and state income tax rebates and a generous rebate from Ameren to "sell back" our solar renewable energy credits. Final cost for our 24 panel system was less than $5,000 – which will pay for itself in a few years. Not only did we "do the right thing", but we shared our knowledge with the City of St. Louis, got a bargain, and had fun in the process. Straight-Up Solar could not have been a more professional and nicer company to work with and I highly recommend them to others. Dane got things done when he said he would and explained the process every step of the way!
Events | Jeffrey Owens August 17, 2011 | 
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