Behind every great installation, there's a good story -- meet Mohyeddin.
Mohyeddin Abdulaziz has turned his home into a working model of sustainability by installing solar electric and solar hot water systems as well as rainwater harvesting cisterns. He is no stranger to renewable energy systems, having installed solar hot water during the Reagan administration.
Mohyeddin explains, "Solar has always been on my mind. We have the sun, how do we make use of it? Many parts of the world use solar energy, so I have been aware of it for a long time. When there was the opportunity for me to install my first solar hot water system 25 years ago, I did it."
As an avid gardener and someone who commutes solely by bike, Mohyeddin says the key to happiness is simple: you must work to positively influence your surroundings. “I am Palestinian and I was raised to appreciate the land, the earth, the plants, sun, and rain, I have always been close to nature, it’s where my heart is. I always saw my father working on the land. And that’s how my appreciation for nature started.“
This nature advocate looks at his solar energy systems, water harvesting, biking, and gardening as pieces to a bigger picture, “Not only do each of these steps compliment one another, but they contribute to a good life both from a health perspective and a financial perspective. The math tells you how beneficial installing these systems is financially. You save money on your electric bill, water bill, gas for the car, and growing your own vegetables saves you money on your groceries. But what I really enjoy is the amazing feeling that you are not only benefitting as an individual, or only benefitting your family, but you are doing a great thing by helping the environment and humanity, in general. “
Mohyeddin explains his process in going solar, “When we thought about going solar in 2008, we had many people come and give us estimates. We decided to go with TFS, not only because of the competitive price, but the approach was completely different. TFS came and took measurements, spent a lot of time answering all of my questions, and provided a lot of information. There was no ambiguity about it. It’s important to tell people what they are getting and how it will work for them. TFS told me what they where going to do, and they did exactly that.
And, the installers are great people. We are very satisfied."
Mohyeddin offers two bits of advice for others considering going solar, “It’s not as expensive as many people think, when you figure in the utility rebate and the tax credits. But, people need to know that the financial incentives will not be there forever, so it's best to do it sooner rather than later. Others may also want to know that you can also install solar in stages. You can get a system with a few panels and add to it down the road. This is exactly what we did; we added 1.72 kW onto our 5.15 kW system a year and a half after we first installed it. The important thing is to just get started, so you can see the advantages."