Copyright 2022 - The Energy Show, Barry Cinnamon

Rob Black has been a popular TV, radio, and podcast personality for more than twenty-five years. Not only do I love his daily radio show on KDOW and and Bay Area TV, he also recently installed a rooftop solar and battery storage system on his home.

I had the pleasure of joining Rob on one of his recent shows — which is the subject of today’s Energy Show. Rob has a knack for explaining complicated financial and technical issues in a very down to earth way.

We covered a lot of ground on this show, including considerations for selecting a solar contractor, financial benefits, the trend towards electrification, and EV charging. Most interesting to me was Rob’s engagement in the energy flows in his house. He charges his car directly from the sun during the day — keeps his storage battery charged enough to get him through peak electricity times in the late afternoon and evening.

Rob has discovered that the biggest challenge is encouraging his family to watch when they consumer energy. Funny how we no longer care that much about turning the lights off in a room; LEDs use a fraction of what old-fashioned incandescent lights consume. But we have to be very careful when we use large electrical appliances such as EV chargers and dryers.

For example, if you fully charge your EV from the sun the cost can be $10; if you charge from your utility at off-peak times the cost can be $30; and if you charge at peak times the cost can be $50. Still, regardless of when you charge your car it is a heck of a lot cheaper than filling up your tank with $5/gallon gas.

So…if you want to hear about a financial expert’s experience installing and operating a solar and battery system, please listen to this week’s Energy Show.