Keith Snow and his dad built an earth home in 1983. “Our earth home is basically is a house that is completely underground except for the southern exposure,” said Snow. Earth homes stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. After his father died, Snow’s mother lived in the house for 30 years. Once Snow took over the home in recent years, he knew installing solar panels would be a perfect fit for it.
“I’ve been in the energy business for about 40 years. I work as a boiler operator and we burn diesel-generated electricity. So at home, I want to do my part for the environment and use clean energy. I also drive a car that’s 100 percent electric,” Snow said.
Snow knew he wanted to use solar for the earth home, and an ad from All Energy Solar helped him move forward. “Once I committed to solar, I jumped at the first opportunity.”
The installation was really smooth and took about three days. “Before All Energy came in, I did an extensive amount of work on my home to accommodate the solar panels. I had to make the façade and roof bigger for the panels and make sure it met the county code requirements,” said Snow.
Snow is happy that he’s received the federal tax and Xcel rebates for his solar installation. He’s also seen excellent results from his solar panels so far. “It’s really easy to monitor how much the panels are generating—I check it every day on my tablet. And I’m making really good power, even in the winter. I made 1870 KW more energy than I used last year,” he said. “I use it to charge my car, too. I’m probably the greenest person on Waseca township.”
