ADVERTORIAL

Pamela Garcia, Founder, Simmitri.

Simmitri is a Silicon Valley Corporation, birthed in the Gilroy / Morgan Hill area, in 1995, that helps it’ s residential and commercial clientele harness Solar Energy Technology in all its forms today, and into the future. 408.779.3333 simmitri. com

Here are some positive ways to think Green this season:

Reduce the Size of Outdoor Lighting Displays A smaller presentation of lights can still be attractive, and more appropriate in the‘ season of giving’. Saving electricity is also a way of giving, since conserving resources benefits everyone.

Use LED Lights for house and Christmas tree lighting – LED holiday lights use up to 95 % less energy than larger, traditional holiday bulbs and last up to 100,000 hours when used indoors. LED holiday lights use. 04 watts per bulb, 10 times less than mini bulbs and 100 times less than traditional holiday bulbs. Over a 30-day period, lighting 500 traditional holiday lights will cost you about $ 18 while the same number of LED lights costs only $. 19. As an added bonus, if one of the LED lights burns out the rest of the strand will stay lit.

Save Energy with Outdoor Mini-lights A 100-light string uses only 40 watts. If you’ re buying a new set of lights, compare based on equal‘ lighted lengths’. Some higher priced brands have 100 mini-lights for only 8 ½ feet of length, while some 100 mini-light strings cover up to 40 feet in length. For the most efficient outdoor holiday lighting, consider the new solar LED strings now available.

So, if you want to go green, REALLY make a difference, and save the MOST money for the upcoming holiday season and beyond— go solar!

Here are some powerful reasons to consider Solar this year:

• Solar provides clean, renewable energy from the sun in an unlimited manner, and always will.

• Solar helps customers lower their electricity bill right away, while providing continuing cost savings that increase exponentially over time.

• Solar allows customers independence from the control of the“ Grinch like” practices of utility companies, including: rates that increase over time, changing“ time of use” criteria leading to higher costs,“ customernegative” changes to net-metering rules and utility payments, customers having to pay for maintenance of an antiquated grid structure.

• Solar allows customers to“ lock in” their rate of pay for electricity, or eliminate it all together. Solar provides, in many instances, free energy for life!

Multiple purchase and finance options make solar available and attractive to almost anyone who wants it, for ZERO, or very little, out-ofpocket costs!

In addition, the solar Investment Tax Credit( ITC), that provides customers a federal tax credit of 30 percent of the cost of the solar system is still available. By taking advantage of the ITC sooner rather than later, customers can start saving significant dollars on their monthly energy bill right away.

Here are two very important questions in order to determine who might be best suited to manage your project:

What is the efficiency of the solar panels being used? Hardly anyone is asking this important question, yet the whole arena of panel efficiency is quickly becoming a top priority to most manufacturers and installers. Lower-cost, less efficient commodity panels might seem like a great choice, but the fact is, a higher efficiency panel produces more energy, at a much lower cost per unit of production.

What do I need to know about the company installing these highly efficient panels? A credible company will always design a custom solar system based on the home’ s current electric bills, roof size, shading constraints, and power needs— only after analyzing consumption data to determine why the electric bill is high in the first place. After simple, low costs energy reduction measures are implemented, an appropriately sized solar system can then be designed with higher efficiency and maximum cost savings realized. Look for a company that is fully engaged in this more complete, whole-home approach to solar and energy-efficiency, combined.

Contact us today to learn more about the ways you can start saving money this holiday season and for years to come!

GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2016 gmhtoday. com

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