PV Gap

Greg Said:

What solar company is the best in the BayArea? Cost? Service? Reliability?

We Answered:

I haven't heard complaints about a *bad* solar company, so assume they're all ok. The installation practices all seem fairly standard; they use conduit, racks, UV-resistant wire, and so on - the things that are known to pass building inspection. Some of these things aren't required by code, but everyone seems to do it to be safe.

I would get several quotes, and see who has the best price, and who you feel most comfortable with. I personally dislike high-pressure sales tactics, so would avoid anyone that is trying to push me into signing without thinking.

Actually, we ended up doing a self-install, but if we were going with a company, I probably would have picked Realgoods Solar. I've met a number of their people at various events, and they seem very helpful, and low-pressure.

Kelly Said:

What would a fancy in-ground swimming pool cost?

We Answered:

It's only as expensive as you want it to be. Generally speaking in ground pools start for around 20-30 thousand. Then if you want fancy things, such as a waterfall, a slide, a fancy decking like stamped concrete instead of just a basic concrete deck, then its going to cost you money. the only way to truly estimate the costs is to sit down with a swimming pool designer or a company that builds pools and discuss the options of the things you want, listen to some of the information that they have, because as much as you might want something that you have pictured in your head, sometimes it just wont work when building a pool, and some of those things could be for various reasons but not limited to space in your yard, the law doesnt allow it (like where i live, Slides are no longer allowed to be installed, and the only Diving type of apparatus is a rock placed and cemented into place with the decking for a diving rock, as boards are no longer allowed either due to injuries and other mishaps. You mentioned solar heating, you are asking to build a fancy pool with the poor mans heating. Solar heating is probably one of the worst concepts out there. You would be much better off with a Heat pump style of heater which will be easier to install since it only uses electrical versus the conventional heater which uses propane or natural gas <and this also means you dont need to have a gas line run to your heater near your pool system either, as you are going to need electrical run from the house anyways, you can easily plan to have a heat pump installed. But again, these are all things that you can discuss with the builder or designer...

Good Luck!