A local group invites you to explore the cost-saving joy of solar power.

Sara Rubin here, thinking about one of those things that’s all too easy to complain about: utility bills. The stuff we use that we can’t live without (heat, power, water) isn’t free. 

Only some of it is. I spoke to David Prina who is quick to point out that the sun shines for free. And since he moved to his Prunedale home in 2021, he’s been electrifying everything, capitalizing on that free power source. 

That includes installing solar panels on the roof, replacing a gas furnace with a heat pump, replacing a gas car with an electric vehicle. “We went on an electrification journey,” Prina says. “We are still on it, but we switched out pretty much everything from gas to electric.”

As a member of the local chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Prina and team are inviting you to join them in that journey on Sunday, Sept. 21. The day, organized nationally by a coalition of pro-solar groups, is branded as Sun-Day, meant to shine a light (pun intended) on the benefits of renewable power sources. 

Those benefits, Prina is quick to point out, include cost savings. While upfront costs can be high, he appreciates every time he doesn’t have to pump gas, and notes that heating costs—they were on propane before—are significantly lower.

“The nice thing about clean technologies and electric stuff today is that it’s never been cheaper,” he says. 

I asked Prina about his motivations, because he sounded a little bit like a pitch man to save money (not that anybody is opposed to saving money, count me in). He says the smoky haze of 2020 wildfires, coupled with his electricity going out while constrained indoors during the pandemic lockdown presented an apocalyptic vision and he wanted independence from the grid. “I was like, this is a vision of the future and it sucks, and I want to be sure it never happens again,” he says. 

These are reasonable and relatable arguments for clean energy, not grandstanding “save the world” arguments. I find them persuasive. Prina is interested in sharing the gospel to help us all avoid that future not for some kumbaya virtuous reasons, but because the future with electrification is in fact just better. 

“Up until recently the framing has always been around sacrifice,” he says. “Instead of pushing that rock up the hill against gravity, we’re over the top of the hill, gravity is with us and we’re gaining momentum.” (Of course there are policy obstacles to that, but Prina is far more interested in relying on the things we can all agree on—saving money!—as a rallying cry.) 

Sun-Day will provide people a chance to talk about nuts and bolts (and savings and costs) with vendors from HVAC, solar panel and electrical companies. You can check out electric cars and electric bikes. And learn about what’s changing in terms of policy and rebates (in short, the news is not currently encouraging on that front). 

Challenges aside, Prina is quite clearly an optimist, because he’s seen the cost-saving benefit firsthand. “Solar is coming,” he says. “People are going to try to stop it but there’s a lot of momentum.” 

Join him and others in building that momentum from 11am-3pm on Sunday, Sept. 21 at Window on the Bay Park in Monterey. Arrive via e-bike if you can—or maybe leave on one?