Updated: Jun 29, 2020
With mile-long electric bills, this North Ferrisburg home found its second wind with solar.
When you’re an athlete, you do everything you can to boost your performance, whether that’s investing in high-quality sneakers, timing when you eat your carbs, or even swapping out your gear for something more lightweight. So, it makes sense that Rayne Herzog would take the same approach for his energy-hungry house in North Ferrisburg. Rayne is the general manager of Shelburne Athletic Club and race director/owner of RaceVermont.com, a company that hosts races for runners of all abilities and offers race training as well. He also offers training through his business LifeTrak Personal Training.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. He was still spending $217 per month on his electric bill at his home—after doing everything in his power as a homeowner to reduce his usage.
As someone who cared about the environment—as well as the cost of his electric— Rayne had considered solar several times in the past but struggled to find a financing option that made sense for him.
It would be a professional connection that would be Rayne’s light-bulb moment. He is the general manager of Shelburne Field House and race director/owner of RaceVermont, a company that hosts races for runners of all abilities and offers race training as well.
Financing Options Make Solar Affordable
One day in 2017 Paul Lesure, general manager of Green Mountain Solar, called Rayne to ask if GMS could sponsor a RaceVermont race series. With Paul already on the phone, Rayne took the opportunity to learn more about going solar at home.
After several site visits and a series of additional conversations, Lesure determined that Rayne’s 2.5-acre property was well-suited for solar, and was able to offer Rayne a split loan process—called Green Sky Financing—that helped make the installation feasible.
“The split loan option Paul could offer really nailed it for me,” Rayne says. “Being able to split the loan and not having to pay outright for the total value of the cost of solar was the initiative I needed to pull the trigger.” While this financial plan is no longer GMS’s primary financial offering, the solar loans available through VSECU are great zero-money down options that offer the benefits Rayne highlights.
Get more details here on how to pay for solar panels with VSECU
Financial Benefit of Solar Investment
After installing 25 Q-Cell 300-watt panels with 25 Enphase IQ6+ micro-inverters on Rayne’s roof, Rayne now achieves 105% of his energy needs via solar. The sun now completely powers his house, plus a garage with a small apartment—including all of his appliances, lights, and three heat-pumps.
Most importantly, his electric bill went from $217 per month to a mere $16, the cost of the utility’s customer charge.
Rayne is happy knowing that his home, apartment, and home gym are all powered by the sun.
“I love my property and care about what people are going to inherit after we’re gone,” he says. “My experience working with Green Mountain Solar was great; in addition to RaceVermont and the Field House, I’m also a property manager and a construction manager—so I asked a million questions of Paul about the process. He was very upfront and well-informed about the process and was able to answer all of them. I’m a very happy solar customer!”
By Lindsay Warner
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