End of an Era: The Power is Off

Back in the Jimmy Carter era, people received substantial subsidies for investing in alternative energy, such as solar panels. On top of federal tax credits, Kansas offered a state tax credit. That was all my dad needed to move from being a gas dependent chump to a man who could brag about the generation of energy on top his home. I remember more than one engineer admiring those beauties.

Unfortunately, before solar energy could really take off, the subsidies ended (compliments of a Ronald Reagan energy policy that favoried nuclear over solar). This caused significant shrinkage in the industry, which meant fewer people able to repair aging systems. At some point, my parents' unit was struck by lightning and from then on out, everything was a little haywire.

The biggest inconvenience was that the shut-off for the system didn't work correctly. The way the system was supposed to work was that in winter, it would heat the main floor, the basement, and then the water. In the summer, it would heat the water. By the end, I don't know what it really did.

I do know, that once the shut-off didn't work properly, my dad implemented a more manual system to override the aging infrastructure of his beloved system. And thus, one of two memories of my father that will never, ever have the opportunity to grow faint was born. Over, and over, and over, my sister and I heard the phrase:

"Did you check the solar?"

And, even though we were reminded constantly, I think the most common response my dad got from us was "oops!" followed by a dash to whatever piece of the unit we were supposed to switch off when certain conditions had been satisfied.

This past week, that era ended. My sister and I held a moment of silence when those panels were stripped from our childhood home. I would say that my dad finally gave up and had the unit removed from the home. But I think the opposite happened. The panels were cloudy and not working very efficiently, additional problems surfaced, and whatever bragging rights used to exist no longer presented themselves.

In other words, my dad outlasted solar energy.

Good-bye, solar panels. This issue might have been the only thing my dad and Jimmy Carter ever saw eye-to-eye on.

Elaine