Ohio homeowner makes the most of solar power

Mike Fanelli is a solar homeowner from Dayton, Ohio. His system does more than just power his house, it powers his cars too. For Mike, solar offered away to align his energy use with his environmental values. 

“We own two electric cars. One of them is a plug-in hybrid and the other one is complete electric. I wanted to try to have enough panels to charge those vehicles so that we would basically be running on sun power,” he said.

Mike connected with Solar United Neighbors’ Miami Valley Co-op in 2023 with the initial goal of helping his church go solar. When the congregation decided to sell their building and those plans fell through, it opened the door for him to pursue solar himself.

The opportunity to save on the cost of installation through the co-op’s bulk purchase discount, and a 30% federal tax credit helped make his electrification goals a reality. “It definitely was icing on the cake. So, basically, my $12,000 panels are actually only going to cost me about $9,000. So that’s pretty reasonable, and it’s going to help pay off the panels in a shorter period of time.”

The group’s installer, Ohio Power Solutions (OPS), mounted a 5-kilowatt system on Mike’s roof in June 2024. “The installer took the mystery and the complication out of it for me and made it really simple. And they were really good to work with,” he said. “[They] were just really pleasant and courteous beyond imagination almost. They asked lots of questions to make sure that I understood what they were going to do and that I got everything I needed.”

The system OPS installed is producing about 75 percent of Mike’s energy needs. In the first month of operation his energy bill was $50 cheaper than the previous year.

By pairing his electric vehicles with a solar array Mike is now drawing upon renewable energy at home and on the go—a source of great satisfaction. “I’m happy to have the panels just to be able to say that my cars run on electrons … I’m very proud to say that.”