This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

One Woman Changed Her Mind, Hopes to Inspire Others

Though Susan Kraemer wasn't always an environmentalist, today she writes about clean energy, and last weekend she invited the public in for a tour of her solar-powered home.

When I arrived for the solar tour at Susan Kraemer's house, the mid-day sun splashed through the windows onto the light wood floors, interior and the wide continuous balcony that circles the top floor. She and her husband rebuilt this home from the ground up, and although energy efficiency was not a top priority at the time, the house was clearly built with sunlight in mind. Kraemer came to the United States in the mid-'80s and has been living in El Cerrito since 1987. 

Although in New Zealand, her home country, the public tends to be more environmentally aware than here in the United States, environmental issues didn't become a passion of hers until a few years ago. Kraemer has an arts degree, has been a fashion designer and has owned two clothing stores in the Bay Area. With the opening of some bigger chains in the area, business began declining and gradually Kraemer found herself with more time to read everything she had missed out on in the years of running her own business. Once she started reading, she couldn't stop. 

"Among others, I read Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond," she remembers, "When I read that, I really felt that I wasn't doing everything I could be, and I really started to change how I thought about the world."

Find out what's happening in El Cerritowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

After going on the Solar Richmond tour a few years ago, Kraemer decided to join in and convince her neighbors in El Cerrito to go solar. The solar panels on her roof are from SunRun, a company that works on the same principle as other solar home upgrades such as Solar City and Sungevity. These companies give their customers an option to lease or buy the solar panels, often with no money down and a variety of financing plans.

Since having 18 solar panels installed on her roof, she has started working with SunRun helping homeowners determine their eligibility for solar panels, both financially and logistically. When she's not spreading the solar word, she is writing on the topics of clean energy and technology at CleanTechnica and HomeDesignFind

Find out what's happening in El Cerritowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This year Kraemer became part of the National Solar Tour and welcomed 13 people into her home near Cerrito Vista Park last Saturday. Guests were treated to a tour of the house, an explanation of how solar panels integrate into the current energy supply, and answers to any questions, as well as some wine and cheese.  

Her 3.15-kilowatt system generates about 80 percent of her household's electrical needs, she said.

"I want more people to realize that it's easy to do it," says Kraemer. When your house goes solar, you begin to produce energy to send back into the grid, which essentially is an enormous battery. The savings you receive from a reduced PG&E bill can go towards your monthy solar payment, and as energy costs rise, it is likely to save you more and more over time. 

The installation takes only about 6 hours and the companies typically take care of all maintenance and repair of the solar panels. Worried about the El Cerrito fog? Kraemer says that while fog cuts down on energy generation, it is not a significant amount. "It's a great place for solar panels," she says, "Very sunny. In the hills and in the flatlands too." Although her own house was only able to fit three panels, she says it is enough for the amount of energy that they use.

Today Kraemer still reads a lot and remains just as inspired. "The more I read, the more I realize that this is a serious problem. When I was a child, people were concerned about the nuclear winter. Now that seems very trivial. A nuclear winter might happen. This will happen. It's irresponsible to not deal with it." 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?