Jim Johnson and a guest discuss solar panels as a path to energy independence. They weigh aesthetic concerns like boxy rooftop designs against practical benefits: integrated solar improves watertightness and resale value. The conversation touches on a cultural desire for self-sufficiency inspired by Little House on the Prairie.
I've always been about, you know, growing up on the farm, about independence and security. My mom was a huge fan of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House on the Prairie books. And just that whole idea of, you know, eking an existence out of this wonderful, bounteous Earth with your bare hands and having to navigate that, that world, like Pa and Ma Ingalls did something, you know, I'm like, you know, this is the frontier of the new age, the energy frontier. So, yeah, solar panels, exciting. Love them. But it's been a little bit of a saturated space and I would say half of the deals that we would have made when I was installing solar panels were an esthetic concern. Right. Well, we just don't like the boxy look. And, you know, we bought our house because of the way it looks. If we put boxy solar panels on it. It's my whole reasons. Right. Electricians drilling holes in roofs. Is that where you want your electricians spending their time?
No, I don't like holes through my roof if I can avoid them. It's been my whole thing. Like, I've always wanted to have a self sustaining home. The expense of it isn't so much about do I equal out on my electric bill or any of that kind of stuff. It's more like, can I take what God has given us and produce the amount of energy that we need to run our home with while still being something that has value down the road when I go and try to sell it? And those solar panels on a house, they're ugly as hell. Any realtor you talk to hates them. They actually tell the new homeowner to go make them pay for having that removed. You see a lot of that out there. And so when you can actually integrate it into the roof system, make it watertight, it just has a better aesthetic look and it's also better for your resale value.
