Investment in solar a win-win for young family

Our cost of living has not changed, except we are generating a lot of renewable energy without changing a thing about our lifestyle Sophie Bullock

SOPHIE Bullock says when she and her young family realised they could make an investment that would pay for itself within five years and help the environment too, it was a nobrainer.

Last year, Mrs Bullock and husband Nick Bullock invested about $10,000 in a solar system for their Howrah property that is also home to their daughters Freya, 4, and Jasmine, 1.

“My mum got solar on her house and her power bills basically completely disappeared overnight and so we decided to install solar thinking that it’s really good we can save the planet and save money at the same time,’’ Mrs Bullock, 33, said.

“We were just really keen to reduce our carbon emissions as quickly as possible and I think everybody in Tasmania should be doing this because it is a very easy way to make a big difference. “What you spend on the system you save in power off your power bill.”

The family engaged Tasmanian company I Want Energy to install the system.

“They were absolutely amazing from beginning to end and made the process really easy,’’ Mrs Bullock said.

She said before installation, the family was spending between $2000 and $3000 in electricity costs each year at the home on Hobart’s Eastern Shore.

Now, they are only spending a few hundred per annum.

“In summer, our power bill was $5. And our most recent one was $100,’’ she said.

“Our cost of living has not changed, except we are generating a lot of renewable energy without changing a thing about our lifestyle. “We can use power without feeling guilty for it.”