COMAL COUNTY – With solar panels now producing electricity, a small property in the Texas Hill Country complete with wind turbines, a water well, chickens and a vegetable garden is becoming a model for sustainable living.
The property is just a few acres in Comal County and owners Charles Bracewell and Larry Dean have named it "Brokedown Ranch."
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With the high-tech equipment for the solar panels now installed, this small ranch is anything but the Old West.
Bracewell several years ago bought and installed the wind turbines in hopes of generating power with the Texas breeze.
However, he became dissatisfied with the amount of electricity being produced, and earlier in July he had a brand new bank of solar panels installed.
Preliminary results show they are now working well and producing electricity.
"Usually what we're producing is greater than what we're using," Bracewell said. "We're even making energy with the air conditioning running."
He said the 36 solar panel array cost about $45,000, but it will be worth the expenditure.
The reasons he bought it: "To save money on your energy bill, to reduce the carbon footprint of course," Bracewell said.
Even on a hot summer day with the air conditioning on, if the sun is out the electric meter could be running backwards.
According to figures Bracewell provided from his electric company, Pedernales Electric Co-op, the daily cost of electricity on July 3rd and 4th was around $8 before the solar panels were installed.
After the panels went online, the cost the following week was 96 cents one day and minus 20 cents another.
He has not received his electric bill yet but hopes to see a big difference from previous summer bills.
"In the summertime from over $200 plus," Bracewell said. "I expect our bill to be -- I don't know, I haven't received it yet, but I'd say under $100. Probably around $50, we're hoping."
Lional Johnnes of Circular Energy, the company that installed the system, said the company studies the power needs of customers before designing a system for them.
"We try to aim for about 80 percent to 90 percent offset," Johnnes said. "That's more or less what we're seeing here. They're getting the most production for the amount of roof space that they're using right now."
Johnnes said typical systems pay for themselves in 10 years, more or less, depending on the system, adding that the popularity of solar is exploding.
"In America we've installed more solar in the past two years than we have total, ever in our entire history," Johnnes said.
He said the reason is the technological advances being made.
"Technology in the solar industry has improved drastically, especially in the past two years," Johnnes said, adding that with subsidies it is also affordable.
"Some utilities offer rebates," Johnnes said. "All Americans can capitalize on the 30 percent federal tax credit."
Meanwhile at idyllic Brokedown Ranch, Bracewell is more concerned about his fish pond.
"The water's a little bit green right now," Bracewell said.
He's fixing that by adding water plants.
And now that the electric panels are producing, he can worry more about things like that and other things that make this property nearly self-sustaining.
"Well we raise our own vegetables, we have our own chickens," Bracewell said.
They also have a water well and now, summer electric bills that will be the envy of the Hill Country.