"Beyond liking the sound of it, it is my degree in Biology that makes me aware that my solar system will reduce green house gasses and do my little part to make the world better," said Art as he watched the meter spin backwards for the first time.

He continued with, "Every spin I see backwards reminds me of the spinning the soundtrack to American Graffiti back in the day. It just rocks!"

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) solar cash rebate is $9,976 and the federal tax credit is worth and additional $2,000. With a pre-rebate total cost of $22,588 the rebate and tax credit make Mr. Rochester's solar investment $10,612! LADWP's electricity is cheaper by almost 1/3 than its neighboring utility, Southern California Edison. Because of this the LADWP Rebate is 30% larger than those in the SCE territory.

In order to qualify for a solar electric rebate Mr. Rochester hired ABC Solar to coordinate all of the paperwork, supply and manage the licensed contractor to install the system. The first step is the rebate reservation request form that takes about two weeks to process. After the rebate is reserved the LADWP Solar office instructs the area service planner to go to the job site and approve the solar installation. This involved ABC Solar providing a plot plan and single line diagram of the solar installation. The most important thing is to keep the paperwork simple and to the point.

The building permit was almost a piece of cake due to the new LA City pull-a-permit-online service, except Mr. Rochester was not in the database so we had to visit. The permit was simple and over the counter. Now that the job is done ABC Solar will get the building permit signed off on, ask the LADWP service planner for his blessing and send a rebate claim request to the LADWP solar office. And await corrections. Fix docs and then get the $9,976 cash rebate.

The Mitsubishi solar panels are the highest efficiency panels available on the market today. Mr. Rochester did extensive research and wanted to be installing the best available. The Mitsubishi panels have an astonishing 13% efficiency rating, which means that it approaching the efficiency of the solar panels used in space. Mr. Rochester also used an oversized DC to AC inverter so he can add more solar panels if he needs them.

The Rochester Solar Estate features a metal-pan roof that allowed ABCsolar.com to use special solar mounts from Unirac. These mounts attach directly to the lip of the metal roof allowing installation without roof penetrations. This solar mounting system securely fastens the panels to the roof making them protected from high-wind and snow loads. The only roof penetration was for the conduit to run the solar power wires to the basement where the inverter is. This, like all roof penetrations, was done by a sub-contracted licensed roofer and was fully water-proofed.

"Mr. Rochester has been a pleasure to take solar," said Bradley Bartz, President of ABC Solar Inc. "Art not only learned about how the technology and mounting system works he also understood the environmental impact of going solar," continued Mr. Bartz.

Being that the Rochester Solar Estate is one of the first solar systems in Studio City Mr. Rochester is excited to be an opinion-leader for individuals to reduce their carbon footprint. Mr. Rochester has become an excellent promoter of solar. Besides the environmental impact the Rochester Solar Estate will provide almost all of the power needed thereby reducing his electric bill significantly.

"I get to save the world and save money," smiled Mr. Rochester. He finished with, "What can be better than that?"

Art Rochester is an expert in art of digital sound mixing and recording for motion pictures. Over his Thirty+ years of motion picture on-set experience he has been nominated for five Academy Awards for Sound. The five pictures include: The Witches of Eastwick, The Truman Show, Con Air, Clear and Present Danger and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Art uses the most advanced sound equipment from around the world.

ABC Solar Inc is a leading solar sales and installation company founded in 2000. The ABC Solar Mission is to continually strive to provide the best service and prices for the sales and installation of solar electric systems. ABC Solar is known for building hybrid-solar system that includes taking pools off-the-grid and fixing energy problems before designing the solar electric system. ABC Solar's focus is on saving the world by saving money.

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