Sunrun, the second-largest residential solar company in the U.S., today announced that one of San Francisco’s famous “Painted Lady” homes has gone solar with Sunrun. The home sits on a row of classic Victorian homes that is one of San Francisco’s most photographed locations and recognized nationally from the opening scenes of the hit TV sitcom “Full House.”
The house’s new solar panels are the latest in a series of energy-efficient renovations made since it was purchased in 2014. Despite the Victorian home’s modern upgrades, including rooftop solar, it has maintained its original architecture from its construction in 1892 – serving as an iconic example of preserving history while sustaining the future through renewable energy.
“We’re proud to help such a unique and iconic property in our hometown of San Francisco to go solar and start saving money,” said Michael Grasso, chief marketing officer at Sunrun. “Solar is really for everyone – and this development demonstrates that it’s possible to pay respect to the past while still keeping an eye to the future.”
The Painted Lady’s switch to solar not only reinforces California’s position as the leader in solar adoption, but symbolizes the mainstream adoption of solar across the U.S. In fact, May 2016 marked one million solar homes in America. It took more than 60 years for solar to hit the one million mark, but with growing consumer demand for cleaner, more affordable energy, that number is projected to double by 2018, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Like the majority of Sunrun customers, the Painted Lady homeowners opted for a solar lease. Sunrun was the nation’s first company to introduce the solar lease or “solar as a service” model, meaning the homeowner does not pay for the high upfront cost of owning their system – just the power it generates. Sunrun owns, installs and maintains the system, while the homeowner enjoys an average of 20 percent savings on their electric bills for 20 years1.
Specifically, the Painted Lady homeowners chose Sunrun® BrightSave® Prepaid, one of Sunrun’s four customizable solar solutions. With BrightSave Prepaid, homeowners are able to make one easy upfront payment for their 20-year lease agreement, but can still take advantage of the savings and benefits leasing offers for years to come, like having a dedicated team monitoring their system and handling all repairs.
Homeowners Côme Lague and Charlene Li shared their excitement for the change, with Côme noting, “We think this is a really special property, and we’ve put a lot of love into transforming this historic landmark into the modern, energy-efficient home it is today. We were thrilled when we found out we could go solar with Sunrun and power our home with clean energy, while maintaining the unique and historic character of the house.”
In addition to the home’s solar system, the Painted Lady will also be one of the first in the continental U.S. to pilot Sunrun’s solar + storage system, the Sunrun BrightBox™. The attached storage solution is designed to help the homeowners maximize their savings by storing excess energy the sun produces during the day to use later at night. The first BrightBox was installed in May in O’ahu and is currently available to homeowners in Hawai’i. Sunrun plans to offer its storage solution to more California homeowners and roll it out more broadly in the next five years.
