SOLAR POWERED HOME — The payoff for solar power shows up on utility statements.
SOLAR POWERED HOME — The payoff for solar power shows up on utility statements.
Todd Kemmerling, a volunteer with the local nonprofit Environmental Action Community of WNC, decided he wanted solar panels years before he and his wife bought their property near Jonathan Creek in 2013.
“I could just see where we were headed in terms of our atmosphere and our climate,” said Kemmerling.
A retired swim coach and small-business owner, Kemmerling puts climate concerns at the top of his motivations.
Resilience matters, too. Within a year or two of finishing the house, he installed 24 panels and two Tesla Powerwall batteries, with later additions. That setup was tested in 2024, when Hurricane Helene knocked out grid power for eight days.
The system kept the essentials running: outlets, refrigerator and well pump. The heater, stove, oven and water heater weren’t on the backed-up circuits. The household improvised, cooking soup and coffee in a Crock-Pot, and later added an electric frying pan. A neighbor couple without water or power were hauling creek water for their toilets, so the Kemmerlings invited them over.
Kemmerling chose his panels for performance — efficiency ratings ran from roughly 18-22% at the time he was doing the research. He went with SunPower, which offered the top-rated panels and strong reliability. They cost more, but he expected them to degrade more slowly.
His installer was based in Columbia, South Carolina, where he lived when he first began researching. Looking back, he would have picked a company local to WNC in case of repairs.
The set up cost about $50,000 for the solar panels and battery Powerwalls — which store extra energy during the day for use at night. However, this was a cost he had prepared for.
He estimated a payback of about 20 years, though he suspects rising electricity prices will shorten that initial math.
Solar prices have fallen drastically in recent years. Kemmerling estimates a typical home system without Powerwalls now costs around $22,000, and about $35,000 with one Powerwall for harnessing stored energy.
Several local installers now offer leasing, which he sees as a good way to get people in the door without a large upfront cost. But one installer told him that buying, with cash or a loan, is the better deal.
Kemmerling cites panel warranties of about 25 years and about 10 for the Powerwalls, and notes that panels lose roughly 1% of output per year. Studies show solar adds substantially to a home’s value, being the best return on investment of any upgrade.
Savings come in the form of lower power bills, no more gas station pumps and utility buybacks for unused power.
• Utility bills. Even if you don’t use electricity, there’s a monthly fee just to be connected to the grid.
Kemmerling’s monthly bills ranged from $20 in the lowest month to topping out around $130 for the highest winter month. Compared to some Waynesville residents who were seeing $300-$400 electric bills, these savings are significant.
• Gas savings. He also uses the solar system to charge the family’s two electric vehicles. So the solar system has replaced gas purchases.
• Money back. If Kemmerling’s system generates more power than he needs, Haywood Electric Membership Corporation buys it back. HEMC pays him 4.6 cents for what he returns to the grid. HEMC sells power at about 13.6 cents per kilowatt-hour, so the return is “about a third on the dollar.” Other utilities have higher rates and different rules.
According to his Tesla app, in July he bought 81 kilowatt-hours and sold 530.
For the first half of 2026, he says, the system produced 108% of the household’s energy needs, including charging two electric vehicles. The app estimates the carbon savings at about an acre of forest per year.
“I like seeing that,” he says. “Because I feel like I’m doing something — however tiny it is.”
If Kemmerling were starting over, he’d think harder about which loads go on the backed-up circuits. The microwave, he says, doesn’t draw much and would have been worth including.
Siting has been a lesson, too. A large tree shaded the panels until midday, and removing it gave them sun at sunrise. He’s reluctant to cut trees, he says, but the gain was worth it. The house itself faces south, an optimal orientation. It’s also built of cedar logs, which were chosen for better insulation value.
Friends decided to go solar and buy EVs after touring his setup, and neighbors down the road have bought an EV and are considering panels.
“I don’t preach — I just share,” he says. “It does have an effect when people see it.”
He says that once the system is paid off, he’s at the free-energy stage.
Another key element for Kemmerling is legacy. “I just didn’t want to be part of wrecking the future,” he says. “It’s such a great planet. It’ll take care of us, if we take care of it.”
To learn more about solar, EVs and other energy efficiency strategies, come out to the Waynesville Energy Fair at Vance Street Park from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7.
Your comment has been submitted.
Reported
There was a problem reporting this.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to read or post comments.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Account processing issue – the email address may already exist
Must be at least 8 characters, not contain repeating characters (e.g., 111), and not contain sequential numbers (e.g., 123).
The Mountaineer’s newsletter gives you a front row seat to what’s happening in Haywood County. Wake up to the day’s headlines delivered to your inbox each weekday morning.
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Must be at least 8 characters, not contain repeating characters (e.g., 111), and not contain sequential numbers (e.g., 123).
Secure transaction. Secure transaction. Cancel anytime.
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.
