A friend sparked this thought. He asked what I knew regarding a particular solar shingle.

My reply:

Nothing on that particular product. The only "thing" I know regarding solar power at this point in time, is that the ROI is not there yet for the average consumer. The cost of production is keeping the retail pricing at a level where it doesn’t make sense to install it. If a consumer is requesting the product solely based on "saving the environment" or "green initiative" then any solar product would be great. But to lower monthly energy cost, not so great. For typical solar panels it runs about $5,000-$7,000 installed to run 10% of your home. If your bill is $200 per month, then you will save $20 each month. It will take 20-30 years to break even on that investment.

Any disagreements?

Been working on this project. Great appeal and attention to design detail on a smaller scale. Proof that good design and eye candy can be delivered in small packages. This home is right at 2500 Sq. Ft.

We are currently working on a project for a family in Dry Creek Ranch. Take a look at the front elevation, it is spectacular.

Well it’s been a year or so since I was last on the blog, we completely rebuilt the website since then and are still working on adding content. Take a look at the new site here.

We also decided to re-brand as Picklo Homes. No fear, we are still incorporated as Country Builders, and only have decided to advertise and do business as Picklo Homes. The rationale for this was twofold: First, we felt the "country" in Country Builders may mislead prospective clients to the conclusion the company builds only in the country or only country-style homes. Second, the name no longer continued to reflect the markets we now serve.

My goal is to try and blog at least once a week. So please bookmark us or subscribe to the RSS feed. I will be disscussing market trends, new products, projects we are working on, and some fun stuff. Stay tuned!