Everything faces toward the sun. The Fosters, who heat their home with a wood-burning stove, characterize their sprawling community as a tighter neighborhood than any in the city. Neighbors, by necessity, share tips and knowledge about energy systems with newcomers and those lot owners with tents or trailers who are finally planning to build. When we see people looking at property and the woman gets out of the car with high heels on, we know they won't be back. The Joneses sometimes have friends over for evening jam sessions, but warn them that at some point their eight batteries will wear down and everything will shut down.
Nobody seems to mind.
The Joneses built their small, two-story house themselves, burning out a generator in the process. People say you're so lucky, you've got free power from the sun. But we've found that while it's a romantic idea, it's a lot harder and more expensive than you'd think. Solar in the city City dwellers who choose to buy a solar system and produce their own power soon learn the same thing. But it's a toy, really.