For the first few months at my bar, I was sharing an electrical panel with my landlord. Not really ideal, as I wasn't sure who was getting the better end of the deal. So I was super excited finally when CFE (the Mexican electrical company) came out and set up my own meter. I was NOT so excited to get my first bill, which was prorated for 3 days, which totaled 1500 pesos, which is 75 USD.

OUCH! Run that out to 30 days/ a month, and my electric bill would equal $2,250 USD. No bueno! I would not be able to survive with that high of a bill.

It should not be that high, but I'm pretty sure they messed up and set me up as a residence instead of a business. So essentially, I hit all of these escalators which multiplied my bill by a massive amount, clearly.

Regardless, even if it was 1000 USD a month, I needed a better option, and I'm not even running an AC units, which really eat you up down here.

My best and most obvious option, was to purchase solar panels. The sun shines a ridiculous amount down here. Even during the rainy season, it's not that much of an issue, seeing as it rains mostly at night, and the sun shines during the day.

As I sit here and type this right now from the second level of my bar, there isn't a cloud in the sky.

It wasn't fun shelling out $8000 USD for 12 solar panels, but the ROI was clearly too good to pass up. They also last for 25 years or so, so even if I leave this spot, I can take them with me wherever I go.

I'm still waiting for CFE to come out and change my meter to accommodate the panels, but the install is done and they are oh so pretty.

I'm looking forward to seeing what my electric bill will be once I have a full solar month under my belt.

I'll be sure to let you know :)

Do you have solar panels?

What are the electrical costs like where you live?

Thanks for reading, and Hive on!