Oh dear…now I have to explain to my family the concept of energy storage. And trust me, the Jacoby clan do not specialise in electronics. I only know about them because I took a vague interest in high school that eventually blossomed into me starting the Electronics Club. The club is going well, despite me being the only member, although our school DOES only have 26 students, so I wasn’t expecting any big numbers.

If it came to 70 different ways to milk a cow, or how to service a problematic tractor, our family have it down. But now that I’ve discovered that commercial solar systems in Melbourne can cut down on our spending by almost 40%? The thought of trying to tell Ma and Pa makes me wish I’d never done the research. It’s true, though…everyone in Melbourne is picking up commercial solar, so it would help us around the farm if we did the same. I’m not saying we need to clear the cornfield and replace it with a vast plane of solar panels, but a few on the roof would be enough, for now.

I know what Pa is going to say. He hates anything to do with that ‘new-fanged techie-palooza’, and Ma will probably think that the some of our power is going to the government. Ma thinks the government are involved in everything. The chickens aren’t laying as much as they used to; must be the government. Cousin Abigail has come down with a case of the pox; gotta be the government!

I can’t predict what she’d do if I ever mentioned the sensible concept of adopting commercial energy monitoring for Melbourne business practices. That actually sounds like something the government would do. Suppose I’ll have to start them slow…a few solar panels here, and there, and then I’ll show them how much they’re saving in our daily upkeep. The hardest part is getting to the solar panel stage.

-Forrest Jacoby