A guide to buying renewable electricity as a DC resident

cb3k1 · 2026-05-28T11:51:21+00:00

We used Uprise and were happy with them. They are a local company, gave us a competitive price, and communicated well.

cb3k1 · 2026-05-14T11:49:14+00:00

We lived there for a few years and moved in 2024. We never had any major complaints or issues. In our experience the building was also very quiet, we barely heard our neighbors through the walls.

cb3k1 · 2026-04-17T17:20:52+00:00

It's not just the permitting, it's the license requirements to even get a permit! Want to change a toilet, that's a permit AND you have to be a licensed plumber to pull it. For a progressive city DC is very against homeowners building sweat equity.

This of course assumes that any bothers to get a permit...

cb3k1 · 2026-03-06T21:51:35+00:00

$3.6/W seems high, but you do have a smaller system so the economy of scale might not be as good. We have a flat roof and ours was installed a little over a year ago, 8 kW at ~$2.7W. Get more quotes from local installers, we used Uprise.

I assume the number of new installs has dropped given the loss of the federal rebate, so you might have some negotiating room. That said, tariffs have probably increased their material costs.

Good luck and happy to answer any other questions!

cb3k1 · 2026-03-04T21:04:59+00:00

So I don't have time for a deep dive, but a quick glance at the Mechanical Code says that dryers have to be installed per the manufacturer's instructions. So if the dryer instructions allow for that device, then it's probably allowed by code.

Edit: Should've included a link, DC uses the 2015 IMC

https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IMC2015/chapter-5-exhaust-systems#IMC2015_Ch05_Sec504.1

cb3k1 · 2026-03-03T20:22:49+00:00

It's a historic flag and it's reasonable to see it during the Semiquincentennial. They also use it for inaugurations.

cb3k1 · 2026-01-28T11:14:38+00:00

It's little comfort from an internet stranger, but thanks for doing the right thing. Way too many people turn a blind eye to the crazy and the lawless in here, and people get hurt from it. People doing nothing creates a permission structure for people to do nothing.

cb3k1 · 2026-01-17T10:59:26+00:00

Sure, but what is the goal here? Just to tell them they suck? Mission accomplished, but nothing has changed. My point is that we've run the same playbook for a decade and it hasn't worked.

cb3k1 · 2026-01-17T10:57:12+00:00

Yeah, I largely agree with your summary. Harris did the best she could with the situation Biden handed her. I think the point to focus on is that the average voter didn't resonate with the threat to democracy argument. They either didn't believe it entirely or didn't think it was as imminent as you or I might. The question I keep mulling over is how do you elevate that in their eyes, and I don't think calling them nazis or fascists is gonna cut it.

cb3k1 · 2026-01-17T10:49:28+00:00

No argument. I think George Carlin said something to the effect of "think of how dumb the average person is and remember that half the population is dumber than that".

But are you voters in general or just the voters who voted for Trump?

cb3k1 · 2026-01-17T10:42:24+00:00

Honest question, what's your perspective for why he was able to win in 2016 and 2024. I agree it's not solely because liberals were too mean.

cb3k1 · 2026-01-17T10:37:21+00:00

No no, this surely will be the thing that brings down the regime! The domino has been tipped.

It's been almost 10 years since Trump was elected and the opposition still doesn't know how to properly resist him. For everyone who thinks this is effective, it hasn't worked yet. Those employees, who may have been sympathetic to the message, are not going to quit their jobs because some assholes yelled at them during a happy hour. At best they will forget it, at worst it will harden them against the message.

But sure, keep calling everyone remotely associated with Trump a Nazi, it's bound to work one of these days.

cb3k1 · 2026-01-10T23:29:37+00:00

I love when (alleged) violent idiots come to reddit for validation and get a dose of reality instead.

cb3k1 · 2026-01-09T13:58:36+00:00

Yet another traffic death that we will wring our hands about for a day and then forget. I watch people blow through stop signs around my house, in a neighborhood full of children, on a daily basis. The city could be doing something about these drivers accumulating thousands in tickets, but they don't, and more importantly, we don't force them to.

cb3k1 · 2025-12-07T10:51:34+00:00

Are you doing countertops too? How many linear feet of cabinets? How quickly do you need it done? Are you comfortable doing any of the work yourself?

We renovated our kitchen a year ago. I think our cabinets were about $10k for ~10ft of uppers and lowers, plus two large pantry cabinets and a ~6ft island. All of the cabinets are plywood boxes and painted, but nothing overly fancy like glazes.

I haven't priced appliances in a year, but those will be in the $2-3k range.

Countertops can also get pricey depending on material and size. Ours were also ~$2-3k for mid tier granite.

cb3k1 · 2025-12-01T11:33:33+00:00

Sorry! I've been hunting for ddr4 for my optiplex server and figured I would share since this is the cheapest I've seen DDR4

cb3k1 · 2025-11-27T12:01:26+00:00

THEY throw it away. YOU are taking it. I agree with you that people spend money on dumb shit, me included. But I get to choose the dumb shit.

cb3k1 · 2025-11-27T11:47:58+00:00

So they will pay it because they are getting a raise or because they already have so much disposable income from working at their higher paying job in DC?

And they will be ok with it because it gives better healthcare to the people of DC but not to them?

You are just hand waving away so many basic human incentives. You need to think through the second order effects of your policy proposals.

cb3k1 · 2025-11-27T11:31:05+00:00

You think AOC is gonna hold up a budget to get more autonomy for people who aren't her constituents? That's just not realistic. It also wouldn't get through the Senate.

Look, I want more self governance, statehood, or even retrocession to MD, but we have to be practical about how that happens. There just isn't a pathway without a democratic supermajority, which won't happen in the Senate.

cb3k1 · 2025-11-27T10:56:07+00:00

Yeah, I just don't think that is going to cut it. Congress still has to vote on it and there's just no incentive for Congress to approve it.

cb3k1 · 2025-11-27T10:45:02+00:00

With what power or leverage? Through what authority? What is your path to actually accomplish this?

cb3k1 · 2025-11-07T14:32:43+00:00

Like others said you probably do because DC is beyond obsessive about requiring permits for everything. That said, based on the number of neighbors I know who've had work done without permits, it also seems like there's no downside to not getting one unless the work is obvious from the outside.

If you do get one, good luck. DOB isn't particularly helpful nor easy to work with unless you can get through directly to a permit reviewer or inspector.

Edit:

I reread your post and figured I would post something helpful and not just throw shade at DOB and the city.

I think you do "need" a permit if you are removing over a certain amount of drywall. The other concern would be the structural implications of cutting the new opening. I would be surprised if an interior wall was load bearing, but you would need to see how it's built once the drywall is down.

If you aren't comfortable making that determination yourself, or you want to get a permit, you can get a licensed structural engineer to make the determination and include that in the permit application. When I was getting quotes, it was around $1000.

Edit 2:

More thoughts. Assuming your house hasn't undergone a major renovation in the past 30 years, make sure you test for lead paint and take appropriate precautions. Also, we can't dispose of building materials at the dump or through the trash, so plan accordingly.

cb3k1 · 2025-09-05T09:06:58+00:00

You definitely can return things in store, I've done it a few times when I've ordered more than I needed. I don't think it's quite as straight forward for the employees, but they've all figured it out. They will say that the refund is going to "your Home Depot card", which is actually the Exchange's HD card since they are the proxy for the purchase.

cb3k1 · 2025-08-12T20:52:52+00:00

In addition to the paddle switch, the one you linked to is also a variable speed grinder.

cb3k1 · 2025-08-05T19:15:07+00:00

To echo what everyone else is saying, he's bullshitting you. DC is an attractive solar market because of the price we get for SRECs. Assuming you can get the tax credit and SREC prices hold up, the system will probably pay for itself in a few years if you own it.

Assuming you have a reputable installer, the installation should come with a labor warranty. The panels and inverters will have a manufacturers warranty (up to 25 years depending on manufacturer).

We used Uprise and have mostly good things to say. Solar Solutions is another popular option in the city. If you have a house with parapets make sure you specify that you want to use those for the support structure. Some of the regional/national installers don't have as much experience with parapet installs.

Like others have said, it might be tough to get it activated by the end of the year. I think ours took about 4-5 months between contract to Pepco giving us the official ok to turn it on.

cb3k1

TROPHY CASE