PHIL'SRECKONING

“Episode 1 — The Utility Bill That Broke Him”

Phil saw one too many ads. Then his utility bill arrived. Sabrina made one phone call. Now Phil is sitting in Wellspring's showroom trying to remember why he wanted to move to the woods.

~12 minutes · Best experienced honestly

BryanLoad Selection

“Hi Phil, I'm Bryan. Dan handed me your bill number — you're at about 395 kWh a week. Before we look at any package, let's find out what you're using that power on. That number is going to move a lot depending on what you're heating with, how you cook, and what your dryer runs on. Then we look at what's actually possible.”

Your bill puts you at 395 kWh/week.

That's Over Platinum — too big for any off-grid package we sell. And that's the point. Most of that 395 is heat, hot water, cooking, and the dryer. Watch what happens if we swap those to LP.

Change the fuel, change the system.

Peak Draw approximates worst-case simultaneous load. Real systems account for probability of coincident use.

Northern Indiana design math

3.5 sun-hours is the design number.

We size every array in Northern Indiana against 3.5 sun-hours a day. That's what your panels will actually give you across the whole year — not the peak, not the sunny day, the whole year averaged including winter.

Peak summer? 6 sun-hours is real. But that's exactly when your A/C is stealing production. So we don't count on the peak. We count on the average.

Under 3.5 happens. Three cloudy weeks. Wildfire smoke. Snow on modules for days. Panel degradation. A tree that grew. We design so those weeks don't leave you cold.

Explore, then design

PVWatts is a starting point, not a promise.

NRL's PVWatts gives you best-case monthly production for a generic system at your address. It's the right tool to feel the shape of the year — see how February compares to July, understand how tilt and azimuth matter.

Wellspring uses professional modeling software that accounts for your modules, tilt, azimuth, shading, snow, and Indiana winter conditions. Use PVWatts to explore. Use us to design what you'll actually need installed.

Open PVWatts ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Phil is at the decision point

Four ways this can end.

Pick the trade you are actually willing to make.

Off-Grid & On Purpose

Off-grid is not a purchase. It's a plan.

Whichever path Phil chose, the math is the same: know your loads, know your fuels, know your generator, know your sun-hours. Then design against the worst week, not the sunny day.

Call Wellspring. We'll design what you'll actually need installed.

Shipshewana, IN260-768-7336

Arthur, IL217-208-2498

60+ years experience · 2,000+ systems installed · 13,000+ panels · NABCEP Associate certified · 25+ year panel warranty · 6 year workmanship warranty

See other Wellspring games

This game teaches the framework. Your actual system requires site-specific engineering, permitting, and utility coordination. Wellspring handles all of it.