Upgrade Your Home Like a Painted Lady
Remember the famous row of colorful victorian homes from the “Full House” Intro?
Sunrun Team
Remember the famous row of colorful victorian homes from the “Full House” Intro? Those are the Painted Ladies, and they are the most photographed homes in San Francisco1. And guess what? The original and largest Painted Lady has gone solar with Sunrun!
As new homeowners to one of San Francisco’s most famous properties, Painted Lady homeowners, Côme Lague and Charlene Li had their work cut out for them when it came to upgrading their classic home. Despite the many, many challenges that come with upgrading a historic home, these smart homeowners brought their Painted Lady to the 21st century, proving even the most historic homes can make modern, energy efficient upgrades while honoring the past.
Modern, energy efficient upgrades that honor the past
As renewable energy advocates and lovers of technology, the Painted Lady's homeowners focused on two major modern upgrades, the addition of solar panels and smart home technology.
Being previous solar homeowners, going solar was at the top of the list for their Painted Lady renovation. But when your home lives a life in front of the camera, Côme and Charlene had to work with their Sunrun solar consultant to maximize their savings while still maintaining their home’s classic good looks. “We wanted to really bring onboard sustainable energy to our house, we’re big believers in that,” says Côme. The homeowners were thrilled to find out they could go solar with Sunrun. Helping lead the way for renewable energy in a forward-thinking city, and save money on their electric bills? It was a win-win.
Click here to learn more about our iconic San Francisco Painted Ladies install.
In addition to going solar, the Painted Lady's homeowners transformed their classic home by integrating energy efficient, smart home technology, giving them control over energy usage and costs. Living in the tech-leading city of San Francisco, having a smart home was a no-brainer for Côme and Charlene. The homeowners subtly integrated smart systems and appliances throughout their Painted Lady to modernize their home without compromising the visual integrity of their classic home. “The builder, Matthew Kavanaugh was really ahead of his time in terms of how he was thinking about incorporating elements of technology into this house, so we wanted to keep some of the historical elements of the house but bring it up to date for today’s modern family,” says the homeowner, Côme Lague.
Upgrading your classic home with smart technology
Smart home technology is an easy and efficient way to modernize your home, while still honoring it's past and preparing for a savings filled future. With solar you will increase your savings further. Have you been considering making modern upgrades to your classic solar abode? Take a cue from a San Francisco Painted Lady with these three smart home features:
- Smart Thermostat: The ability to adjust to the perfect room temperature from your smartphone? Yes please. Heating and cooling are a large contributor to your home’s energy costs, especially in a large victorian like the Painted Lady. Smart thermostats offer more control, and save you more money. The thermostat installed in the Painted Lady even displays the weather outside!
- Smart Range: Internet access from the stove? Why not? Smart control on your oven range, allows you to turn it on and off remotely. You’ll never have to worry about leaving your oven on again, not to mention the ability to look up recipes straight from your oven, no cookbooks required.
- Central Controlled Drip Irrigation System: Say goodbye to water waste. As fall approaches, the Painted Lady homeowners plan to upgrade their backyard, adding a Climate Logic weather sensing system that will let them use wifi to get localized weather data and control water, saving time, water, and money2.