Publish Date: May 27th, 2026
We caught up with Namaste Solar customers, Stefanie and Aziz, to discuss how solar and battery backup has impacted them. From the security they get from reliable power as veterinarians to knowing they are doing all they can to leave a better planet for their son, the couple had a lot to share.
Growing Roots and Going Solar
Once settled in Colorado, Stefanie and Aziz opened a veterinary hospital in Arvada which they run while raising their son and working from home when away from the hospital. When it comes to solar, “as a family, we both wanted to get solar,” Stefanie told us. But they both came to the decision with different priorities.
“I was running the numbers and thinking, ‘Is this going to pay for itself?’,” shared Aziz. “And crunching the numbers, Namaste Solar gave us the numbers the most professionally.”
While for Stefanie, the environmental benefits of solar were her main driver. “My reasons are far more on the environmental side,” she shared. “I’m kind of the do-gooder-hippie. We compost. I try to make sure that we buy high quality items that aren’t going to end up in the landfill. And solar just fits with that nicely because it’s a clean way to get energy that’s renewable and sustainable.”
“I certainly also agree that saving the environment and making sure that our carbon footprint is as small as possible was important, but the financial aspect of it was a big driver of the decision,” Aziz added.
And the environmental impact they want to have goes beyond the planet – they’re wanting to teach their son positive environmental values and leave the planet better for him. “I consider us to be the caretaker of my son’s planet and his generation’s planet,” Stefanie told us. “And it’s our duty to give it to them in good shape. I teach him to take care of his body and brush his teeth. I teach him to take care of our house and put his dishes in the dishwasher. Why would I not teach him to care for the planet that he’s going to count on for clean air, clean water, and clean food?”
Finding a Solar Partner
For this family to decide to go solar, they were looking for the evidence that they would save money and make a difference. Namaste Solar gave them that peace of mind.
One piece of the puzzle was finding a company with proven longevity. “The fact that Namaste Solar has been in the greater Denver area for a long period of time was fairly important,” shared Aziz. “You want to feel as though you’re confident that you’re going to be able to get service after the fact. When researching solar companies, there are a lot that have promised a lot and have been around for a short period of time. There are a lot of stories about people who have solar installers that end up disappearing.”
And Namaste Solar’s ownership structure was also something that appealed to the couple. “Working in an industry where corporations are taking over all the vet clinics out there, we own our own so that we can provide stable employment for people who want to be in our industry,” said Stefanie, “and to know that [Namaste Solar] is taking care of their people like we try to take care of ours is important.”
“For me, it was fascinating to look into the ownership structure of Namaste Solar and see how they work on being sustainable, not only through their environmental actions, but also through their ownership,” Aziz added. “Being B-Corp certified is very cool. Having an employee ownership plan that’s fully democratized was also super cool and something that we’d like to support in this world.”
So, armed with strong reasoning and having found a company they could trust, Stefanie and Aziz had Namaste Solar install their original solar system in 2019. By 2025, they had begun using an increasing amount of power due to adding a plug-in hybrid and an electric vehicle to the mix.
To accommodate for this, they had us come out and do a system expansion to their original install. “At that point, I didn’t really trust anybody else to add onto our install other than the original installers,” shared Aziz. “So, at that time, we added on a battery backup in addition to adding some additional panels.”
Locking in Their Energy Prices
Having solar and battery backup has given their family peace of mind and energy security. “Solar is working very well for us,” said Aziz. “We are able to generate all the power that we need for at least 10 or 11 months out of the year.”
With their solar, they’re able to power their life, “our air conditioner during the summer, the washer, the dryer, lots of humidifiers in Colorado, charging our electric vehicles,” the couple shared.
And in our world of constantly rising energy prices, feeling like your energy costs are stable is a big deal. “Having an installation from Namaste Solar has really helped us lock in our energy prices so that we don’t have to worry about what’s going to happen next,” said Aziz. “In our current world, there’s a lot of uncertainty, and locking in the price of energy at the time of installation is basically one of the main reasons why we went solar.”
“It’s like buying a home and having a steady mortgage,” added Stefanie. “You’re no longer a renter at the whim of the market. Energy costs are going up, up, up, but our costs are taken care of.”
Life with Home Battery Backup
Battery backup adds an essential layer of protection for their home. In the winter of 2024, high winds knocked out power at their Arvada veterinary hospital for days. “The fact that here at my house, I was able to have battery backup and feel that there was a reliable source of power so that I could continue to work during those times was pretty important,” said Aziz.
To make it even more seamless for customers, the Tesla Powerwall 3 has a “Storm Watch” feature, which will toggle the battery to store more energy if there’s a chance of a storm, preparing for the outage with no manual inputs from the homeowners. For Stefanie, this feature didn’t go unnoticed. “It was pretty cool that the battery knew there was going to be a shortage, so it actually started storing more energy on its own,” she shared. “We didn’t even have to ask it. The battery knew to prepare for an outage.”
For Aziz, the app is a place to geek out and get real-time data on their usage and patterns. “I really enjoy checking the app, sometimes multiple times a day,” he told us. “It gives you a lot of information very quickly. I can see how much we’re producing, how much we’re using. It exceeded my expectations when we got the app.”
During a grid outage, their battery backup allows them to “continue living our life as we would, as if there were still full power to the grid,” shared Aziz.
For the family, those benefits are huge. “I think of the fridge the most, because then if the power goes out, I can still open my fridge,” Stefanie told us. “Before we had this, I had to keep the doors closed and just hope that things stayed frozen and cold in there, but I couldn’t eat. We had to eat out of the pantry. Our son can still do his homework, even if he didn’t charge his Chromebook.”
“We can still play video games, we can still cook a meal,” added Aziz.
Solar and Home Battery Backup Can Give You Reliable, More Affordable Power
Having reliable energy is a power move for these Front Range business owners. “It’s very important to us to have solid access to energy. We’re both veterinarians, which means sometimes we need to work even when the power’s out,” said Stefanie.
Aziz echoed that thought, “Having had Namaste Solar add our battery has definitely given us some confidence in the reliability of having access to electricity in our house, which is really important. At times we’re asked to read x-rays remotely. We’ll have to access our patients’ records. It’s pretty important for us to have that reliable access and adding that battery that we did with our second installation has definitely provided that.”
In the face of intensified drought and increased fire risk, getting solar and battery backup is a way to lower your energy bills, gain energy independence, and make a difference for decades to come when it comes to your environmental impact.
If you’re interested in making a decision that benefits your home today, and supports our collective resilient future, connect with our non-commissioned solar advisors. To get started, give us a call at 303-536-8920 or click the button below.
