Brian Vaughn had his doubts about solar power in New England.

Mr. Vaughn wondered if residential installations could make financial sense, after all, winters in the Northeast can be long and gray. He has a family member who lives in the Caribbean who had solar panels installed on his home — that was an easier sell, said Mr. Vaughn.

But during repeated trips to a local hardware store he saw a display promoting solar installations in the area, and started to question whether going solar might be a good option.

At about the same time Mr. Vaughn began exploring solar, the town announced its involvement in Solarize RI — a program that offers residents incentives for installing solar panels. He eventually signed up and in December, a registered installer attached an array of panels atop Mr. Vaughn's Fountain Avenue home.

On Thursday, Jan. 28, his panels went active.

"I was looking at ways of cutting down on my electric bill," said Mr. Vaughn.

An engineer by trade, Mr. Vaughn studied the numbers associated with the installation — balancing the total financing costs against the program incentives and projected energy production.

"To be honest, I thought it was too good to be true," he said. "I'm still a little hesitant."

Mr. Vaughn said his calculations projected significant overall savings each year, despite a $180 monthly financing payment for the panel installation.

On the first full day of operation, Mr. Vaughn's panels produced about 13 kilowatts of electricity.

"Today was fairly overcast as well," wrote Mr. Vaughn in an email. "That is almost $6. If this is the best the system can do, I'll get at least $2k from the incentive. Obviously this is the worst time of year for the system, so we should be just fine."

Presentation tonight

Mr. Vaughn will share a presentation titled "Solarize in Action" tonight, Feb. 3, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Barrington Congregational Church. Officials are hoping the presentation sheds light on the benefits of solar panel installation and involvement in the Solarize RI program.

"Solarize Barrington is a community-supported discount buying program that uses tiered-pricing, town-supported education and outreach, competitively selected installers and access to flexible financing to dramatically reduce the cost of solar," stated a release about the program. "The more residents sign up for Solarize Barrington, the more the price comes down."

There is a Feb. 15 deadline with the program. For more information, visit solarizeri.com/solarize-barrington/