A holiday treasure powered by solar in San Diego

At Vivint Solar, we love delighting our customers. We also love hearing how solar homeowners, like Sylvia and George King, are making a positive and meaningful impact throughout their community.

In their quiet neighborhood in San Diego, Sylvia and George King are continuing a beloved holiday tradition. Each year on December 1, they light their drum tree. “It’s really something the neighbors love and look forward to,” stated George. “I’ll be outside walking my dog in October and I’ll have neighbors ask me when I’m going to light the tree. They tell me it isn’t Christmas until it’s lit.”

The tree in question is a large carrotwood tree located in the front yard of the King’s home. Initially, George was inspired to turn it into a Christmas drum after he shaped and trimmed it one year. “I took a large line and tied it around the trunk of the tree to help me get a better shape. After I clipped it down into a round shape, I trimmed the top and bottom and they looked pretty flat. It wasn’t until I’d finished and I was admiring my work from my front porch that I realized that the tree looked like a drum.”

Since then, the Kings trim the tree and add lights to it every year to make it look like a giant drum in the spirit of the holiday season. They’ve been doing it for around two decades, but switched to solar power around six years ago. “I suppose I should get LED lights sometime soon, but I do feel good about the fact that I’m offsetting the impact and helping the environment by powering my home with solar.” The tree is 65 feet in circumference and takes “...about 460 feet of white lights and 100 feet or so of red,” according to George.

When asked what his favorite thing about putting up the tree each year was, George said, “It brings our neighborhood and community together. People drive by and honk for the tree and my wife and I have received some thank you cards and delicious cookies. Some of my neighbors even tell me that it’s become a holiday tradition for themselves and their children. It makes me very happy to think that our tree has made an impression on multiple generations of people.”

George and Sylvia have been happy Vivint Solar customers since 2013 and have 23 solar panels on their roof. “I couldn’t be more pleased with our solar panels. They power our house and help with the tree each year, which make the holidays even better,” concluded George.

We couldn’t agree more.