Chris Tracy often steps inside his garage to check on his new toy. It’s not a power tool or a fancy lawn mower; it’s an inverter box with a digital display.

The software engineer, who lives in Highlands’ Garden Village with his wife, Kelly Stainback-Tracy, and 3-year-old son, Cyrus, likes to monitor how many watts are being generated by his 4.7-kilowatt solar energy system mounted on the roof.

Winter is a low period for solar generation, he says, but things are looking up with spring dawning.

“We’ve generated about 45 percent of our electric needs through solar since the system was turned on.”

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