The instrument in question was the electric meter on Tami and Randy Wilson's Susquehanna Township home. It was running backward because it had just been hooked up to a bank of 36 black solar panels on the roof of their house.

Sunlight hitting the panels was being converted into electricity that fed into the home's wiring.

The system was creating more electricity than the Wilson's were using, so the juice was being pumped back into the electrical grid.

If everything goes as planned, for most of the day, the Wilsons will be powering their home and selling electricity back to their supplier, PPL Electric Utilities. They will only need to buy electricity when the sun isn't shining.

"The rate hikes are what got us to do it, said Randy Wilson. "The caps are coming as of Jan. 1 ... This is our way of fighting back."

PPL has projected that the rate increase would be in the range of 30 percent to 35 percent, but whatever the rate, customers are going to feel a jolt.

Charlie Reichner of Heat Shed Inc. out of Revere in Bucks County, was in charge of the group of workers installing 36 solar panels to the roof of the Wilson home.

The panels are technically known as "photo-voltaic," or PV panels.

Each panel, he said, generates up to 250 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Combined, they will generate about 9,000-plus kilowatt hours a year, enough for the Wilson family.

Solar power has gone past being some sort of "hippy thing" to being more mainstream, Reichner said.

"We've put in more than 100 of these systems," he said. "People want to save money, and want some energy independence."

Chris Knight, The Patriot-News

Andrew Brown, hands a solar panel up to Ethan Gohen, both with Heat Shed Inc.

Chris Knight, The Patriot-News
Workers with Heat Shed Inc., install 36 solar panels on the roof of Randy and Tami Wilson's house in Susquehanna Township.

A big drawback to installations such as this one is the expense. The Wilson's system cost $58,000. However, there are some state and federal programs and tax credits to allay those costs.

The Pennsylvania Sunshine Solar Program, administered by the Department of Environmental Protection, and other federal and state programs, help pay for alternative energy projects.

"When you factor in the 30 percent federal tax credit, the $2.25 per kilowatt Pennsylvania state grant, the money we will make selling our Renewable Energy Certificates as well as the money we will save by not using PPL electricity, this system will pay for itself in 6 to 7 years," estimated Tami Wilson. "We thought it was a no-brainer."

PPL spokesman Bryan Hill said the company has received 160 applications in the past 18 months for electrical systems that would allow a residence or business to feed electricity it produces back into the grid.

The number is up from the previous two-year period, he said.

"Those are not all solar," he said. "Some are wind-powered, and a couple of manure digesters."

DEP press secretary Teresa Candori said since the Sunshine Solar Program launched in April, the agency has received 394 residential and 62 small-business applications. The bulk of them have been approved for construction.

Tami Wilson said she hoped a sign she put in her yard would tell the story. It shows a cartoon figure bending over and pointing to it's posterior, on which has been drawn a red lipstick 'kiss.'

The sign reads "Hey PPL ... about that rate hike."

"That's what this is all about. We hope more people will do what we're doing.