Joseph Levine has a 3,000-square-foot home in San Jose that burns about $1,000 worth of electricity a month, more than 10 times what the average homeowner pays.

So it’s no wonder Levine wanted to “zero out” his power bills by installing solar panels on his roof, which he did last month.

Not only will he now be living “off the grid” but his home, with 106 panels generating almost 23 kilowatts of energy, is officially the largest residential solar installation in San Jose — at least twice the size as the next largest residential installation, according to California Solar Initiative records.

“I was pretty surprised,” said the 34-year-old San Jose native. “That’s pretty big news. But I can’t be the only one with power needs. To me, it was a no-brainer to take some of the money I have and sink it into my house and get rid of a major bill.”

Levine won’t disclose how much the job cost. However, he said he will have an out-of-pocket cost of “at least” $100,000 after he receives a federal tax credit of about $45,000 and a state rebate of almost $30,000.

“I was pretty blown away. I didn’t realize the government offered that,” he said.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, whose Green Vision plan for the city seeks to have 100,000 solar roofs in place by 2022, applauds Levine’s decision.

“It’s great to see our residents embracing San Jose’s Green Vision, which sets bold goals for clean and renewable energy for our city’s homes and businesses,” Reed said in an e-mail. “I hope more residents will consider the incentives that are available now from the state and federal government for installing solar.”

Molly Sterkel, supervisor for the California Solar Initiative at the California Public Utilities Commission, also commends Levine.

“Our state has ambitious and important environmental goals,” she said, “and to meet those goals, we need to do everything we can to clean our energy supply mix. This customer is making a difference and helping us get there sooner.”

Levine, co-owner of the Comic Collector Shop in Mountain View, which buys, sells and trades new and vintage comic books, said he began exploring going solar about six months ago. While he doesn’t consider himself to be “Mr. Green,” he shares concerns about the environment. But his main goal was to get rid of that mammoth monthly bill.

He works at both the shop and at home, where he uses computers and also does video editing. That equipment, along with air conditioning, a pool and a jacuzzi, add up to a lot of electricity used by Levine and his family.

Levine hoped to be able to sell surplus power back to PG&E. But PG&E spokeswoman Jennifer Zerwer said that while customers whose solar systems produce excess energy receive credits to apply against charges on their bill if they consume more energy than they produce, they currently can’t sell power back to the utility.

After months of researching solar companies online, Levine decided on Renewable Power Solutions to install his system, partly because it was based in San Jose, he said, and also because it had a track record. The company, which has been in business since 1998, has done more than 650 residential and commercial installations, according to CEO Jose Radzinsky.

“What I can tell you about this house is that it will save the environment 700 tons of CO2 gases in 25 years,” said Radzinsky, who said his company has helped about 200 other homeowners leave the grid.

Radzinsky said Levine’s four-week installation was more complicated than most because the workers needed to take advantage of every angle of the roof.

“The roof is pointing in different ways, so we had to be creative,” he said of the installation, which weighs 3,000 pounds. “And usually this big a system would be ground mounted, not roof mounted.”

Levine said that when he was told the job would require 106 panels, each measuring about 3 feet by 5﻿1/2 feet, it seemed “a bit excessive.”

“But they mapped it out for me, talked me through it and showed me how it works,” he said. “And I said, ‘If that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes.’ ”

The installation not only took more panels than most residential projects but also a lot more money. The typical residential solar system, after rebates, costs $20,000 to $30,000. But while Levine’s system cost several times that, he thinks he’ll be able to pay off his investment in eight years.

Levine’s new solar system is completely automated and will be attached to a Web-based monitoring system that’s connected to Renewable Power Solutions. It will allow Levine to track the solar installation’s performance from anywhere in the world, telling him how much energy he is producing, and how much green gas he is saving the environment.

“I think it looks pretty neat, actually. It looks very futuristic, very modern,” Levine said, though he added that “my house definitely sticks out like a sore thumb.”

Some neighbors have been intrigued and asked him about the panels, to which Levine quipped:

“I told them, ‘You can’t blame me anymore if we have a power outage.’ ”

Contact Tracy Seipel at tseipel@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5343.