Posted on 12/21/2007 10:32:12 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
As a point of reference, the big standby generators that some people buy are 5 to 10 KW.
So, would having free electricity for 20 years be worth $5000?
There are other costs of course, they put out DC and nothing at night. However a 2500 watt inverter is only $225 at harbor freight, and you would need to store power for night time.
A car battery will store 1200 watt hours, 10 of them to give you 120V (12V X10) would give you 12,000 watt hours.
They would cost you $550 and have to be replace every 3 or so years.
With 3 hours 52 minutes of daylight, and the daylight not quite making it over the trees since October, whatever the solution is has to work for about 9 months straight with no recharge. Summer, all three months of it, is not a problem to begin with even if the power goes out altogether.
” With 3 hours 52 minutes of daylight, and the daylight not quite making it over the trees since October”
Where the heck do you live, Alaska?
I guess you will just have to burn whale oil...
That is a brilliant quote, if I may say so....
You have nailed it. A socialized commie system would be less likely to innovate such a technology.
Thanks! You made my day!
Solar singles for the sunny side of every roof would do a lot to cut down A/C bills in the summer, besides taking the stress off transmission lines.
...although they all live off the income generated by the generation skipping trust set up by their industrialist grandfather.
They will tax individuals who try to be less dependent on them. In this case, they will ramp up the regulations related to the installation process. Electricians will have to go through special training and be state certified.
Special planes will fly over with cameras looking for homes with solar installations. This regulation process will cost the taxpayers. Those without permits will be red tagged. Those red tagged will have to pay huge fines or have the solar panels removed. On a similar note, wait until the entire country is using these mercury laden fluorescent bulbs. I can imagine inspectors going though everyone's home sniffing for mercury continuation.
A. Are the costs associated with the batteries included in $1/watt — I don’t think so.
B. That would work well in warm climates.
Grid power. Nobody's saying to live off this alone, but at these costs the payoff time will be very fast, encouraging more people to do it. It can help reduce the need for new expensive power plants to meet needs, the need for foreign energy and pollution.
Everybody wins!
Well, except OPEC. And the econuts, they don't like to see real progress made by private firms.
What I've seen on FR is that most of us are really environmentalists. We're just not anti-corporate like those who have hijacked the environmental movement.
It’s good even if you don’t do batteries. For one, get a large electric hot water heater. That’s effectively storage for a lot of the energy you’ll take in. If you play it right, you may never heat water off grid power, saving you a lot.
Plus you can sell your excess to the grid during the day and pull in grid power at night. It should even out to an extremely low electricity bill every month.
A. Run off batteries B. Run off the grid, when power is cheaper.
Bingo.
With net-metering essentially the grid IS the battery as long as the total solar power supplied is less than the grid draw. And there is a long way to go before that happens.
Similarly with net metering a battery in every home is a battery in the grid.
The caveat of course is the various "surcharges," taxes, add-ons, etc. which an electric company, or government, can impose to screw it all. That is, if the energy you sell back is not at the same price you buy.
Sounds good, but the electrical control systems to do that without screwing up the grid are expensive. When you factor that in, you are way higher than $1/watt.
I don't see too many people putting solar panels (the last energy fad) on their houses any more. However, go ahead, I'll watch with interest, and join in when and if it's proven.
It's already proven depending on how the sunlight is where you live. Currently payoff is less than 5 years in such places, much less with this cheaper technology. Solar installations are normally guaranteed for 20 years, so that means at least 15 years of profit.
With Prudhoe and ANWR and NPR-A and enough coal to run the continent for 500 years, why would we have to burn whale oil? Oh, Greenies. Nevermind.
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