I can't do solar at my place, so I'm helping to get the 456 MW Cape Wind project built nearby instead. Does that count? 
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Alternative Energy Powered
- Thread starter Daniel Scherer
- Start date
sp4rk
Banned
This it, Robert?
Cape Wind :: America's First Offshore Wind Farm on Nantucket Sound
That counts! :wink:
Cape Wind :: America's First Offshore Wind Farm on Nantucket Sound
That counts! :wink:
Wow! I'm impressed on the responses and systems out there already and everyones future plans. I'm at work now but will add some more info so thoses of you that think you cant go solar can get going on getting some. Check out the Solarcity and Sunpower website and get registered so you can get quotes. You'd be suprised on the different programs available and just how much sun is available in your areas and how little your out of pocket costs would be. I'm in Michigan with a 4.05 watt system and I havent paid an electric bill since June of 2010. The solar was my best investment ever in 2010 and now the car.
mnx
2018 M3P
me too
I just had my application get submitted by grasshopper solar to the OPA for their microFIT program. Hopefully later this year I'll have a 5kW solar array on my roof at no cost to me.
I just had my application get submitted by grasshopper solar to the OPA for their microFIT program. Hopefully later this year I'll have a 5kW solar array on my roof at no cost to me.
fluxemag
Member
. (We are both EE's)
Babylonfive
Power12
ddenboer
MODEL X #1770
We are in the process of buying a new house in town that has 36 panels on the roof, solar water heating, and everything else as efficient as it gets:
Our current house can fit 18 panels on the roof, but a neighbors tree will obscure half of them half of the time, and he is not willing to top it. Time to move!
Our current house can fit 18 panels on the roof, but a neighbors tree will obscure half of them half of the time, and he is not willing to top it. Time to move!
ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
And a note for people that have too much shade for solar (a common problem for those of us in the Pacific NW): look for community solar projects in your area. I bought in to one last year; they put panels on a building downtown instead of on the roof of my house. But it works pretty much identically otherwise. They handle all the paperwork; I just get a yearly check.
And failing that, many power companies offer some sort of "Green Power" program. Usually for a ~1 cent per kWh fee, they will guarantee to build enough renewable energy sources to offset your usage (and there is a non-profit that audits their work to make sure they are really doing it). Of course the exact price and power source differs by area so you will want to ask for details. They often will allow you to only upgrade a certain amount, so you don't have to pay extra for the whole electricity bill.
I figure community solar covers my car, and Green Power covers the house.
And failing that, many power companies offer some sort of "Green Power" program. Usually for a ~1 cent per kWh fee, they will guarantee to build enough renewable energy sources to offset your usage (and there is a non-profit that audits their work to make sure they are really doing it). Of course the exact price and power source differs by area so you will want to ask for details. They often will allow you to only upgrade a certain amount, so you don't have to pay extra for the whole electricity bill.
I figure community solar covers my car, and Green Power covers the house.
isn't that enough? Frankly, you've probably done more research than I have at this point... i got discouraged by things like SolarCity not even being willing to talk to me, and there was someone else i talked to who said because of the lack of incentives, it's just not worth it to put up solar in virginia unless you're just willing to take a significant loss moneywise.
We put a 4kW sytem on our house last fall, partly in anticipation of the S but mostly because we finally pulled the trigger on what we believe is the right thing to do. It won't come remotely close to covering our full electricity usage for the house plus car, but that's all that would fit on the one section of our roof that works for panels. At least it's something!
Owner
Active Member
Get over to Lowes and replace all your light bulbs with this LED bulb. I installed this Noritz 96% eff tankless water heater in 2008 and I heat my 1500 gallon plastic water tank hot tub, garage, basement and hot water and cut my gas bill by 50%. I upgraded my AC to a 2 stage heat pump 16 seer/96% gas furnace. R60 attic insulation, whole house fan, 5 LED TV's, energy star appliances, whole house capacitor bank. This summer I'll tie in a home built solar water heater.
fluxemag
Member
I replaced all of our lights in the house with LED or CFL, with the exception of three decorative lights where the bulb is part of the design. Crazy what a difference the LEDs make in the electric bill. They put off zero heat so it's even better in the summer. They also look very cool in recessed lights.
dflye
S Sig Perf 414, VIN 814
Had similar problems with CFL bulbs in enclosed fixtures, they apparently need some serious breathing room to survive.
Replaced a bunch of recessed can lights with LEDs last year, and haven't had problems so far, nice that they are compatible with the dimmer switches I had on those circuits.
We'll have to get this back on topic at some point, but in the meantime. . .I replaced some bulbs a few years ago with CFL's, despite the wife hating the light quality, only two have two start smoking (mercury, anyone?) and two burn out before their incandescent counterparts. Never again for the CFL's. So several years ago I got wiser and starting trialing different LED's, and ultimately settled on Array BR30's, available directly from the manufacturer:
http://www.arraylighting.com/DL/br30_spec%20sheet.pdf
The major problem I have with the LED's sold in big box retailers is that they all seem to be 3000K color temperature, which is a CFL equivalent, not incandescent, which is 2700K. Why the big boxes stock lights at 3000K and not 2700K is beyond me. The CRI on the Array BR30's is 85, which isn't as good as the earlier Arrays I had trialed, but they're a whole lot cheaper and you'd never know from the look of them that they're LED's.
http://www.arraylighting.com/DL/br30_spec%20sheet.pdf
The major problem I have with the LED's sold in big box retailers is that they all seem to be 3000K color temperature, which is a CFL equivalent, not incandescent, which is 2700K. Why the big boxes stock lights at 3000K and not 2700K is beyond me. The CRI on the Array BR30's is 85, which isn't as good as the earlier Arrays I had trialed, but they're a whole lot cheaper and you'd never know from the look of them that they're LED's.
