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Driving on Sunshine
- Thread starter dhrivnak
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- Energy Environment Policy
jaysquyres
Member
dhrivnak,
Since you asked for pictures/info, here is my system:
We are the First NET-ZERO home in Flower Mound, TX (DFW.) Track here: https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/pv/public_systems/3PJ33260
Video from a Quad-Copter here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpIbxFv4_70
Since you asked for pictures/info, here is my system:
We are the First NET-ZERO home in Flower Mound, TX (DFW.) Track here: https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/pv/public_systems/3PJ33260
Video from a Quad-Copter here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpIbxFv4_70
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Hey cool i especially like the kids in the frunk. thank you. Net zero is a great accomplishment By chance does that include the car? I think we will be very close to net zero including the car. It is a great feeling.
jaysquyres
Member
Yes! It includes the Tesla(s). Our utility only reimbursed Solar up to 10k/year, so we added another 10k - 3 years in a row. We plan on having 2 Tesla's (plus our kids will probably get EV's,) so we needed a lot of panels to accomplish NET-ZERO. We still have a bill in the 4 summer months (AC usage) but we get refunds the other 8 months. The utility still owes us a little money annually though. Does this make us NET-Positive?
We also offer free Tesla HPWC charging at our office, plus other EV charging. We encourage employees and others to get EV's, and we will always offer free charging, 24/7 for everyone (like Tesla does.) Our office is also NET-ZERO from Solar panels. The EPA recognized us here: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/partners/partners/apexexpress.htm
We also offer free Tesla HPWC charging at our office, plus other EV charging. We encourage employees and others to get EV's, and we will always offer free charging, 24/7 for everyone (like Tesla does.) Our office is also NET-ZERO from Solar panels. The EPA recognized us here: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/partners/partners/apexexpress.htm
Bugeater
Member
Here's the solar on our house. We got them in Jan 2011, nearly a year before we got our Model S. We originally got 25 180W panels. This year we added on to our house, and with more roof area we added 7 more 250W panels. Total 6.35KW. Though we want a Model X, we don't know when we will have the funds for the X. This year I expect we will be net zero or positive. Next year, with more cooking at home again, we might not be quite net zero.
ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
When this poll first started, I said "yes" because I bought in to a solar cooperative. My house was surrounded by trees, so I couldn't have solar at home. I still have those solar shares.
But we have since moved to a 5-star green, certified net-zero energy house. It came with a 9.75kW solar system. However, that was just to offset the house; since we were adding 2 EVs, we just added another 4.86kW system this month.
Here's a picture from July; you can just see the larger system on the upper roof. The new solar system is on the lower roof (not shown in this old picture). My wife just happened to be driving home, so that's her Model S. My Roadster is in the garage. My son's plug-in Prius is on the driveway. The ICE in the picture belongs to a construction worker for a neighboring house.
But we have since moved to a 5-star green, certified net-zero energy house. It came with a 9.75kW solar system. However, that was just to offset the house; since we were adding 2 EVs, we just added another 4.86kW system this month.
Here's a picture from July; you can just see the larger system on the upper roof. The new solar system is on the lower roof (not shown in this old picture). My wife just happened to be driving home, so that's her Model S. My Roadster is in the garage. My son's plug-in Prius is on the driveway. The ICE in the picture belongs to a construction worker for a neighboring house.
Very nice Chad. I assume you still have the Roadster as well. It appears you are really walking the walk. You are to be commended.
I wondered that myself as it looks quite strange.
on another more related topic on the Volt forum 25% of Volt owners have gone solar as have 33% of Leaf owners. So with Tesla owners above 50% I am not surprised to tee Tesla owner leading the way (by example) to a sustainable future.
FLDarren
Member
This a church in Seminole Florida. I just had to get a photo next to it. There's also a community college down the road that has a massive solar arrangement. Sorry, no pic.
bollar
Disgruntled Member
Nice picture, but I'm immediately drawn to the slight offsets between certain panel rows.
Sorry no and will not change until you can give me some significant data. Until then you are welcome to your opinion. Many Tesla owners are drawn by the environmental aspects of the car. It is part of the vision Elon preaches and why he has a significant interest in Solar City. EV'S and solar make a great compliment.
Now if you want to talk statistics 60% solar when we had 40 votes is not statistically different than 56.5% at 203 votes. Their margin of errors overlap. I hedge further by saying over half. The poll has NEVER dropped below even 55%. I will change my stance if you can give me significant numbers that show less than half of Tesla owners have solar. Otherwise I will cling to the hypothesis that over half Tesla owners and over 1/3 of EV owners have solar.
jaysquyres
Member
We are at the highest point of a hill. The Zig Zag is required so the walkway slope is not too great. When we have snow, this is the hill all the kids slide down.
dhrivnak,
Here's some things to consider about site polls:
You have 203 people voting, which gives us a 7.1% confidence level (not bad) based on this table ( http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Soc_participants.shtml )
However, I don't see how this poll has a representative sampling of the population of Model S owners for the reasons mentioned below:
"Sampling Error The key to accurate measurement of public opinion is the ability of a researcher to select a sample of individuals that looks and acts like the larger population they come from in every important way. For example, a sample must have almost exactly the same proportions of men and women, blacks, whites and Hispanics, Democrats and Republicans and old and young people as the entire population. In practice, representative samples are best drawn by randomly selecting individuals from the population of interest. For example, if a pollster wants to know which candidate is likely to win an upcoming election, he or she randomly "samples" individuals from the population of all voters. (People who are not going to vote on election day, although eligible to vote, are not part of the actual voting population and should not be included in the sample.) Randomness is important because it removes any bias that might creep in by allowing the pollster to select people, unintentionally or not, on the basis of their race, sex, height, availability or any number of other criteria that would make the sample unlike the population from which it is drawn. " (from http://www.thisnation.com/question/002.html )
"By far the worst kinds of polls, according to experts, are the Internet polls or magazine surveys that appeal to only those with a vested interest in the question. “They are worthless, except for the purpose of idle entertainment,” says Steele. “For example, magazine ‘fax back’ polls about the ‘right to choose’ almost always come back with tons of responses from the ‘right to life’ sector. They are junk.” Internet polls, he adds, “are crazy talk. There is no information at all, except perhaps in the number of people who respond. Such polls [do act] as a way to find hot topics in a target audience. This is good for magazines, but bad for readers. The only thing that’s slightly interesting is that they are a measurement of passionate responders.” (from http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/...how-accurate-and-useful-are-polls-these-days/ )
"When online surveys are accessible to anyone who visits a website, the researcher has no control over sample selection. These self-selected opinion polls result in a sample of people who decide to take the survey -- not a sample of scientifically selected respondents who represent the larger population... Non-response bias in online surveys is complicated by the most egregious form of self-selection. People who respond to a request to complete an online survey are likely to be more interested in or enthusiastic about the topic and therefore more willing to complete the survey, which biases the results. In fact, the very nature of the Internet, as an information-seeking tool, contributes to this form of bias. For example, if someone who is interested in the subject matter of a survey uses a search engine, such as Google, to seek out information on the subject, that person is more likely to find an online survey on that topic. In this way, more people with a heightened interest in the topic are driven to the online survey." ( http://www.responsivemanagement.com/news_from/2010-05-04.htm )
MassModel3
Member
I voted "Yes" on the poll even though technically, at this exact moment, I don't have solar panels. However, Solar City is scheduled to be here within the next two hours to begin my solar panel installation, finishing up tomorrow. They have projected being able to generate 85% of my home electric needs, so for the most part, I will soon be driving on sunshine as well.
Bugeater
Member
I agree; and this really applies to all of the TMC polls. For starters, TMC participants probably do not comprise a representative sub-population of Tesla owners, and then the sample of those that go ahead and vote is even further skewed from the true population. At this level, the results really just represent testimonials; however, it is heartening to see how many Tesla owners have gone ahead and installed solar, and I do enjoy reading everyone's posts. Each of us is slowly raising awareness within the general population.
I just wish my close friends would take advantage of the economic benefits of the current rate structure, before our utility manages to reduce these to such an extent that there is no economic benefit. Xcel, our utility, sees rooftop solar as competition, rather than as their partner. They are pushing our PUC to add a tidy profit margin to solar energy that they will produce in massive solar farms and then will sell to the populace, while at the same time they are trying to cut the throat of distributed community energy produced on our rooftops (that would help lower transmission, generation and environmental costs for all). But then, how often have giant monopolies every been much of a friend to the man, woman and child on the street?
I Voted Yes and I don't have a Tesla. For a while I had a Toyota RAV4EV which was powered by Tesla. I hope some day to buy a Tesla when my existing EV leases run out in mid 2016.
It has been a tough week for solar in NE Tennessee. Two heavy snowstorms and temperatures as low as -10 meant the snow stayed on the panels. Finally after 7 days of no production we are finally starting to generate again. With the low temperatures the heat pump was running almost continuously so we ran up nearly 300 KWh of a deficit in a week. Two plug-in cars did not help either. If we were not grid tied we would need one huge battery pack to survive.
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