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RAM_Eh
Member
Glad to hear you admit it!....
No, I was just translating the Toronto-ese.
I have solar hot water for the pool but it didn't require any additional pumps - you just divert the water up onto the roof to run through some black evacuated tubes. The only downside is that it seems to cause some air bubbles to enter the system due to the pressure differences caused water coming down about 20 feet into the pool. The payback should be roughly four years - at least that is what it will look like for me as I won't need nearly as much gas to keep the pool at 85F.
SmartElectric
Active Member
Our pool stays 30C most of the summer with a big set of solar hot water panels. Ours are the simple type, but lots of them.
sakimano
Active Member
For one, I was talking about the cost effectiveness (because the OP is likely being sold that he will 'make his money back quick!' by a company selling solar panels and loans.
For two, your analogy is kind of odd comparing the investment value of a car to the investment value of an investment (the solar panels).
What do the solar panels actually do? they generate electricity. they don't generate better electricity than that which the power authority sells...it all works the same in my house. So it's really a revenue generator...and therefore I analysed the revenue aspect of it.
The car on the other hand actually fulfills a task , taking me, my family and my stuff around the continent. Sure it will be a poor 'investment' however is that relevant? It was never an investment to begin with. It's a mode of transportation.
Jaff
Active Member
For one, I have three quotes for a Micro Fit project on my house on my desk. None of them is promising the moon...might make a couple of thousand a year if I'm lucky...they are all very realistic...still going to do it because it's the right thing to do.
For two, you are looking financial investing for profit, and I am looking at lowering my carbon footprint...there is nothing odd about it...my measurement metric is of benefit to the environment, and yours is "what ROI is in it for me?"
Buying an electric car now is an investment...not a financial investment, but an investment towards an environmentally sound future.
sakimano
Active Member
I think j that's a st
Want to save the environment? Walk. Bike. But buying a 5000 lb luxury car with a massive battery that requires the destruction of the environment in other ways to build it (and then to charge it largely with naturally gas fired power plants) isn't changing all that much big picture. Just a different kind of environmental damage.
In any event, good luck with your solar project. Sadly the government of Ontario and the various power authorities don't need more power. Hence the elimination of this program. We're grounding it and giving it away in significant quantities.
Environmentally the jury is still out on how 'clean' our cars are. I don't think I'd be waiting around for a Nobel prize for buying a luxury car.
Want to save the environment? Walk. Bike. But buying a 5000 lb luxury car with a massive battery that requires the destruction of the environment in other ways to build it (and then to charge it largely with naturally gas fired power plants) isn't changing all that much big picture. Just a different kind of environmental damage.
In any event, good luck with your solar project. Sadly the government of Ontario and the various power authorities don't need more power. Hence the elimination of this program. We're grounding it and giving it away in significant quantities.
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
Not an option for everyone. I live/work in a town of 2k with minimal shopping. I'd move somewhere that I could bike or walk to everything but then I would just be replaced by someone that drives a Ferd-F-Teen Fifty
I need a car that can get ~200 miles on a charge... 4 years ago a luxury sports car was all that was available
RAM_Eh
Member
I was one of the very early adopters to the Micro Fit program. Locked it in at the max 0.802 cents/kwh. Did a lot of the work myself and so this year starting in July I will turn a profit for the next 17 years. I did this as an investment and since then, but in hind sight (as stated previously) the right thing to do. Being green costs money.
The car...investment in me. Why wait till I'm too old to enjoy it.
The car...investment in me. Why wait till I'm too old to enjoy it.
That quote about Natural Gas is absolutely, positively untrue.
You can see where Ontario's power is being generated on a near real-time basis here - almost all of the energy is coming from nukes and hydro - on windy days we can also get a lot from wind. Currently only 2.5% is coming from Natural Gas. And in the middle of the night, when we will be charging our cars, it is even lower. There are a lot of issues with the Ontario electricity system but burning lots of carbon to generate electricity is not one of them.
RAM_Eh
Member
RAM_Eh
Member
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
Not just some... the AVERAGE degradation rate for panels is ~0.5%/yr so on average panels will still be at ~90% capacity after 20 years. Yes... solar PV is awesome!
RAM_Eh
Member
Looked at my array in detail again and it has been in operation for over 5 years now...time flies.
