Well, ISeeDeadBTUs it appears you don’t own any AT&T;stock, or you’d know damn well it has depreciated.  And unless I misunderstood what going on since 1984, and I don’t mean the George Orwell novel, you’ve had an ever increasing choice on where you buy your telephone service.  Hope you’re enjoying some of the lousy cable telephone packages.

You guys are gonna get my nice, informative thread dumped into the ash can!

Mike from Athens - 02 June 2008 08:57 AM

You guys are gonna get my nice, informative thread dumped into the ash can!

You have a great and much needed thread going on solar and it’s really important for those of us that are thinking along the same lines. It seems that anytime the mention of going green comes up the issue of $$ payback comes up. Yet when spending on vehicles, boats or even furniture pay back is almost never mentioned. Our way of only thinking $$$ and not what is good for our little planet and our neighbours is not always in the forefront. Your thread helps us get a real life view, a practical view on what we can achieve if we so desire. Many thanks Mike.
Ed

Yes, back to solar energy...it is often on my mind, and that’s why I started reading this thread...and started commenting on extraneous side topics, sorry.

As I may have said, every time I turn on the garden hose that is laying out in the sun I am reminded of my idea of installing out on the sunny side of the house a simple black pipe line/loop on the water feed to my hot water heater.  Of course, it would have to be drained when freezing weather comes...there you go, I’m back to the subject, albeit not electricity generation.

Telco - 30 May 2008 03:47 PM

Wow, such venom!  I’m not a decision maker, all I do is work on circuits.  I have zero input in how the company handles asset depreciation.  So no, no excuse bub.  I may as well be yelling at you about how New York elected Hillary Clinton to office, when her husband is directly responsible for 9/11, when as a New Yorker you only have one vote and may not have voted for her.  Ever wonder how Bubba got the federal budget into the black?

Well, if I was a betting man, I’d bet it was NOT by pimpin’ out Hillary

Jerry_NJ - 02 June 2008 10:53 AM

Yes, back to solar energy...it is often on my mind, and that’s why I started reading this thread...and started commenting on extraneous side topics, sorry.

As I may have said, every time I turn on the garden hose that is laying out in the sun I am reminded of my idea of installing out on the sunny side of the house a simple black pipe line/loop on the water feed to my hot water heater. Of course, it would have to be drained when freezing weather comes...there you go, I’m back to the subject, albeit not electricity generation.

This month’s Farm Show newspaper shows a guy who did just that. He had a scrap piece of 8” stainless steel pipe, 24’ long. He painted it black, bent it into a U shape and mounted it on top of his roof. A couple of valves to the cold and hot water lines and he was in business… He uses it until freezing weather and then just drain’s it for winter. Solar hot water is much easier to do on the cheap but for solar electric most states that have rebates require professional installers. Mass even requires that for an insulation rebate which is a bummer. Check out Home Power for more on solar.
Ed

This month’s electric bill showed up.  Pretty satisfying to see “amount due: $0.00” and “additional credit to be applied to future bills”.  I know I have a loan to pay off for the panels, but nuthin’ to the electric co!!

Thought I’d provide an update on this system.  It’s working great, and I have had no problems to date.

Our meter that is read for billing reads 40 kWh.  That means we’ve used a total of 40 coal-fired kWh in four months.  This morning, our cumulative production was around 2080 kWh, meaning on average around 500 kWh/month since installed.  Of course, I’m expecting this production rate to drop significanly over the shorter days of winter.

I think what put us over the “0” mark was the use of the AC for a couple weeks (parents complaining about heat when they visit) and the use of the dehumidifier in the basement.

I am happy with the decision to install the pv system, even though our $/kWh is aobut double that of buying coal power off the grid.  It has also really made my family consider what applicanes we use and when.  We are definitley making better use out of our clothes lines, for one.

For those of you on the fence, if you can afford it, take the plunge!