brian_wilbanks

I once found a solar setup on-line that will provide 30% of your average yearly use........... for the low low price of $80,000

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If you don't like my fire, then don't come around, cuz I'm about to burn one down.

Titanium Cat

What's the expected kW hour production? I bet I'd need about 10 of them for winter.

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Where the hell is E-man?

brian_wilbanks

I cant remember. It was last year when I found it.

There was a calculator on the website that helped you size the unit you would need. You entered the KWH that you used and I remember finding one that would supply 30% of my needs and it was 80K. Of course that was including installation as well.

I'm sure the prices are coming down though.

One of the things I am interested in is a solar water heater.

When I built my house, I made sure the living and dining areas were on the south side of the house. Even in the cold of winter, I can open the curtains and blinds and the heat of the sun in the mornings can help to warm those areas big time.

I've wondered about glass that can change it's tint when an electric current is applied.

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If you don't like my fire, then don't come around, cuz I'm about to burn one down.

BleedingPinky

Well, I guess in the meantime I´ll stick with traditional electric supply. I am really forward to see how alternative energy works out. Maybe my grandchildren will get to ignore it as it should be.

OldManOnFire

Yes to install solar or wind technology there is a hefty capital expense up front and the pay-back is 5 years or more. But remember that on the first day you have this installed, you are creating electricity, and this is either offsetting your use from the utility company or it is selling power to them--both making your monthly payments to the electric company less and less out of your pocket.

Typically I believe that most of the components in solar and wind installations will last 20 years and they are relatively maintenance-free.

I don't know if you have ever sailed, but in larger sailboats, you typically 'motor' out of the harbor and continue out to open seas...and then you hoist the sails and turn off the motor. When that motor goes off, and there is no more noise or vibrations, and all you can feel is that wind in your face, and see the bow of the boat cutting into those waves, you will realize a grand feeling. It's sort of like cheating mankind and all of it's industrialization and it's just you and the wind. This is how I feel about installing solar panels--it's like cheating the power companies...

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Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

OldManOnFire

Thought you might be interested is all...next time I'll know better.

You haven't corrected my confusion at all. It remains unclear what he is talking about. Even if you run one line down the center of the USA, this serves no purpose whatsoever. If he's worried about connecting remote solar and wind installations, then his HVDC line will need to run to every single remote area in the USA, and if this is the case, then he is talking about an HVDC grid that is as large and convoluted as the current AC grid.

Coal-fired power companies must either be satisfied with zero growth, or they must make capital investments to scrub 99% of the CO2 emissions, and/or they can invest in alternatives to the status quo.

If you think about 120 million homes and 7 million or so businesses, who all can greatly reduce their power needs by using solar and wind technologies, and within very short distances to a majority of towns in the US there are solar and wind farms, this would be considered at least by me to be one gigantic step for mankind!

And...millions of people do have these issues.

Homes are being built every single day which are off the grid! There are two homes on adjacent properties to me which are off the grid. The homes are properly designed, they use solar and battery storage, and both have back-up propane generators. Used homes are being converted every day as well. This is not a new or obscure concept.

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Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

BleedingPinky

I just checked out my last two bi-monthly bills for electricity.
Dec 19-Feb 18 84.34 Euros
Feb 19-April 18 76.79 Euros

If I recall well, to have those solar panels installed and working was like 80 E/mo full straight for 20 years (30? Frankly I can´t remember)

OldManOnFire

Solar and wind power are not energies in which you can compare monthly cost where it makes any sense. The reason for this is these installations remain expensive and will do so until the production volume greatly increases. Saving money IS NOT a current reason to install solar or wind power. If one can afford the initial investment, then down the road a few years it might make financial sense. In my area we have too many power outages and don't wish to deal with this anymore. Further, we feel we have an obligation to our environment to do whatever we can afford to do. I just wish our government would place a high priority on alternative energies, and in doing so to encourage new technologies, which ultimately will make solar and/or wind power affordable to the average homeowner--probably another ten years...

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Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

BleedingPinky

That is exactly the reason for not moving a finger. If anyone wants to go crazy, so be it. BTW, do you have them installed?

Titanium Cat

Okay I was a little snarky, I apologize. The topic is interesting, I thought since you had brought it up that maybe you had investigated it beyond Kennedy's speech. Businesses are interested in new HVDC lines but that's more for general transmission while Kennedy was being specific in targetting the problems of remote green generation.

Now come on oldman, if you had read the larger passage of Kennedy's speech which I posted it would be clear as to what he is talking about. After your initial question about Kennedy proposing a DC electrical grid which I then said was not a distribution grid but a long distance transmission system from remote areas to the existing AC grids of major population centers, you posted this:

I then said it was clear what he is talking about and I cut and pasted a much larger chunk of Kennedy's speech and bolded the more significant phrases:

Note that the exact line you quoted is right in the middle of the segment I quoted. Now read the line that immediatley follows it. He explicitly states "including new direct-current (D.C.) power lines for efficient long-haul transmission." It is very clear what he is talking about, the latter statement would make no sense whatsoever if you were going to build a wide scale DC power grid.

That's not what he is talking about though. New DC lines would go from point to point, just like most of the existing HVDC lines that are in operation. For instance you might have a group of wind farms in North Dakota and Montana. The closest major markets would be places like Minneapolis, Chicago, Seattle. Those wind farms could be connected in the existing regional AC grid and then power from that transmitted to the West coast or Mid-west via HVDC lines. Similar with solar arrays in places like Arizona, Nevada, Utah etc. supplying power to Southern California.

That's also not what he is talking about. Same as above. It is possible to connect individual wind farms or solar arrays using underground HVDC Light systems but those are usually used for offshore generation that require new transmission lines anyway. The details and cost analysis of such are well beyond what I can comment on. Regardless the system wouldn't be anything like the existing convoluted AC distribution grid which takes power to local districts and individual consumers, it would be for mass transmission only.

Well they should be, but that doesn't mean they will be. Although we are seeing a good sign in various states rejecting new coal-fired plants, some states aren't. One of the dangers that I can see happening is coal plants being authorized with CO2 sequestoring plans that turn out to be ineffective but once they are online it will be difficult shutting them down. Politicians will write loopholes that allow them to keep operating while pretending they are for green power.

Yes it would be a big step but there will still have to be a bunch more. We can't start phasing out coal while adding new demand via plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles with just the additional power from onsite solar and wind, we will also need a substanial amount of new bulk generation capacity.

Sure, I'm not arguing that they don't. But the cost for solutions that only a minority of people experience are going to be greater so we need incentives beyond grid reliablilty for everyone to lower the cost.

Yes but you are talking about a very small minority of homes and the reason for most of them is because they don't have cheap and/or reliable access to grid power (like you). Most consumers do. And for millions of people living in high density regions especially in multi-family dwellings, substantial off grid power isn't viable. You live in California, try using solar cells to power your house in a Northern state during the winter even if you heat with gas.

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Where the hell is E-man?