Lolli

That's awesome! Good luck and let the rest of us know how it turns out.

michelemichele

My oldest brother is into solar power in a very big way, installed panels, installed a load of things, is an older fella (mid-50s: physical labour ain't so easy now), and he doesn't make the big bucks.

How do I set up an intro? I'm not too keen on sending him here, it'll jinx (the board & everyone associated with it).

__________________
(((start the music)))

Ouroboros

Actually, it gets down in the 20s and 30s at night. I leave my blinds open during the day for passive solar heating and I do a lot of baking. My living space is only 900 sq. ft. And I close the doors of various rooms to keep warm air in or cold air out.

Ouroboros

Here's the latest:

W.M.DEEEZ

That's interesting. I wondered about what happens in a few years if I need a new roof on the house, and the panels are in the way.

I also wonder about what happens if there's snow covering the panels.




MM...Your bro is in the North Country? Give him my email anyway...I'd love to chat. He's not that scary looking one you posted at Maher, is he?

__________________
Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got til it's gone

Refuge51

Wow thanks Ouroboros, I'd like to have that myself..My utilities are never
below $140 monthly. of course that includes gas, sewer and water too.

__________________
I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.
~George McGovern~

Cookie

I REALLY dislike paying utility bills. It's like you are throwing your money away, in the sense that you've nothing to show for it. It's not like a pretty plate or lamp you can admire forever after.

__________________
Corgi butts drive me nuts.

Malkavian

And yet without them, life is miserable.

__________________
Woof!

BleedingPinky

But they are good for throwing darts on them or olive seed pellets, cell down!

OldManOnFire

We have lots of wood on our land but sometimes we buy some assorted hardwoods and even this cost around $350 a cord...nothing is cheap!

If you have sun you can use those solar blankets that collect heat and you can run your hot water piping through this system and greatly reduce the hot water energy cost.

We're in a warmer climate so we do all we can do to shade the house during the hotter months...trees and arbors, etc. You need to collect all the solar heat you can.

I think at the end of the day, having your house properly insulated is the key solution. If it's fairly tight and there are some good insulating properties in the walls, windows and doors, then this should minimize the heating.

You know winter weather is only about 16-18 weeks from now and if oil prices remain where they are or continue to climb as predicted, this is going to cause some severe hardships for lots of people in the colder climates. The mood of the November election might make things slightly better or even worse but I don't see any relief for oil prices and neither does the pundits...

__________________
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...