Say goodbye to cheap electricity

doesn't pencil, not eveb close unless you move to a LITTLE house (two hundred square feet or less)

Trin, nice looking setup, massive and very clean!

Is that bunker-looking structure with the vents and the hatch doors, where the batteries are?

How many square feet of panels is that?

"GOING" to get a rude awakening?! My elect
Bill has gone from $127 a month to over $340 a mo.in the last 2 yrs.I have lived here 9 yrs and never seen prices like this!!! Its OBSCENE! When I called DP& L to find out why it has been so high.... she told me the lady that called right before me, broke down and cried and told her that her electr.bill is now more than her mortgage!!! The operator also told me that they have had to start recording all their calls due to death threats. These stupid ppl that voted for that muslim BACK IN... they can have fun when its-20 below and winds are are 35 mph and all their pipes have busted from being frozen!! They are gonna move fwd alright!! Boy, I cant wait til the crying begins! They have nobody to blame but themselves!! What a shame the rest of us have to suffer for their IGNORANCE!!!

Low energy consumption: every one should move to the equator and live at somewhere between 3000 and 7000 feet, depending on whether they like warm or cool weather. Then that's the weather they will have year round.

A good clue is to live near coffee plantations. Coffee trees need a climate that humans like too, year around.

I am serious. Note that with the slight exception of Kona on Hawaii, and maybe Guam, we don't have that climate here in the USA. Florida isn't far enough south, nor does it have the required elevation.

As I said last night, it's looking like the USA isn't the right platform going forward.

works for a few only. Once more than 15% go solar the fractional generation cost starts to soar from the poor utilization factor. Not a real solution, sadly.

A $500-$600 electricity bill where I live is absolutely unheard of.

I suspect it is hardly the "norm" for most Americans.

My energy needs are well met with a 6kw solar system, a wood stove and gas stove and range.

My home is in the Rocky mountains, 2300 sq. ft., 3 levels, 2 baths, 4 bedrooms and I have kids.

THX for the info - I am thinking of installing an off grid system

Really nice set-up Trin. And I agree that the average person can't afford to go green at this phase of the development of technology.

Also manufacturing requires electricity and not knowing how much it is going to cost in this country now is not conducive to anyone starting a business.

I was reading a report from an power company about six months ago and........... regardless of the coal powered plant issue............... the study they did concluded that power everywhere in North America is going to see an increase of between 150 and 300% over the next decade and a half, depending on location. They believe it will become a major financial hurdle for most people and especially pensioners on fixed incomes.

The future is not bright. Everyday items are going to be hard for many people to handle. It not only will affect you with your home, the rates will be reflected in the prices of just about everything you do or buy. People really need to get a grip on it and start planning and preparing for what is coming down the pike.

*sorry, I meant 3 baths.

I think we may even experience a lack of electricity at times. What better way to demoralize, control, scare, and gather the people to you than to put them in the dark.

That's because you aren't counting the solar credit uncle sugar gave the installer. Tax dollars. Your scheme socializes the cost and privatizes the profit, the way Wall Street does math. Redistribution fails because it creates NOTHING. No free lunch, never was - never will be. Without the Federal incentives you would not have your solar lease.

From an engineering perspective, this is true. But how will that inefficiency cost be passed on to consumers? In generally higher rates? In taxes on solar panels? Or in hourly pricing that accounts for the marginal generation pricing differences?

In either of the first two, it's a big win to get your solar panels installed now. In the first case you can even install them later, and maybe benefit from cheaper / better panels as they are developed. I've heard thin film is promising.

In the third, you'll end up feeding the grid at cheap prices and drawing at higher prices, but if solar gets cheap enough, I guess it'll probably still be worth it.

And in all cases, apartment dwellers are screwed.

For most people, including me tbh, that translates to "better get in on the deal before that cost is rolled into the price."

Would you shy away from any deal that has an unsustainable government subsidy? Really? If so, you're a better (or less financially constrained) man than I am.

Same here in Maricopa county Arizona. The local civic centers (courthouse, cop shop, administrative buildings), library's, and a lot of stores are solar. My Mother had it installed in her two bedroom house and pays a $88 per month electric bill even in the summer when the air conditioning is blasting 24/7 for six months. She didn't have to put anything down. The highest others in her neighborhood are paying is around $120 a month. Some had to pay 5 grand up front, and some, like my Mom didn't have to pay anything up front. It also raised her property value.

It took a crew of 8 guys to install the system, three electricians to hook it all up. There's a maintenance crew that comes out ever few months to clean the panels on the roof and check the system. And she still needs bonded/licensed/insured electricians like anyone else.

The people that work in coal are hard working and intelligent. They'll be forced to learn different skills.

I've seen the thin panel technology that's being developed (and suppressed). It's being incorporated into paint, window panes and roofing tiles so your whole house becomes an electrical generator. And that industry NEEDS workers for production, installation and maintenance.

There's even wind turbines that don't use propeller type blades that don't make noise and kill birds and bats. It still requires a work force for the same things.

It's kind of funny to see when there's a wind storm here (lots of them in the edge of the desert) all the houses with panels are lit up, and all the houses that don't have the panels completely dark.

The communities are using the technology for street and traffic lights too. Which still require crews for installation and maintenance.

Holy shit Trinity.


That is very impressive.

Does nothing?

It takes my home about 90% off coal fired plants and uses power from a renewable source.

Fed incentives are hardly a windfall where I live buddy. Sure the solar company gets them with a lease but with life insurance on the system including a multithousand dollar sunny boy inverter that will need replaced every 10 years, I'll take that deal.

I come out WAY ahead and so does the planet and every living thing on it.

[link to www.youtube.com]


How about down the street?

In my experience with solar wells, battery technology has been the limiting factor for solar...

Curious, is your warranty on a depreciating scale or full replacement cost?!?!?

Ours was a depreciating warranty, only covered about 1/10 of the replacement cost. Replaced batteries after about 3 to 4 years, twice, finally scraped the battery setup and just put in water storage.

I admittedly don't have much experience with the new batteries and the indoor house setups...

Last Edited by Saddletramp on 11/07/2012 11:20 AM

abundant, yes, but without the economic competition of coal prices will easily soar 10x from the current depressed price.

The new Tesla/Solar City battery is a huge advance over this battery setup and it is available today.

Look into it.

Another thing I'd like to point out (OP) Libs are to stupid to know food prices are tied with the price of gas. So when they go shopping,they don't understand WHY food is becoming really spendy.

I guess "No Child Left Behind" did not work, in this case.

another retard commenting about engineering decisions.
Obama said we could, sure Sparky.

With that kind of a rise in a utility there will be many elderly that will die each winter.
Good job Obama, killing the elderly!
What great guy!

You are an electrical engineer and you advocate gasoline powered "storage"? You are as much an engineer as my cat.
What utter rubbish.

No - the people in those states who voted for Obama - most of them don't pay for their utilities anyway - they get theirs free - courtesy of the taxpayer, so what do they care - free is free - and they're too uneducated to realize that the makers can/will carry their burden for only so long. Bye Bye Miss American Pie.

Our warranty was a five year depreciating deal, they were nickle cadmium if I remember right, I know they weren't gel cells, we checked the water on them about once a month. They actually looked a lot like Marine batteries, but with more cells, I believe these were six volt batteries. It's been about four or five years since I messed with them.

You have to realize, this was ten years ago, so I'm sure battery tech has come a long ways.

I think the real problem with those batteries was these wells are way out in the country, so they're in outdoor battery boxes. And these boxes were insulated, but I think the temperature variation was hard on them over time. Indoor systems will have a much more constant temp, which will help battery life I'm sure.

When we first put the solar wells in, the panel tech was moving fast, but the battery tech seemed to lag. That may have changed. I get along fine with just pumping during daylight, and water storage, so I haven't kept up with the battery tech as much...

Last Edited by Saddletramp on 11/07/2012 11:42 AM

That's just great. My whole house is electric except for 2 fireplaces with insulators. Time to put the plastic on the windows and buy wood. It's got to be cheaper than the electric bill.

you and your "uncle" would benefit from a course in thermodynamics..........Did you vote for Obama?