# Anyone going/gone solar?
**URL:** https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302
**Category:** NYSpeed Off Topic
**Created:** [May 5, 2009, 7:36am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302 "2009-05-05T07:36:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@rugsr](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/rugsr)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 7:36am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/1 "2009-05-05T07:36:32Z")
Got my taxes back and im thinking of going solar. Anyone here do it yet? or atleast in the process of doing it?
I know in Amherst you need permits:banghead:
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### Author:  [@Joe](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Joe)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 7:39am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/2 "2009-05-05T07:39:37Z")
Not cost effective in this climate…we have the most cloudy days of any city in the US.
EDIT:
[http://nyspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65747&highlight=clouds](http://nyspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65747&highlight=clouds)
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### Author:  [@JayS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JayS)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 7:40am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/3 "2009-05-05T07:40:25Z")
Each time I look into it the ROI just isn’t there. If you put a real high value on the green aspect of it you can probably justify it but if you’re doing it to save money on electricity it will take a very long time just to break even.
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### Author:  [@Paulo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Paulo)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 7:47am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/4 "2009-05-05T07:47:17Z")
In the Northeast, we have terrible access to solar power. The annual average for sunlight hitting a square meter of surface is about 1kWhr in Buffalo. Now factor in the fact that most photovoltaic cells only convert about %15 of that into electricity and you are only getting 150Whrs of energy per square meter of panel. To give you an idea, the national average per household is about 10,000kWhrs per year.
Believe it or not, wind is actually a fairly good resource in Buffalo. You say your in Amherst? If you mount a turbine about 20 feet above your roof the wind flow will be more fluid than if you were in a rural area. Lone standing houses create a significant amount of turbulence but in suburban areas, the wind flows over the rooftops.
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### Author:  [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 7:50am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/5 "2009-05-05T07:50:43Z")
I am sure I posted about this in the past. For my house it would cost about $50,000 and NY only gives you $20,000 back. The other major flaw I found was the website that helps you calculate the cost uses a 30 year mortgage but the equiptment is rated for 25 years. What’s up with that?
That being said, passive solar can be cheap and effective for saving energy.
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### Author:  [@JayS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JayS)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 7:56am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/6 "2009-05-05T07:56:35Z")
I really doubt Amherst will allow a 20 foot wind turbine tower on top of your house. Rightfully so because it’s an eyesore and a noise issue for everyone around you.
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### Author:  [@Avatar](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Avatar)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 8:04am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/7 "2009-05-05T08:04:26Z")
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### Author:  [@rugsr](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/rugsr)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 8:20am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/8 "2009-05-05T08:20:40Z")
Actually I would rather go wind power but when I called amherst they pretty much told me no…or atleast for now.
They are still looking into it, but what I would need is a pole about lets say 60feet up and then a 60foot radius of my yard around the pole. This way if it fell it didnt land on someones property/house/kids faces
So, if i wanted to do it I would have to attach it to my house (guessing here) so that I dont need a great of a circle in case it fell. EVEN if i did do that they would say rip it down, you dont have a permit and they dont exist in amherst so. Pretty much got shut down there. UNLESS I could paint it gloomy grey and maybe it would bled in with the sky. NO ONE WOULD SEE IT
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### Author:  [@JayS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JayS)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 8:30am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/9 "2009-05-05T08:30:11Z")
I don’t see them every getting approved in the suburbs, nor do I think they should be. No matter how well built they make noise spinning the generator. No one wants to have to keep their windows closed all summer because they don’t want to listen to the whirring of their neighbors wind turbine 50 feet from their bedroom window.
It’s a great idea if you live out in the country where you can put it 2000 feet from anything so no one hears it.
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### Author:  [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 8:56am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/10 "2009-05-05T08:56:44Z")
it will be interesting to see someone put in jail/fined because they put a windmill on their PRIVATE property. I am sure they will get plenty of legal support from Greenpeace, etc.
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### Author:  [@JayS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JayS)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 9:03am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/11 "2009-05-05T09:03:43Z")
^ Just because it’s private property doesn’t mean you can build what ever you want on it. Zoning laws have tons of legal precedence to stand on.
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### Author:  [@Joe](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Joe)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 9:13am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/12 "2009-05-05T09:13:55Z")
I want to build a nuclear power plant on my PRIVATE property in Snyder. Is that cool?
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### Author:  [@OfficerK](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/OfficerK)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 9:16am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/13 "2009-05-05T09:16:21Z")
> [@Joe](#):
>
> I want to build a nuclear power plant on my PRIVATE property in Snyder. Is that cool?
lets do it joe!
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### Author:  [@justa4door](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/justa4door)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 9:19am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/14 "2009-05-05T09:19:33Z")
I will be going wind in the next few years :gotme:
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### Author:  [@JayS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JayS)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 9:27am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/15 "2009-05-05T09:27:15Z")
I’m going to put a little coal plant on my PRIVATE property in Williamsville.
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### Author:  [@Joe](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Joe)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 9:28am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/16 "2009-05-05T09:28:25Z")
Word. Amherst is about to get all kinds of energy pumped back into the grid. Beats my $239 a month BUDGET BILLING electric bill :suicide:
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### Author:  [@JayS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JayS)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 9:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/17 "2009-05-05T09:37:06Z")
^ Do you have electric heat or something?
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### Author:  [@Joe](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Joe)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 9:38am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/18 "2009-05-05T09:38:47Z")
Central air and I run my hot tub all winter. And with 3 23-24 year old guys there we have more electronics than an Asian frat house.
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### Author:  [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 9:49am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/19 "2009-05-05T09:49:56Z")
> [@Joe](#):
>
> I want to build a nuclear power plant on my PRIVATE property in Snyder. Is that cool?
> [@JayS](#):
>
> I’m going to put a little coal plant on my PRIVATE property in Williamsville.
Coal is much easier to get a hold of.
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### Author:  [@justa4door](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/justa4door)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2009, 9:52am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/anyone-going-gone-solar/67302/20 "2009-05-05T09:52:15Z")
> [@Joe](#):
>
> Central air and I run my hot tub all winter. And with 3 23-24 year old guys there we have more electronics than an Asian frat house.
that is just dumb… I think mine is like 115 month … and I have a pig for a well pump
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