For your home.
I have been looking into this alot lately. I am thinking of using both types to try and eliminate my electric bill.
What is the efficiency that you can get in this area. I’m trying to decide if it is worth it. I live way out in rural area that has alot of continuous wind and the area is open to sunlight all day…no trees or other obstructions.
Also, inform me on what the start-up cost was and what system/sytems you are using. Battery back-up for strorage? etc…
how about using solar heating cartridges to heat pool water?
I have a homemade pool heater made from industrial radiators in a 4’X8’ box painted black and covered in glass. Works great. I measured the temp of the water coming out of the exit hose at 140 degrees F.
afaik, initial costs are pretty extreme from what I remember reading. never really looked into though
let us know what you find
They have full systems available about 5K IIRC… a do it yourselfer project… IDK if thats a good idea, probably cut that figure in half.
It also depends how much power you plan on getting out of this?
I was always under the impression that you need the power company to sign off on it since the power will be going back into the grid, so that may be an issue with a DIY project unless everything you do is internal (which I’d assume you’d maybe need a transformer and other equipment for)
dont you need a permit to build a wind power generator on your property?
i think you can tap your own power in but you need to make sure you either disconnect your main power or keep the circuit seperate do you dont burn down your house like the idiots do in the winter time who wire in a generator into their house power and when their power comes back on, BOOM.
It will take you a VERY long time to get a ROI.
Talk to AWDrifter. I know he looked into it when he built his place and I think he was looking at around 20+ years just to break even.
I know I started looking at solar systems this year and gave up on the idea because it would take me at least 15 years to get my money back, assuming no operating costs over those 15 years.
But what if the goverment goes under people become poor and electric companies go under.
YOu’ll be self contained!
Off grid FTW!
Right now electricity is just too cheap to invest in solar around here.
Once you look into alternatives you realize how cheap electric is.(for now anyway)
springville electric FTW
we have a natural gas well at our house. I want to convince the landlady to install a natural gas generator for when the power goes out.
No doubt, in the village it is quite a bit cheaper.
I know farm/company outside of Springville that powers their entire complex via natural gas.
you would need a huge bank of batteries to store the power when you arent using it, you would also need them to have a constant supply of power
$$$$$$
besides, batteries dont last forever either
I would need at least $6,000 worth of batteries in addtion to the $50,000 for the solar system for my size house.(from what I remember)
http://estimator.findsolar.com/
my wife is really interested in this too. Too much for us right now tho. It’s big bucks for a grid-tie in system because you have to have a qualified contractor install the crap in order to get any rebates back from big brother. The payback time isn’t too bad if you’re a big power user investing in a lower wattage system.
My coworker and I were talking about this
rebates in NY state
http://www.freetricity.com/rebatesform.htm
main web site
www.freetricity.com
Yeah, the start-up cost for me looks to be around $29,000 installed with battery back-up. ROI would be around 17 years. I read that solar panels last about 20 years, then need to be replaced. So, by the time i got my money back I would have to start all over again.
I’m going to look into some DIY alternatives. Maybe make my own wind generator.
Did you happen to see the guy that developed an inflatable wind turbine?
It is filled with gas. (helium probably?)
I think it is an incredible concept!
Easy install and easy repair!
You don’t even need a crane!
I think I saw it on Discovery Channel a while back.
He had a prototype that he got working but it showed great potential.
Solar panels don’t usually fail completely. Most will just lose efficiency over time. Most manufacturers warranty panels to produce 80% of their rated efficiency for 20-25 years, so likely you won’t be replacing them all at the same time, or for what you paid for them now. Costs of panels will continue coming down and efficiencies will continue going up, so updating your system in the future, especially in 20 years, should be very cost effective. A lot of the initial investment goes towards things like wiring, switches, inverter, etc, things that shouldn’t have to be replaced or reinstalled. Panels themselves are only part of the initial cost. Buying them yourself is would cost around $6000 per kW. All the rest of the costs are sunk and hopefully you wouldn’t have to worry about. Energy prices are only getting higher (12% increase in natural gas alone this winter is what I heard) and with a new administration coming soon, who should be more alternative-energy friendly, solar is starting to look like a good option. Wind also. Not practical for me though.