Homeowners warm up to solar power

[phantom power]

(On some level, this is genuinely good news, but when I look at the numbers, I don't know whether to laugh or cry...)

The number of homes using the sun as a power source is expected to more than double this year as Connecticut embraces solar power technology in the face of higher energy costs.

Charlie Moret, managing director for the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, recently said there are 15 homes in Connecticut that get at least some power from solar energy systems and that 17 more are installing the equipment.

The 17 homeowners are taking advantage of a 5-month-old CCEF program that will cover half the cost up to $25,000 of installing a system.

http://www.connpost.com/business/ci_2608432

[acmejack]

1. I see what you mean...

Talk about a wholesale adoption

[jpak]

9. The DOE estimates there are 220,000 PV equipped homes in the US

and new commercial and residential PV capacity is growing at 50MW per year.

There are also ~1 million US homes and 200,000 businesses with solar hot water heaters.

Only 15 PV equipped homes in Connecticut???

There are well over a 1000 in Maine, and I know of 4 PV equipped homes near my parent's house (and 2 homes with roof top solar hot water heaters) - and they aren't all McMansions either...

The link is to the 2004 Tour of Solar Homes in Maine

http://www.midcoast.com/~jgs/

and a link to the famous Lord House...

http://www.solarhouse.com/index2.html

and from Maine's Democratic governor...

http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=108965&z=35

Early adopters always pay a premium for what they buy. Automobiles were originally a "rich man's toy". Today they are a necessity of modern American life (for the time being anyway).

People scoffed at the "high price" of hybrid-electric vehicles too - but the waiting line for a Prius is now several months and sales of SUV's have tanked.

People with modest means can afford a lot of expensive "toys" (if you want to include PV in that category). I have a high school classmate that lives near my parent's house. He lives in a run-down single-wide, but he's got a new 4-wheeler, 2 snow machines, a bass boat and a new 4-wheel drive pick-up in his dooryard. He's got at least $10k worth of toys alone, and he can't afford a PV array or a solar hot water heater????

There's a double-wide home on a slab 4 miles down the road in the same town that has a 1 kW PV array and 1 kW wind turbine in the front yard.

Eleven miles down the same road there's a self-employed mechanic with a yard full of junk cars and house that really needs a new paint-job - but he's got a brand-new solar hot water heater sitting on his roof.

People can spend their money on whatever they want. Some homeowners spend their $$$ on swimming pools, SUV's, 4-wheelers, snowmobiles and powerboats. Then there some that enhance the value of their home with "expensive toys" like PV modules and wind turbines.

Guess who's gonna be better off in the long run...

People who put their money where their mouths are and invest in renewables deserve our respect and admiration - not derision.

[NNadir]

10. It's nice to know rich people can feel noble.

Where do they dump the lead from their batteries? In a poor neighborhood, I bet.

Why not pass a law stating that before buying "a new 4-wheeler, 2 snow machines, a bass boat and a new 4-wheel drive pick-up in his dooryard..." you have to spend $20,000 on a new PV system for your home (assuming that you have a home of course.)

Maybe we get get Dennis Kucinich to introduce the bill, and I'm sure that once people get wind of this wonderful new law, the stampede for its passage will be so remarkable that it will pass almost immediately and Cheney's puppet will feel compelled to sign it or be impeached; the greenhouse effect will go away in the next few weeks; the snow will reappear on Mount Kilimanjaro; the mercury will stop raining on my children; the permafrost will refreeze; the pathogenic insects will stop moving northward; the forests will stop burning; the rivers will stop drying up; and, oh yes, the vast incredible overwhelming consumingly important risk that an extra rancher in Nevada might get cancer from Yucca mountain two thousand years from now, will be decisively eliminated.

Why didn't we think of THAT sooner? What a brilliant idea! What were we thinking?!? Why didn't we see it?!?

[Massacure]

11. You don't need batteries to run a PV or Wind system.

[Mojorabbit]

15. This is what I don't understand

I have been looking into installing a few things using solar. It is daunting looking at what is required and I'll admit I know less than nothing tech wise on how it works but everything I have seen on the web needs batteries?

I also am worried about hurricanes again this year and would like to know if they are small enough to be removed from the roof when one is coming.

I am only looking to perhaps run a freezer, some fans, maybe a window a/c
and a few kitchen small appliances as well as a light in the kitchen.

If batteries are not needed that would be wonderful.

[Massacure]

16. Photovoltaic solar panels need several parts depending on the situtations.

They need mounts, which may or may not come with the panels. If you are using AC electricity, which you are if you are connected to the utility grid, you need an inverter to change the electricity from DC to AC. When the panels don't make electricity, the grid serves as your backup. However, if you aren't connected to the grid, or if you are worried about blackouts you can get batteries so they provide electricity 24/7. If you get batteries, you need to get a charge controler so that you don't kill the batteries with too high a charge.

[struggle4progress]

18. Depends on exactly what you do. I've seen solar-augmented ...

... hot-water systems with a photovoltaic pump for sunny days; of course, this sort of apparatus requires no battery. A friend of mine, however, dual-wired her house with a grid system and a separate system for most of the lighting, run by photovoltaics with a large battery bank in the basement.

[jpak]

12. But "Rich" utility companies can't afford new nuclear power plants

That's why the Bush administration is attempting to pass legislation (which Dennis Kucinich opposes BTW) that will take $6.8 billion of your/our tax money and hand it to their "rich" friends in the nuclear industry so they can make themselves even "richer" at your/our expense.

And even if they succeed in building new nuclear power plants, mercury will still rain down from the sky because their mercury abatement plan is a sick joke...

And US CO2 emissions will still increase because they don't believe that global warming is a problem...

But they do believe that conservation is a "personal virtue" so they refuse to raise CAFE standards for new automobiles or support mass transit, etc.

But Real Americans who actually spend their money on hybrid cars and PV arrays and wind turbines are somehow part of the problem????

BTW: New Jersey has one of the most aggressive solar energy programs in the country - the goal is to install 90 MW of residential and commercial PV by 2009 (~80.000 homes)...

http://www.solarbuzz.com/News/NewsNAGO217.htm

http://www.njcep.com/srec/faq.html#Anchor-What-14210

http://www.akeena.net/solar_energy_benefits/incentive_programsnj.htm

http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/incentive2.cfm?Incentive_Code=NJ05R&state=NJ&CurrentPageID=1

(and it's not just for rich folks)....

[NNadir]

13. Yeah, right.

I live in New Jersey, and it's amazing the number of traffic jams we have here because of solar cell delivery trucks. It's hard to get the kids out to school. They're everywhere! It's all the talk around here.

It is nice though in the dark of winter how our new solar New Jerseyans climb up on their rooves to brush away the snow. Then the light candles to keep those electrons pumping. It's a very moving ceremony and only a few people, usually the ones who go up the roof with a nip or two of brandy, are killed by sliding off the roof.

The tree cutters have been having a great time removing all those pesky trees we have here that mess of the flow of the sun and keep your house cool. If your house was cool, you might not need your air conditioner as much and therefore you would be unable to exercise your smugness on how your 20,000 solar cell runs your air conditioner.

[jpak]

14. Here's some NJ PV projects...

a 500 kW commercial project...

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=23640

a 6 kW residential project...

http://www.akeena.net/residential_systems/nj_residential_case_study.html

a 72 kW commercial project...

http://www.powerlight.com/company/press-releases/2002/12-10-02-rooftop-nj.shtml

a 52 kW commercial project

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=142794&TICK=GREENM&STORY=/www/story/05-16-2002/0001729657&EDATE=May%2B16,%2B2002

a 120 kW array on an ORGANIC FOOD STORE!!!!....

http://fuelcellworld.org/article_default_view.fcm?articleid=3937&subsite=335

a 6 kW array at a library...

GPU Solar Powers SolarScapes at New Jersey's Liberty Science ...

a 2 kW residential project...

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050112/125676_1.html

a 30 kW parking garage...

http://www.akeena.net/solar_energy_benefits/homepagenj.html

a 5.6 kW residential system...

http://www.njsolarpower.com/

a whole bunch of residential systems...

http://www.jerseysolar.com/projects.html

a 1.8 kW passive solar office building...

http://www.nrel.gov/ncpv/documents/seb/seb26.html

a 6 kW residential project (with cool performance graphics)

http://www.mikebaker.com/energy/pv.html

a 2.6 kW university array

http://www.altpower.com/rece.htm

a 101 kW IBEW union hall...

http://www.powerlight.com/company/press-releases/2002/7-15-02-union-nj.shtml

NJ Builders see green cash...(worth googling up).

PDF NJ builders see greener pastures

a bunch more on the Jersey shore...

http://www.nesea.org/buildings/openhouse/2003njshore.html

these guys were busy...

http://www.jerseysolar.com/about.html

and a zero energy retrofit home...

http://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2004-03-08/lead.html

Yup - not much going on in the Garden State...

(sorry about the links that didn't work)

[NNadir]

20. Gee almost a whole megawatt, totla.. During peak day light hours.

When the sun is shining. When there's no snow on the ground.

I'm so glad that the Greenhouse effect is no longer a problem in New Jersey. Must be a few thousand light bulbs worth here. Of course it's not too useful to turn on light bulbs in New Jersey (as opposed to in La-La land) during peak daylight hours in the spring.

How come the Mercury's still raining on my head?

Wishful thinking kills...

It's day dreaming. It kills, not that day dreamers give a flying fuck about reality.

[jpak]

23. Coal-fired power plants are responsible for ~26% of US Hg emissions

If we closed every coal-fired plant tomorrow, mercury would still rain down on your head.

Reality is this: by January 1, 2009, New Jersey will have 90 MW on new roof-top PV capacity.

It will have 0 MW new nuclear capacity.

New Jersey is THE US leader in solar energy today...

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=10804

Can you say boom????

http://www.energybulletin.net/1688.html

[bunny planet]

25. gee, why so cranky. Should we all just do nothing to address the problem.

[postulater]

21. Wow

I had no idea NJ was so environmentally conscious. I wish I lived there.

Have you replaced the turnpikes with pine trees yet?

[NNadir]

22. We'll get to it. First we're demolishing all of our refineries to make

giant solar collectors. After we finish that, some time this spring, we plan to convert all of our roads to PV powered light rail lines.

We have lots of money to do this. We're rolling it, because Christie Whitman's tax breaks for rich people have so stimulated our economy that practically everybody in this state is as rich as the people who used to bribe Christie. Christie ultimately went to Washington to promote the expansion of coal ash clouds here, because that cuts down on the sunlight. She's concerned that we're all so rich, that we may be putting on some weight. That's bad for our health. Like a all republicans, she cares deeply about our health.

[Maestro]

2. I would love to adopt wind technology or even solar

technology here in Texas. However, if it takes longer than my mortgage to recover the costs, well, all I have to say is...



Really, there has to be cheaper way of implementing this. I have read that wind farms set up throughout the midwest stretching from Texas to North Dakota could produce enough electricity for the whole U.S. I need to find that source. It was quite enlightening.

[phantom power]

3. That is the rub.

unless you've got $10-20K burning a hole in your pocket, it's difficult to justify installing PV from a financial-return angle. I love the idea, but I can't justify it either. The payback time is still 10-20 years. Last I heard, the average American only stays in one home for 7 years.

I believe that a solar water pre-heater is a lot cheaper. I don't know what the payback time is, but I bet it's faster than PV.

This is an example of where building codes might be nice. For instance, why *not* make water pre-heating mandatory for homes in places like Phoenix, LA, etc. Or tankless water heaters. The additional cost isn't much compared with the cost of the home, and then everybody who lives in the home over the years benefits.

If they could drop the cost of residential PV by another factor of two, I think it would become economically viable for a much larger demographic.

[midnight armadillo]

24. Hot water heating can be (nearly) free

The web page of one solar hot water system claimed the loan to pay for the system was less than the average hot water heating bill in their area, meaning it was a bargain...and the loan was only for three years, afterwhich hot water was FREE.

[ret5hd]

5. i have read...

(not vouching for accuracy):

that the electrical needs of the u.s. can be met with solar panels covering roughly the total "roof area" of the u.s.

[phantom power]

6. I think if you account for positioning of roofs, weather, nightime, etc,

that it wouldn't work out quite as nicely. But you could certainly make a big impact. Especially in the southwest, where the PV would work best exactly when it's needed most, in the afternoon.

According to our resident expert, NNadir, the best green energy sources would be wind and nuclear, which aren't as practical on a per-home basis.

PV would make an excellent supplemental technology, in areas with the right climate.

[One_Life_To_Give]

4. Licensed only?

I think the reference is for 15 Grid Inter-tie systems. Not counting isolated systems that cannot back feed the grid, Guerrilla operators, and solar hot water systems.

[dweller]

7. it's still early on, but here's an idea

that should help with affordability.

www.nanosolar.com

dp

[SnoopDog]

8. Yet's see....$80 Billion to invade a country versus...

4 Million Homes with solar energy. And that is with a cost of $20,000 per home which I think is 1) exaggerated and 2)with more 'units' the price will fall.

This is the real solution to our energy crisis. We have million and millions of roof tops. We can put solar cells on these roofs and start pumping energy into the grid. The energy is FREE after production costs and installation and the routine maintenance.

The fucking government can piss away $180 million on a failed 'software system' - how about using some money for solar cells. By the way, *NO* software system costs $180 million nor would it need to be scraped. That $180 million went directly into the pockets of the 'haves'.

It is time for 'we the people' to demand not only an energy solution such as solar, but transportation, health and education.

[screembloodymurder]

17. New technology is coming.

http://www.nanosolar.com/products.htm
Soon everyone will want solar.

[Dogmudgeon]

19. A real power problem

We just can't keep using more and more energy. I'm not talking about shortages of oil; this is a question of how much heat the Earth's ecosphere can absorb.

If we had enough solar collectors to give us four times the amount of energy we use now, it would create a significant change in the albedo (reflectiveness) of the Earth and a major change in it's heat absorption and reflection. Yet with a 2.5-3.0% yearly growth in energy consumption (which is required to prevent the world economy from tanking), we could easily be at that point in less than 30 years.

The first order of business is to encourage radical energy savings in all technologies that we can. Then, we have to plan for a long period of controlled economies, which basically means technological stagnation.

But in the long run, the only way we can base our economies on booming growth is to move them into space.

If we ever do discover a source of infinite energy -- "zero-point energy" or cold fusion or whatnot -- we will end up baking the entire Earth to incandescence within a couple hundred years.

--p!