That was interesting. We've been discussing solar panels for a while now - the back of our house faces south, and it would be ideal. The plan is to really investigate it when the roof needs renewing, and do it then (a couple of years or so, we think). And, as you point out, lack of automation and the high breakage really keeps the costs up!

Thanks - this is something we feel very strongly about. CT isn't a suitable location for wind turbines, or we'd be investigating that as well.

We are thinking about solar cells too. During my last visit in Germany I noticed many more houses with solar panels and there are towns where it is mandatory for all newly built municipal structures.

I'd be game too. I have a huge expanse of south facing roofline at just the right pitch to fit solar panels for water heating. I have a ceramic lined, once per day/off hours firing water heater now. Very efficient but 'can't last forever' tank now. I don't know why they aren't mainstream now, save maybe the size and weight are prohibitive. Also not cheap by any stretch. I don't even know if they're made in this country anymore.

On demand are nice in the right circumstances, and can be money saving, but are not the most ecologically sound because if you think about it, most will be fired during peak hours, and that does not relieve the grid from any demand at all. People don't often know that the power companies have to keep fired for peak, day and night. It's not like they can adjust it up and down like a thermostat. So, if we want to cut back on their power usage as well as our own, we need to relieve peak demands.

I'm toying with the idea of a solar oven. Won't be able to use it for all my cooking needs, but it would be a real relief from hot kitchens and fuel use six months out of the year and I'm home all day anyway.

Suzy,
There are non electric solar panels just for hot water and there are much less expensive electric solar panels. This summer I have played with a couple of garden hoses, connected about 100 feet of hose, coiled it and layed it on the patio, hooked it up to the spigot and such, and without any glazing, was able to get water temps in the hose up to ~110 degrees F easily. The hose only held about eight gallons, but more hose could be added, and a frame with glazing to make it more than "redneck" etc. (Actually I shouldn't use "redneck" as I am a "Cracker".)

Solar hot water heating

I've been toying with the idea of solar cooking too.

Solar Cooking

Being a mathemagician, I am more inclinde to build a solar cooker based on the principles of the parabola.

Have also been experimenting with mylar car shades, a small black cooking pot and a two gallon zip lock bag. Can get temps up around 300 degrees F with that. A tater cooks in about three hours.

Dorph, I was amazed when I went googling solar ovens just how much of the world depends on this cheap, nearly free cooking resource in the poorest sectors. Parabolic would be good, but a bit more 'dangerous' if not used correctly. There was an excellent site on building a parabolic curve from just the right sized umbrella, rofl, and also one on an Indian site to do with cardboard, broken down exactly in measurements. You'd almost need eye protection to use one or go blind. LOL.

Yes, passive solar hot water heat can be fairly easily rigged, but our roofline is very prohibitive, given the heigth of this structure. I can't think of anyone I love I'd want up there and if I paid to rig up a homemade system, the cost would outweigh the benefits. I have twelve and fourteen foot high ceilings, an attic and this is a two story building and the old roof was wood shake and then shingle and pitched steeply. I lived in fear when the roofers replaced it with shingle, and you literally need a bucket truck to clean the gutters. My step son used to bring his over for the job. I do the hot water by hose routine in my g'houses. Get buckets of hot water for things like scrubbing outside. In fact since it's under a heat retaining structure anyway running at over 100 degrees ambient, the water in the hoses on a sunny day are so hot, you can't touch it, and would damage my plants if I didn't drain the hoses first.

We have so many areas of energy potential we haven't even begun to tap. I have been reading on wave energy trials done in England. It's endless, its almost constant and always in motion. I think it has high potential for coastal cities and that happens to be where the majority of our population are located.

There are good parabolic designs that are safer than the ones that are being built now. The safest ones have the focal point well inside of the parabolic bowl. It's all a matter of design.

And proper sunglasses....

I saw some manufactured solar ovens, and one of them is very tempting. This one uses the parabola and can reach temps comparable to a standard home oven, about 350 degrees. Whoa pretty pricey, however for me, anyway. Most of the sites said that the parabolic ovens need the food/water on stilts, instead of the bottom like those with simple reflective collection. They said most of the units in use in India and Africa are for water heating since the heat was intense and well directed. Even the simple home-made boxes will bring temperatures up over 165, high enough to make drinking water safe.

I know a lot of folks who would scoff at waiting three hours for a pot of rice to cook, but hey, it's just a matter of thinking ahead. Doesn't entail anymore work (in fact less) than using a kitchen range. It's like an outdoor crockpot and you can't burn food in it. I work outside nearly all day, every day and it wouldn't be any hassle at all for me to plop a chunk of meat into one and redirect it toward the sun every hour or so. It's not like you have to sit there and stir stuff. It's pretty much automatic.

Lemme know if you get that oven built and what you think about it. Ditto here.

Ya gotta love YouTube.

It ain't just music and people doing stupid things....

I would have to dig for it somewhere in my books and on a German web-site, but going back to WWII, we had a kind of slow cooker. You had a box, ours was wood, filled it with a thick layer of straw, put inside a pot(s) of your choice, tightly fitted more straw around, moistend it lightly and tamped down until it formed around the pot to the top. You brought your veggies, esp. beans and peas (dried) to a boil, put your pot back in, lid on, covered with a thick layer of newspaper and more straw, put the box top on and left it for several hours. Energy saved and you came home to hot food.
As to solar ovens, see old scout handbooks and Mother Earth magazines. I also use the hot water from my garden hose when I need warm water outside. Don't do what I did though.I shut the water off at the hose end and forgot it. Came home to a nicely split garden hose!
Well, the nice thing is I can blame mistakes like that on old age, it got to be good for something!

This is the kind of parabolic design that is safe.

I like that kind of thinking. The meek may inherit the earth, but the geeks will rule it.....

Anneliese, my grandparents had a "Koch-Kiste" for as long as I can remember, and I am plenty old! Beans, lentils, pot-roasts and all slow-cooked items were put into the box, it also was used to keep food warm for one who was late for dinner.
I don't know who built it and when, but it was a nicely finished box, about 34"x22" and probably 35"+- deep, it stood on nicely turned legs and rolled on casters. It was definitely designed for it's use and made by a real craftsman.