Alternative energy sources

16 years ago

We just had an appointment with a man who sells wind turbine and solar energy power "systems". We have been interested in this for a while, so DH called him for more info. The turbine systems are quite expensive- for just over $14,000 a system would provide only about 10% of our needs. I was disappointed in this. But the passive water solar system (I'm not sure I'm saying it right) would cost only$1,800 after rebates and incentives to provide approximately 80% of our hot water needs. That sounded a little better to me.

Does anybody have any similar system or know anyone who does? I would be interested in hearing any kind of feedback at all.

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Comments (8)

susanjf_gw
16 years ago
did a quick search...maybe this will help explain ??? with our cloudy days and cold winters i wonder if it does work?

Here is a link that might be useful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_solar
bigfoot_liz
16 years ago
i am pretty shocked anyone uses passive solar outside of FL, CA and AZ. we have been looking into going off the grid, solar power, for awhile, we live in the orlando burbs. 365 sunny days. my only concern going to sole solar power is that the panels would have to be on the roof and we've have several hurricanes in the last 5 yrs, 3 of which would rip the things right off. this past yr a company who makes thin panels just brought the costs down and w/ back-up battery storage we'd spend $15K.

considering our electric is $300 a month just to run the A/C at 80 for 9 months out of the yr and to keep the fridge and stand up freezer always plugged in. everything else in the house is unplugged if it's not in use, TV's, DVR, microwave, all power strips, EVERYTHING. i don't think $15K one-time is that bad when we pay Progress Energy almost $4K a yr and atleast once a month power goes out and for weeks on end during hurricanes. our rates also constantly go up, this yr alone will be a 25% increase after two rate hikes.

we would not get into passive solar water heaters thou. even here w/ mid 90's everyday from 9am-9pm may-nov you'd still need supplemental heating. not to mention the tank and hurricanes. we are being surveyed soon to get tankless water heaters and get rid of our old gas one.

wind turbines are out for floridians. you need a constant 10 mph breeze to produce enough energy and atleast in the inland portions we never see that. and again there's hurricane wind damage. good luck i admire your willingness to search for more efficient energy! ~ liz
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hey caleb, my family and I live off of solar. We chose our land based on the hope that the grid will never come out our way (at least in our lifetime). And we do run out of power sometimes in the winter. But we don't depend on a furnace for heat. Our house is passive solar. So if you are relying on a furnace I would suggest finding a wood stove, nothing fancy, anything that doesn't leak will do the job. A wind generator will only be of benefit to you if you have a good windy spot to put it in. If it has buildings, hills, or trees blocking its wind it will do you no good. Get rid of all of your appliances that take electricity to make heat (curling irons, toaster((you can buy camp toasters that go on your stove for $2.00)) irons, blow dryer) alot of people still use electric coffee makers they only have it on to brew the coffee and make sure it gets shut off right away. Alot of propane ovens still use an electric glow coil. You don't want that. Make sure yours has only pilot lights. Compact flourescent light bulbs are really important. And basically it comes down to conservation which everyone, on grid or not should be aware of. If you end up with an electric fridge and it's a cloudy winter day, you start running low on power, shut off your fridge (and everything else) for the evening so you can have a light or two on. But that was the mother in me speaking. Alternative Energy is a beautiful thing. It keeps your mind awake so you are not a slave to the industrialized world. You become more attuned to the world outside of your home. You noticed when the clouds first start rolling in and when the wind is blowing in a storm. or when the sun stays around your way longer. Solar is the right thing for everyone who wants electricity. People just have to think of whats more important. A clean future and a couple of dim nights, or a polluted world with the knowledge that we could have stopped it if only we stopped to think.... Best wishes to you
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Happy new year! I would normally have replied much sooner, but everything has been so busy with Christmas, then new year and all the rest. Anyway, I have to agree that conservation is by far the best thing we can do right now, and I believe that it will allways be useful as almost all energy comes with a penalty. Both environmental and financial. I've been thinking about conservation quite a bit recently as I'm trying to get a rough idea how much it would cost to build an affordable house (you might have seen my posts about it?) and I want it to be economical to live in. This is partly an environmental concern, but also because it would be misguided to build an affordable house that isn't also affordable to live in. The majority of most anyone's wages go towards their house, so if I can build a house that uses minimal energy I can spend the money in other more enjoyable ways. I can also design it in such a way it comes in to the lowest possible tax category, but that's beyond the scope of this forum. One of the things that surprises me is when I say I want to build a low energy house that uses renewable energy, people tend to picture something very expensive and custom built. When I researched it I found that commonly they're high end houses built for wealthy customers who were willing to spend a lot of money to have luxury items, like solar PV panels and houses built half underground. I don't however see why houses that use very little energy have to be reserved for wealthy people building custom houses, after all one of the main attractions of a low energy house is the very small monthly bills. A low energy house design/concept that comes within (preferably below) average house prices is long overdue, and also has a massive market potential. Admittedly domestic energy use is a fraction of that used by industrial processes, and also accounts for a similarly small percentage of pollution, but I know nothing about industrial processes and (thankfully) don't pay the bills for them either. At least not directly. I do however know something about houses and how I believe they could work better. My main aim is to build it smaller, but use the space in such a way it's relatively spacious with plenty of storage. I also want to exchange traditional and generally energy wasting and expensive materials for newer materials that cost less. Insulation, and lots of it, is important. I also want high quality finishing materials, but avoiding ornate details and using a more minimalist style should keep the costs reasonable. The other main issue is using the most energy efficient appliances possible, and also installing some renewable stuff like solar hot water heating. At least in concept it seems to work, and hopefully one day I will be able to try it out.
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Cherryfizz
16 years ago
I wish I could afford to get solar panels on my roof. Out of everyone on my street I get more sun shining on my house than anyone. Everyone else has trees covering their roofs.

Wind turbines are noisy and I don't think you would want one near you. I stayed at a house in Germany that had a wind turbine and the vibration and noise was irritating. I have never heard of the other thing you are talking about to heat your hot water.

I would love to be able to sell electricity back to the grid. LOL When I win the lottery......

Anne
jemdandy
16 years ago
Remember, when you sell back power to the grid, it is sold at a lower rate than what you pay for your electricity. This was not the cae for the first few 'sell back' installations, but the power companies soon realized they were loosing money on this proposition. The power that is sold to you includes the cost of distrubution and equipment. When a power company accepts feed back power, they must substract their distribution and equipment cost to arrive at a proper pay back fee. That is why there will be two separate meters when one sells back power. The back feed power is run through a separate meter so that it came be measured. The trick is that your control system should feed back only the excess power that you generate with the remainder going to your loads. You don't want all the power that you generate to pass through the incoming meter although that would be the easiest way to design the installation.
Jasdip
16 years ago
There's a local company located in a small town outside of our city
www.truenorth.com.

These guys are doing very well. I love the idea of wind turbines, and don't like the look of solar panels on the roof at all.
There solar panels are mounted on a pedestal. They capture more solar than the roof mounted ones.
susan_on
Original Author
16 years ago
Oh, I didn't even think of wind turbines being noisy. That's something to think about, definitely.

We would never get enough power to sell back to Canadian Niagara Power. We would just like to have enough to lower our bill some and help us through power outages a bit.
Jasdip
16 years ago
I don't get where people complain about the noise of them.
There are large wind-farms not far from me..... there are fields of them in Shelburne, Sue.
I've gotten out of the car and stood underneath and not heard anything. Cows are grazing underneath as well.
A local restaurant has one, and there is no noise when you stand next to it. One woman on tv was saying it's like a jet flying overhead. Huh?!
susan_on
Original Author
16 years ago
I wonder if they're noisy then, because they're attached to a roof. I will have to find a way to check that out.

Alternative energy sources

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