O.T. Old and new technology

Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting Program Credits    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration
Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: O.T. Old and new technology
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman T. Kling on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - 09:13 pm:

We had solar collectors installed on the Model T garage. Hopefully this will cut our electric bill in half or less than half.
Norm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - 09:20 pm:

Norm,

In addition to our "old" Fords, we have a geothermal heating/cooling system and I drive a hybrid car (Prius). I'd like to ad a wind generator but haven't found the right one yet.

I like your setup.

Rob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - 09:36 pm:

I bet somebody could take that pic and build a whole big story around it, like Henry Ford designed his first car, the Model T, to run on solar power.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mack Cole ---- Earth on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 10:05 am:

Rob,there is a fellow near here that put in a geothermal system.Aint heard a up date on how good it works but cant be bad.
I just wish the solar panals would come down in cost.I would like to install some to charge batterys for lighting during a power outage.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 10:14 am:

Mack - For lighting no, but you can build a cheap solar air heater yourself for your garage with some 2"x4" and a bunch of empty beer cans :-)
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/solar-garage-furnace.htm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mack Cole ---- Earth on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 10:22 am:

1 of my friends uses air forced thru black pipes routed on the roof of his body shop to help heat it during the day when the sun shines but it is chilly.Saved him a good bit on fuel oil before he built his own wood stove to heat with.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Garrison on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 10:47 am:

I put geothermal in the house my ex has now. For heating in the winter in Minnesota and cooling in the summer it's the only way to go. It cut utility bills by 60%. The original cost of $22,000.00 was scary at first however after Federal, State and utility company rebates the end price was a bite over $7000.00. Well worth the investment. And then the opportunity for humidifying and dehumidifying through additional equipment made it really nice. I wish I had the same setup in my house now but I can't. The guy that owns my lot would be upset if I suddenly drilled 6 100ft wells in the yard. He had a hard enough time letting me put up a chainlink fence.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Henry Petrino in Modesto, CA on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 11:10 am:

Mike,

I'm curious about the useful life expectancy of the geothermal system. A 60% reduction in annual utility costs for me would create approximately a 3 year payback on the out of pocket $7,000 up front cost. That's a pretty good number. After the 3.5 years it's all gravy.

Other questions:

1. With the geothermal system do you have the same year round flexibility in terms of use (thermostat setting, cooking, power tool use, etc.) as with traditional power sources? Put another way, what can it produce per hour? (In summer here it's not unusual to have the AC and several other things going at the same time.) Or, perhaps it produces a constant flow and either runs the utility meter forward or backward depending on load?

2. Does the system have any particular geological or climate condition requirements or can it be used efficiently pretty much anywhere?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Neil Kaminar on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 11:19 am:

Mack,

I never thought I would live long enough to see solar panels so cheap as they are today. I see them for less than a dollar per Watt on the internet sites.

The global recession and the low cost of natural gas in the US will drive the cost even lower in the future. Solar companies will go out of business and merge. They have to. Look at what happened to the car industry in the early part of the 20th century. We went from hundreds of manufacturers to just a few.

Neil


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman T. Kling on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 11:37 am:

In southern California, the electric rates are tiered just like the income taxes. Tier 1 14c per kWh Tier 2 16c per kWh Tier 3 25c per kWh Tier 4 27c per kWh. We used 2,568 kWh in August. This was with the thermostat set at 80 degrees. The bill for the month was $638 for the month. This house is all electric including heat, air conditioning, cooking, hot water and a well pump. The solar panels are being leased for $229 a month for 20 year lease. The panels will generate more than we need during the day, which will go to the electric utility and then we will receive from the electric utility at night. The solar company pays for installation and all permits. They maintain the equipment. The goal is to generate more than we receive so the only charge from the utility will be for having a meter, which is $6 a month. We hope to be able to set the thermostat at whatever temperature is comfortable and not pay through the nose. We don't know yet exactly how much it will be, but 2 of our neighbors have it and their electric bill is $6 a month.
Norm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 11:40 am:

I read recently the ChiCom govt has invested $30 Billion in solar panel manufacture, and the price has dropped 80%. Dumping, anyone?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Michael Deichmann, Blistrup, Denmark on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 12:20 pm:

I hope the utility company do not get inspired by the utility companies here. The bill was split in one part for the kWh and another part for the transmission (the grid). The purpose is that you can buy your electricity from "any" power plant.
If your produce your own power by wind machine or solar - you will still have to pay to the grid as it is used to distribute your power.
It have recently been regulated by government so you now pay for the consumption minus your production (the meter runs backwards when very sunny).


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 01:40 pm:

To Henry Petrino:

Mike is referring to a heating and cooling system that utilizes a heat pump and loops of pipe in the earth, not a system that generates and stores electricity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_heat_pump


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Henry Petrino in Modesto, CA on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 05:14 pm:

Thanks Erik. I erroneously assumed the heat difference was used to generate electricity.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Neil Kaminar on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 06:50 pm:

Interested in renewable energy? Want to know what incentives are available for you? This web site lists Federal and state incentives, that can vary by utility company. The deal that Norman got is not available everywhere, but there may be something better. I checked in North Carolina a few years ago and then you could get a check in the mail every month for the energy you produced. (Restrictions applied.)

http://www.dsireusa.org

Ricks is right that China is supporting their solar panel manufacturers. Like everything else, solar panels are increasingly being "Made in China."

Neil


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Hycner on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 07:27 pm:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jH1h8txaJY
Here is a video of the solar panels being installed on my barn. I haven't paid an electric bill in over 3 years since they were installed. One of the best investments I ever made. The system produces enough to power my house and barn and still get money back from the utility at the end of the year.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gary H. White - Sheridan, MI on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 07:28 pm:

They built a nice new process solar panel manufacturing plant here in Greenville, MI. A real welcome as Electrolux had pulled the world's largest refrigerator manufacturing plant out and went to Mexico a few years ago. They just got the new plant up and running with plans for expansion when the bottom dropped out of the European market and China jumped in with their gov't subsidized pricing. Factory is empty now and employees who thought they had a second chance were kicked in the groin again.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 08:10 pm:

Too bad, Gary. I saw a documentary recently about the Greenville trauma.

Despite what the politicians said, Solyndra was done in by cheap ChiCom imports.

Import tariff levels are too subjective to ever be fair. However, 100% inspection of imports at our ports - paid by the importers - would raise the cost of imports while putting lots of Americans to work handling and inspecting.

They used to say you can't inspect quality in, but it sure can raise the cost of importing.

Don't fear a trade war. We're already losing that one. We import $6 of goods for every dollar of goods we export.

rdr


Posting is currently disabled in this topic. Contact your discussion moderator for more information.
Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting Program Credits    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration