Solar Panels

[GrandTrinity]

Anyone get them installed? Worth it?

[QiDr]

I had solar hot water heater in a house in AZ a number of years back. Your hot water heater is one of the biggest users of electricity and yes, the savings was impressive. With more high tech innovation on modern solar devices, my guess is that the savings is even greater today.

[Wayfarer64]

I've just learned about an amazing company called Citizre which is

launching a program to provide 25% of U.S. power in the form of solar by

2025. I highly recommend that you click on the following link to watch

their video and learn more:

 

http://www.jointhesolution.com/energymatters

 

 

This looks like an incredible program and there is no up front

investment on

your part. Highly affordable and highly progressive. Check it out.

 

Namaste-Pat

[GrandTrinity]

Hey Way

What prompted my topic was that someone showed me their affiliate link to citizzenre. I thought it was too good to be true and want to see someone who actually had the panels installed. They do require 500 upfront but your supposed to get that back after a while. The site looks slightly like a pyramid scheme but perhaps I am just paranoid - keep us posted.

[Wayfarer64]

There are worse biz plans than pyramid schemes. If you get in at the right time everyone around you is happy. As long as the actual product is a good one no-one loses. It is just an organizational model that can work. It is not a "fair" system from top to bottom, but compared to the huge amounts of corporate theft allowed through much less open sytems I have little problem with the pyramid model of creating a biz oppertunity for the self-motivated.

 

Saying that -I have no horse in this race. I just got an email and passed it on. I do believe that in many places solar panals can be a great way to go, as well as other passive-solar applications and conservation methods.

 

It is freaking cold in NJ the past few days, and I am still walking a few miles a day. My heat/ thermostat is set pretty low (60) when I am out and I generally just start cooking to heat it up when I return. It seems quite warm at 60 when I first get in so I save on the energy as I'm able. And the sun comes in all morning with a south-east exposure. Sealing leaky windows is also a big plus for conservation.

[seadog]

Hey Grand.

I have 12 75watt solar panels, which charge 12 2 volt batteries giving us a total of 24 volts.The DC voltage from the batteries is transferred via a inverter to 240 volt AC to run all our household appliances.Our system was installed in May 2000. I live in the southern part of Australia which is generally sunny except for the winter months of june,july and august. Now in the seven years we been useing solar power I can list the pros and cons of having such a system.

Pros: No power bills,no pollution,no power failures,makes you aware of the sun shining,clouds forming,the shortest day, the longest day and the world around you. You learn to apprieciate how much you have and how much you'll need. The total cost of the system eas twenty two thousand Aus dollars we recieved a five thousand dollar rebate from the goverment which comes to seventeen thousand dollars. In the seven years we have had the system I've had to replace four batteries for a total cost of eight hundred dollars. For us to have been connected to the mains electricity would have costed approx twenty two thousand dollars plus monthly power bills roughly of hundred dollars.

 

Cons: In the winter we sometimes can go weeks with no sun, which means no power,which means I have to run a smelly, noisey, polluting generator to charge the batteries.

Some appliances use a lot of power i.e. washing machine,power tools,vacuum cleaner.This means having to run the generator.

 

We also have a solar hot water heater.Beautiful simple wonderful technology get a unit if you can afford one or investigate making one yourself if your incline to useing your own hands.

 

So I hope this helps Grand. I believe the way to make solar and wind technology work for you is get a expert in to your place and get them to do a cost free quote for you.Be realistic about how much power you use or plan to use and have your system designed around your power audit.

Cheers

Seadog