IndigoBlueWagon
TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
If you build the house right you shouldn't need a heater at all.
That sounds like you're under the impression that solar installations are pushing power at unregulated frequency onto the grid. That is not the case. If you think your neighbors solar install is why your bill went up, somebody has been feeding you a bunch of malarkey.Unless you have batteries and an inverter, you’re dumping that solar electricity onto the grid. The power company in turn returns it to you at 60hz.
Easier said than done- in Maine at least. With our winters it's always good to have a back up heat source. We may not have had power in the last big ice storm, but at least we were warm!If you build the house right you shouldn't need a heater at all.
Most truck sales are based on emotion, "I feel safe", and not based on need.No some people buy trucks because they need them for their work. Like my SIL, who works for a general contractor.
Some people buy trucks because it makes their hobies easier. I'm in that catagory. Makes doing landscaping, hauling the bikes and bike gear, and camping gear around much easier. Yes, I've done it in the JSW.
Some people buy trucks becasue tehy view it as a status symbol or just like teh ability to be able to step up into a vehicle and not have to fight their way out of it.
My 17 Ram 1500 Ecodiesel gets as good as or better mileage than many cars on the road. I was driving my daughter's mini Buick SUV this last week. She gets the same mileage I do in 3 times the vehicle.
Northern Rockies say different.If you build the house right you shouldn't need a heater at all.
So much for the 90 minute rule! 90 minute rule is largely BS anyway though.It's pretty stressful when you've got four trucks stacked up waiting to unload.
Its also incorrect design with regards to passive solar, eave length needs to be determined by roof pitch window height and latitude. No eaves gives you solar gain when you don't need it, and also drops all the rain water/snow/snowmelt right along the edge of your building.I'm not really a fan of the no eaves or overhangs look though. .
I just put on a white metal reflective roof and upgraded the heat pump to 17 SEER. The power bill has dropped in half and seldom exceeds a $100.00. Add to that the fact that my south facing roof is 3 miles from the hurricane prone Gulf of Mexico and I can't make the math work to put panels up.One thing I learned is that panels on a south facing roof really help keep a building cool in summer. Makes sense, but I hadn't previously thought about it.
Tom, those "hidden costs" as you call them are going to vary by power company. For example, my power company allows the meter to run backwards, so I have a 1:1 credit for power generated in excess of demand at that moment. I can use those credits for up to 1 year. After that I get approximately 10% of the company's current retail cost for power as a credit. Not a lot.
If you want to pay zero to the company for power you're going to have to store your power and just be disconnected from the grid. That really raises the costs.When I checked into solar last the electric companies here have a transfer charge that you end up paying no mater what. The generating credits won't pay for it either. No matter what you end up getting a bill for nearly $100 just to take care of the transfer charges and tax. You will never have a zero bill for a total anyway. Just for the energy used only.
As noted above, this depends on the power company. My bill has been zero for the last 15 months, and I've paid a total of about $75 in the last two years.If you want to pay zero to the company for power you're going to have to store your power and just be disconnected from the grid. That really raises the costs.
Texas is set up with power distributors and power retailers. You pay the retailers for the power you use and the distributors for the transmission of the power you buy. No getting around the transmission costs from my checking.As noted above, this depends on the power company.