Re: Profitable Solar Power - A suggestion

Larry, I see from your link that you live in So Oregon. As a child I spend
my summers in the Trinity-Shasta National Forest in Calif. Most of the
people I knew there lived off the grid, and many used water for their
electricity. Not a passive way to harvest electricity. Older technology.
Can you do this at your place?

Tina


"Larry Caldwell" <larryc@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:MPG.1d7a60f9df01360698b7ab@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> In article <7l2Qe.1250$Re1.987@trndny04>, Elmo_409@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> (Elmo) says...
>
> > It would be a bit more useful if someone could come up with a number
that
> > represents the ratio of watt-hours needed to produce the cell to the
> > watt-hours it can produce over its useful life. Then we can argue about
> > whether that number should include the energy needed to mine the
limestone,
> > heat it while converting to portland cement, transport it to the
ready-mix
> > plant, transport the concrete to the job site, pour the foundation for
> > the building that is going to be the fabrication facility for the solar
> > cells.
>
> It's easier to just price the solar cells, price the money needed to buy
> them, and price the power that would be produced. Payback for most
> domestic solar hot water installations averages 12 years. Photovoltaic
> installations average several times that, and under most conditions will
> not repay the installation mortgage.
>
> The sensible thing to do is use the cheapest possible energy source, and
> save money by conserving. My house had a forced air electric furnace
> and no insulation when I bought it in 1994. Now it has a heat pump, new
> windows, doors and beaucoup insulation, plus compact fluorescents in
> every fixture and lamp, and a water system converted from 120v to 240v.
> We use 1/3 the electricity we used 10 years ago, have added comfort from
> air conditioning on hot days, no cold spots in the house, the upgrades
> are paying for themselves with every month's electric bill, and will pay
> for themselves again when we eventually sell this place.
>
> At this point, a dollar will produce several times as much energy in
> conservation as it produces in generation. Even with conventional power
> plants, it is three times as expensive to build new capacity as it is to
> build conservation measures. If you have any conservation measures to
> implement, you are just pissing your money away to spend it on PV cells.
> If you run your personal numbers, the responsible course of action will
> become unmistakable.
>
> --
> http://home.teleport.com/~larryc


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