Re: About those ornamental grasses...

On 2 Jun 2006 23:48:09 -0400, Steve Daniels <sdaniels@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On 2 Jun 2006 22:28:21 -0400, against all advice, something
compelled Penelope Periwinkle <pperiwinkle@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, to
say:

One of the ideas that I really like is of making new homes
partially solar.

It takes more energy to make a solar panel than said panel will
ever return in electricity. There is no free lunch, entropy is
still the winner.

That's outdated, actually. The energy payback point for a solar
panel varies with where it's mounted and the materials used to
make it, obviously; but with some of the newer materials they can
reach that point in as little as a year (although four to five is
more common) in sunny climes. I can't remember the figures, but
this surge in efficiency has come within the last ten years, I
think. The working life of a solar panel is about thirty to forty
years, so they can reproduce themselves six or seven times.

And producing electricity is hardly the only way to use solar
energy in individual homes. Passive solar collectors can be used
to heat water or to supplement heating systems. Having stood
shivering under the vent from the solar collector while it poured
blessed heat down on me at HWP's home, I can personally speak for
the effectiveness of the later. And it's mostly blocked by a
massive maple tree that doubles as a raccoon bordello.

One of the reasons that power companies are willing to give
rebates to home owners that add a solar system to their homes is
that they aid in lowering peak energy demands. If the peaks are
lower, a company doesn't have to burn ever more expensive fossil
fuels to cover that peak demand, and they save money. Actually,
everyone saves money. It's the same reason most power companies
will give consumers a slightly lower rate if they do things like
wash and dry clothes at off-peak hours.

So, while it's easy and even fashionable to pooh- pooh attempts
to utilize solar energy as a supplement to conventional methods
of energy production, I think it has a lot of advantages, and I'm
going to keep my dream about a solar home. We're years and years
away from completely replacing conventional methods of energy
production, but solar does a good job of supplementing it.

Now, excuse me, but the sun's out and I need to go and
photosynthesize.



Penelope

--
You have proven yourself to be the most malicious,
classless person that I've encountered in years.
- "pointed" <poppypurity@xxxxxxxxx>

.

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