ARTHUR: What happens now? BEDEVERE: Well, now, uh, Launcelot, Galahad, and I, uh, wait until nightfall, and then leap out of the rabbit, taking the French, uh, by surprise. Not only by surprise, but totally unarmed! ARTHUR: Who leaps out? BEDEVERE: U-- u-- uh, Launcelot, Galahad, and I, uh, leap out of the rabbit, uh, and uh...
I've been living in a solar house for over a year now, on a system I designed myself. Total system cost - just over $17,000 for the whole house, including labor. A few notes from someone on the alternative energy front lines...
You don't measure power use in watts, silly people - you measure it in watt-*hours*. It's all about watt-hours. How much you generate, how much you use, how much you store - all watt-hours.
So how much power do I get for $17,000? Not a whole lot... about 5 KwH a day (a 6th of what we used to suck down from the grid - read your power bill sometime, it's eye-opening). My array peaks at about 1000 watts x ~6 avg. insolation (sun) hours a day = 5KwH (since the output curve dips in the morning and afternoon. But with compact fluorescent lights everywhere and major appliances all overhauled, we get by comfortably. Battery backup is sized for 3 days with *zero* sun. The inverter (Trace 4024SW) can pump out 4kW if needed (10kW in short spikes) which more than covers anything we'd run all at once, including the well pump. I also have a 8KwH gasoline genset for backup, but I have used it only once so far. As time goes on I will probably add more array to the system - it doesn't always catch back up as fast as I would like after a cloudy spell. Luckily there is lots of ready expansion capacity in the system.
My power is cleaner than your power. I'm not talking about the pollution, I'm talking about the waveform:) Trace inverters make machine-room, raised-floor-quality power, for my whole house. I telecommute full-time, and run all my systems off it (desktops with efficient LCD displays and 2 laptops), and they are all very happy.
My arrays are ground-mounted, not roof-mounted (makes it easier to brush off snow). Total yard footprint - about 50 sq. ft.
Really interested in this? Read Home Power Magazine, the ultimate geek journal on power hacking. The entire current issue is always available online for free download in.pdf format (way cool).
My neighbors sometimes tell me that the grid is down, but otherwise I'd never know.
Actually, you have to run a propane generator once a month too. Generator cycling is necessary to keep the genset windings clear of moisture, not just to exercise the engine.
LOL
I love it when people with no firsthand experience trash a technology. I live in a solar house. What got me hooked originally was visiting a family who lived in a solar powered home - I asked the guy about maintenance, and he walked me over to the battery meter and said "yup, it's on - we just did the weekly maintenance." Sure enough, after living with solar for a while myself, I can tell you, there's very little to do. I don't know where you're getting the MTBF claim - solar PV systems have *no moving parts.* The MTBF is *way* better than for any other form of power generation, by huge multiples even. For example, my panels are *warranted* for 20 years (yes, warrantee from the manufacturer). This is pretty standard in the industry by the way. They have a life expectancy of 40 years in service... The mounts they are on will withstand gale or hurricane winds in excess of 120 mph (which we don't get around here anyway). My house will blow down before the arrays demount. There is *no* requirement to keep the panels dust- and dirt-free (I had a big laugh when I read that one). I do occasionally go out after a big snow and brush the bulk of it off (one reason why I chose ground- rather than roof-mounting), but even with an inch or two of snow, the panels usually self-clear by mid-morning anyway. The biggest (and pretty much only) maintenance item is replacing the batteries every 10 years or so. If you live in a state that supports net grid metering, you don't even need batteries. Oh, and if you really want to squeeze the most power out of your array, you can change the tilt angle 4 times a year. Most people don't even bother.
On the expense - compared to the highly-subsidized corporate energy sources we have to compare it to, yeah, it costs money (go read the federal fixed-asset tax law if you don't believe conventional energy is obscenely subsidized). It will take about 15-20 years for my system to break even. Considering this is the minimum life expectancy of the major system components, that's actually reasonable...
On the toxic byproducts - yep, silicon is a messy business. It can be done right though, and companies like Solarex are pioneering methods of production that are cheaper and cleaner (Solarex even has a "breeder" plant in Maryland that is powered by their own panels). Bear in mind the 20-year warranty on these panels though... the cradle to grave environmental cost is quite low when you factor in life expectancy... and don't forget the (immense) environmental impacts of the technologies it's replacing. At least the toxics are restricted to the point of manufacture - there are zero emissions from an operating PV system, and the batteries must be recycled by law...
Well, most of the cells generally available to the public max out at about 18% actually. If Americans continue to consume power with the current reckless abandon, then sure, we'd need to pave the planet with cells. And let's not forget that the rest of the world *aspires* to consume power like Americans...
I run my house on 1.2kW of solar array capacity. This takes up only a few square yards of space. On this amount of array I manage to run several computers, efficient washer and dryer (Maytag Neptune, dryer heats with gas), big TV and DVD, stereo, normal dishwasher, normal complement of household lighting (with compact fluorescent bulbs instead of 19th century Edison technology), etc. High-BTU loads are hi-efficiency propane(even with this we still consume way, way below the average - I fill a 280-gallon tank once a *year*). I hardly live like a Dominican, but I also don't leave 14 (yes, *14*) incandescent porch lights on at night like my neighbor does...
When I was at University of Maryland a decade ago, we had a highly organized group of "building hackers" called "UPSET" (Unauthorized Personnel Space Exploration Team). We left markers (nondestructive) to indicate the deepest levels of penetration into buildings. My favorite one was the old campus cyclotron, which was shut down and gutted, several stories under the Physics building. Noone was ever injured in the slightest in our group, nor were we ever caught (or even challenged). I don't think anyone cared as long as we didn't damage anything.
I've been telecommuting full-time for over three years now, from my small farm 250 miles from the metro area where my employer is located. I'm a software engineering manager at a.com company, and I have 12 people working for me presently. I have an ISDN line to my ISP, and have no problems managing my team via e-mail, instant messaging, and phone. I go in to the office about once a month. The keys to success are, in my view:
Working with self-starters (peers and direct reports) and being a self-starter yourself
Having a solid agreement with your employer about how you will work (hours of availability, who pays for what, etc.). I put mine in writing before I left the office full-time.
Getting set up - get all the infrastructure in place and tested first, and get a damn nice phone (full-duplex speakerphone, 2.4Ghz cordless with headset, etc.) because you're going to live on it.
I can't imagine going back to work in an office fulltime again... I think I'd go nuts.
Slashdot Mirror
ARTHUR:
What happens now?
BEDEVERE:
Well, now, uh, Launcelot, Galahad, and I, uh, wait until nightfall, and then leap out of the rabbit, taking the French, uh, by surprise. Not only by surprise, but totally unarmed!
ARTHUR:
Who leaps out?
BEDEVERE:
U-- u-- uh, Launcelot, Galahad, and I, uh, leap out of the rabbit, uh, and uh...
My neighbors sometimes tell me that the grid is down, but otherwise I'd never know.
Actually, you have to run a propane generator once a month too. Generator cycling is necessary to keep the genset windings clear of moisture, not just to exercise the engine.
I love it when people with no firsthand experience trash a technology. I live in a solar house. What got me hooked originally was visiting a family who lived in a solar powered home - I asked the guy about maintenance, and he walked me over to the battery meter and said "yup, it's on - we just did the weekly maintenance." Sure enough, after living with solar for a while myself, I can tell you, there's very little to do. I don't know where you're getting the MTBF claim - solar PV systems have *no moving parts.* The MTBF is *way* better than for any other form of power generation, by huge multiples even. For example, my panels are *warranted* for 20 years (yes, warrantee from the manufacturer). This is pretty standard in the industry by the way. They have a life expectancy of 40 years in service... The mounts they are on will withstand gale or hurricane winds in excess of 120 mph (which we don't get around here anyway). My house will blow down before the arrays demount. There is *no* requirement to keep the panels dust- and dirt-free (I had a big laugh when I read that one). I do occasionally go out after a big snow and brush the bulk of it off (one reason why I chose ground- rather than roof-mounting), but even with an inch or two of snow, the panels usually self-clear by mid-morning anyway. The biggest (and pretty much only) maintenance item is replacing the batteries every 10 years or so. If you live in a state that supports net grid metering, you don't even need batteries. Oh, and if you really want to squeeze the most power out of your array, you can change the tilt angle 4 times a year. Most people don't even bother.
On the expense - compared to the highly-subsidized corporate energy sources we have to compare it to, yeah, it costs money (go read the federal fixed-asset tax law if you don't believe conventional energy is obscenely subsidized). It will take about 15-20 years for my system to break even. Considering this is the minimum life expectancy of the major system components, that's actually reasonable...
On the toxic byproducts - yep, silicon is a messy business. It can be done right though, and companies like Solarex are pioneering methods of production that are cheaper and cleaner (Solarex even has a "breeder" plant in Maryland that is powered by their own panels). Bear in mind the 20-year warranty on these panels though... the cradle to grave environmental cost is quite low when you factor in life expectancy... and don't forget the (immense) environmental impacts of the technologies it's replacing. At least the toxics are restricted to the point of manufacture - there are zero emissions from an operating PV system, and the batteries must be recycled by law...
I run my house on 1.2kW of solar array capacity. This takes up only a few square yards of space. On this amount of array I manage to run several computers, efficient washer and dryer (Maytag Neptune, dryer heats with gas), big TV and DVD, stereo, normal dishwasher, normal complement of household lighting (with compact fluorescent bulbs instead of 19th century Edison technology), etc. High-BTU loads are hi-efficiency propane(even with this we still consume way, way below the average - I fill a 280-gallon tank once a *year*). I hardly live like a Dominican, but I also don't leave 14 (yes, *14*) incandescent porch lights on at night like my neighbor does...
Real Goods and Jade Mountain, among others, have been selling these for several years now, for a wide range of laptops.
When I was at University of Maryland a decade ago, we had a highly organized group of "building hackers" called "UPSET" (Unauthorized Personnel Space Exploration Team). We left markers (nondestructive) to indicate the deepest levels of penetration into buildings. My favorite one was the old campus cyclotron, which was shut down and gutted, several stories under the Physics building. Noone was ever injured in the slightest in our group, nor were we ever caught (or even challenged). I don't think anyone cared as long as we didn't damage anything.
- Working with self-starters (peers and direct reports) and being a self-starter yourself
- Having a solid agreement with your employer about how you will work (hours of availability, who pays for what, etc.). I put mine in writing before I left the office full-time.
- Getting set up - get all the infrastructure in place and tested first, and get a damn nice phone (full-duplex speakerphone, 2.4Ghz cordless with headset, etc.) because you're going to live on it.
I can't imagine going back to work in an office fulltime again... I think I'd go nuts.