joether
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Joined: 7/24/2005
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ORIGINAL: DesideriScuri
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ORIGINAL: Thegunnysez
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I don't think anyone should be forced to invest in solar, to use solar, or forced to include renewables (not just solar) in their mix of production capabilities.
If we are discussing home owners I think incentives are better than force. If we are discussing power plants then since they are govt. monopolies that are created for the good of the users they should be made up of the most productive and environmentally sound products. This can be done simply by mandate.
I don't believe anyone should be forced to use renewables. That includes both home owners, and power plants.
By all means, prove in court, that your energy that you received, came directly from renewable power plants. Since energy, whether generated by fossil, nuclear, solar, or even methane gas burning; is STILL energy. The energy from a nuclear system is the same as fro a hydro-electric. Unless it comes solely from a 'renewable' power source; you'll have an impossible time in court. The court would call up one or more physicists to explain how power is generated. An after that '7th grade science and engineering' class; the court would rule against you.
Since if a power company uses several different sources of energy production; you have to prove, in court, that your energy came ONLY from one source. As I state, in physics, energy is energy. There is not 'nuclear energy', 'fossil fuel energy' or 'solar energy'; there is only energy. And its generated in similar ways to other power producing systems.
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ORIGINAL: DesideriScuri
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ORIGINAL: Thegunnysez
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I'd like to put panels and a water heating panel on my garage roof (it has the most space facing the proper direction)
You will get the most bang for your buck with the water heating panel. For hot water it will take a smaller footprint than an equal amount of space dedicated to electricity producing panels.
Do you have any yard space close to the house with the appropriate view? Here insulated storage is the way to get more mileage out of your heater.
Best of luck in your enterprise.
Thanks for the tip and well-wishes. There are trees (some mine, and some belonging to neighbors) that shade much of my yard behind the garage (garage faces N/S, but my property is a rectangle with the long side going E/W), but there is less coverage in the area of the garage (due to the roof being higher than the ground). The garage is detached. I would consider a water heating panel on the roof of the house, but would need a much larger area due to the slope of the roof not being in optimal position.
I've considered a wind power generator, but there is a local zoning restriction on those for lot sizes of less than 3 acres (I have 2), and am still not sure if I'd rather go with horizontal axis or vertical axis. I like the idea of VAWTs, but still undecided. Plus, neither solar, nor wind power are high on my list. Geothermal is higher, even. lol
When most of the homes in America were built (pre-WW2 to about 20 years ago); the creation of solar power usage at the individual unit level, was never considered. Nor for most other forms of power generation. It was assumed by all (ok, the grand majority of sane people), that everyone would use power from the power company (whom was regulated). In the past twenty years, things have changed.
So it would take changes to legal books and opinion to make useful changes. You might not be able to make many changes to your house. Have you considered 'co-oping' with neighbors/town to create a solar panel system to which feeds power to each contributing member? Everyone divides up the cost to create and maintain the system; but also generate an equal amount of power. I have heard it done in several communities across the nation. From what I can tell, it does bring neighbors closer together as a community.
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