Sigarms
Super Member
With some people, I wanted to ensure that they knew I was being facetious, but not right awayThat's a long post...
Fighting 'Solar Farm' Installation
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As a Zoning Administrator, if your municipality does not have have ordinances to control the use of the land, there is not much that can be done to stop it. Lots of municipalities have adopted regulations to prevent the development of wind and solar farms. Check your zoning ordinances. These companies usually pick places that don’t have much to stop them.
Jim Schlueter
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To the extent the area property values are depressed in some states there will be a cause of action for diminished value. I think these projects usually need governmental action in a lot of cases and there might be a cause of action for a governmental taking of the land due to the inability to use the land for the zoned (if any) purpose. See a land use attorney ASAP
Shenandoah MF1760
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People mention how unattractive solar, microwave towers and wind power is.
There's nothing attractive about high-tension power wires or telephone poles either, we've just gotten used to seeing them.
They say you get used to being hung, if you hang there long enough.
There's nothing attractive about high-tension power wires or telephone poles either, we've just gotten used to seeing them.
They say you get used to being hung, if you hang there long enough.
Sigarms
Super Member
Don't laugh...
According to energy density data, hydrogen has an energy density of 2.8 watt-hours per litre, and methane 10.5 watt-hours per litre.
Therefore, with the average fart being around 90mL, this means the average human fart contains around 0.11025 watt-hours of potential energy.
Think about that, being able to harvest farts for energy.
My wife will tell you I could really make money doing that.
I remember sometime ago it seemed the rage was going to be cow manure for power.
The Power of Cow Manure: How Farms of the Future Are Transforming Waste-to-Energy Operations
The use of renewable energy in the agriculture industry is an exciting new frontier that—with the right partners—can bring environmental and economic benefits to farmers, surrounding communities, and the
www.powermag.com
Hay Dude
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Right, but we don’t need more fugly junk hung on our land.
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sunandsand
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Fascinating discussion . . . are we taking bets on how many pages it will run?
I'm thinking about a solar water heater and solar panels for our house here in Florida. We built it in 2010 using every energy saving thing that made sense. As a result, our electric bill has exceeded $100 exactly one time in 13 years because the heat pump had a freon leak and ran overtime.
Energy efficiency in homes is like buying high fidelity equipment - you can get to the point of diminishing returns. For $100 you can have music - it won't be impressive. For $250, it will be acceptable. For $1,000, it'll be darn good. For $2,500, it can be phenomenal. BUT, if you double that to $5,000, it isn't going to sound twice as good, in fact, most people won't notice a difference. For $10,000, you're buying ego, not music.
So we did super insulation, double pane windows, a high efficiency heat pump (remember, we were starting from scratch), a high efficiency water heater, now LCD lights, and so on. No gas appliances - personally I don't like them and I consider them a fire risk (YMMV). We have no natural gas plumbing here and propane is unregulated by the PSC and the prices are very volatile. No thanks.
Next steps are the solar water heater and some solar panels. The water heater conversion isn't expensive, but some of the systems seem rather finicky and take a lot of owner participation, quite frankly, I'm not sure I want to be bothered for the marginal savings promised. Solar panels, however, are supposed to be set and forget, plug and play, and that appeals to me because my view of utilities is that while we have to have them, I do not want to participate - I. do. not. want. to. be. bothered.
Power costs have been going up here, but not by much, and unfortunately not fast enough or drastically enough to make me say blankety-blank we're going solar TODAY!!! (I think it is the boil the frog slowly theory of price increases.)
At $100 a month, if I spend $5,000 on a solar system, it might be five years or so before I break even - and I'm 77. So yes, it does make sense, but again, in the absence of a steep and sudden increase in power bills, it isn't urgent.
So my plan is this - start small with half a dozen panels and microinverters. Use this to power the utility building, which has lights, a couple of computers, a small refrigerator, and an eave vent fan. The welder and compressor will remain on the power company's lines because they take a LOT of power, even if only for short intervals.
The nice thing about using "old, inefficient" panels is that they are cheap. I regularly see 200 watt panels on Craigslist for $50 each. Since I have the space, if I want more power, I just have to add more panels. If I only had one small rooftop available, then I'd need the most space-efficient (high output) panels available. Remember, the fuel, sunlight is free and gets delivered almost every day, and lots of it. Besides, I like to tinker, and I am an old friend of electricity (I got to be an old friend because I respect it).
Do I NEED to do this? No, probably not. $100 a month isn't going to break me and even if it goes up a bit every month, realistically, I don't figure on living to 120 years old (be nice, but not likely). If I were 40, then I'd definitely do this now because I'd have 60 years of savings in front of me.
Is solar the answer for everyone? No, but it can be very beneficial in the right circumstances.
Best Regards,
Mike/Florida
I'm thinking about a solar water heater and solar panels for our house here in Florida. We built it in 2010 using every energy saving thing that made sense. As a result, our electric bill has exceeded $100 exactly one time in 13 years because the heat pump had a freon leak and ran overtime.
Energy efficiency in homes is like buying high fidelity equipment - you can get to the point of diminishing returns. For $100 you can have music - it won't be impressive. For $250, it will be acceptable. For $1,000, it'll be darn good. For $2,500, it can be phenomenal. BUT, if you double that to $5,000, it isn't going to sound twice as good, in fact, most people won't notice a difference. For $10,000, you're buying ego, not music.
So we did super insulation, double pane windows, a high efficiency heat pump (remember, we were starting from scratch), a high efficiency water heater, now LCD lights, and so on. No gas appliances - personally I don't like them and I consider them a fire risk (YMMV). We have no natural gas plumbing here and propane is unregulated by the PSC and the prices are very volatile. No thanks.
Next steps are the solar water heater and some solar panels. The water heater conversion isn't expensive, but some of the systems seem rather finicky and take a lot of owner participation, quite frankly, I'm not sure I want to be bothered for the marginal savings promised. Solar panels, however, are supposed to be set and forget, plug and play, and that appeals to me because my view of utilities is that while we have to have them, I do not want to participate - I. do. not. want. to. be. bothered.
Power costs have been going up here, but not by much, and unfortunately not fast enough or drastically enough to make me say blankety-blank we're going solar TODAY!!! (I think it is the boil the frog slowly theory of price increases.)
At $100 a month, if I spend $5,000 on a solar system, it might be five years or so before I break even - and I'm 77. So yes, it does make sense, but again, in the absence of a steep and sudden increase in power bills, it isn't urgent.
So my plan is this - start small with half a dozen panels and microinverters. Use this to power the utility building, which has lights, a couple of computers, a small refrigerator, and an eave vent fan. The welder and compressor will remain on the power company's lines because they take a LOT of power, even if only for short intervals.
The nice thing about using "old, inefficient" panels is that they are cheap. I regularly see 200 watt panels on Craigslist for $50 each. Since I have the space, if I want more power, I just have to add more panels. If I only had one small rooftop available, then I'd need the most space-efficient (high output) panels available. Remember, the fuel, sunlight is free and gets delivered almost every day, and lots of it. Besides, I like to tinker, and I am an old friend of electricity (I got to be an old friend because I respect it).
Do I NEED to do this? No, probably not. $100 a month isn't going to break me and even if it goes up a bit every month, realistically, I don't figure on living to 120 years old (be nice, but not likely). If I were 40, then I'd definitely do this now because I'd have 60 years of savings in front of me.
Is solar the answer for everyone? No, but it can be very beneficial in the right circumstances.
Best Regards,
Mike/Florida
Sigarms
Super Member
Nothing in life is free. You think you're getting something great, and down the road after time you realize it wasn't the cat's meow like you thought it would be.
The issue is separating fact from people trying to sell you BS because they can make money doing it.
That said, if you have the ability to install solar for your own home, it does seem like a no brainer. Selling off the energy is like the state selling the lottery system for schools IMO. It goes in sole on a good cause, but someone else's pockets are being lined.
The issue is separating fact from people trying to sell you BS because they can make money doing it.
That said, if you have the ability to install solar for your own home, it does seem like a no brainer. Selling off the energy is like the state selling the lottery system for schools IMO. It goes in sole on a good cause, but someone else's pockets are being lined.
MAX-24-Dean
Veteran Member
I just got a good laugh! Tears streaming laugh!!!! Power from gas with the wifes blessing.Don't laugh...
According to energy density data, hydrogen has an energy density of 2.8 watt-hours per litre, and methane 10.5 watt-hours per litre.
Therefore, with the average fart being around 90mL, this means the average human fart contains around 0.11025 watt-hours of potential energy.
Think about that, being able to harvest farts for energy.
My wife will tell you I could really make money doing that.
I remember sometime ago it seemed the rage was going to be cow manure for power.
The Power of Cow Manure: How Farms of the Future Are Transforming Waste-to-Energy Operations
The use of renewable energy in the agriculture industry is an exciting new frontier that—with the right partners—can bring environmental and economic benefits to farmers, surrounding communities, and the
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