Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
$43.10
That's what our electric bill was this month. I'm not sure exactly why it's $43.10. The bill last year for the about same 30 day time period was $179.38. The average temperature for the about the same 30 day time period in 2010 was 76 degrees and the average temperature for about the same time period this year was also 76 degrees.
The air conditioners ran almost the entire period this year.
Its' the usage that confuses me the usage in the 30 day 2010 period was 1020 kWh and this year it was 892 kWh 128 kWh less. Or in today's charges $12.81difference.
In other words the kWh used may be reflecting the additional insulation that I put in. And maybe the $179.38 bill of last year compaired to the $43.10 bill of this year or a -$136.28 difference may reflect power generated by the solar panels. But that power does not seem to appear on the usage.
Maybe when I am finally hooked up to the SAEC Solar Alternative Energy Credits program and officially recognized as a power generating facility it will be more clear.
Anyway a $43.10 electric bill is much better than a $179.38 electric bill.
The air conditioners ran almost the entire period this year.
Its' the usage that confuses me the usage in the 30 day 2010 period was 1020 kWh and this year it was 892 kWh 128 kWh less. Or in today's charges $12.81difference.
In other words the kWh used may be reflecting the additional insulation that I put in. And maybe the $179.38 bill of last year compaired to the $43.10 bill of this year or a -$136.28 difference may reflect power generated by the solar panels. But that power does not seem to appear on the usage.
Maybe when I am finally hooked up to the SAEC Solar Alternative Energy Credits program and officially recognized as a power generating facility it will be more clear.
Anyway a $43.10 electric bill is much better than a $179.38 electric bill.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Solar or Fracking?
The upfront drilling costs of fracking are high. Wells dry up and new wells constantly need to be drilled. So the operating cost of fracking is also high. The data is hidden just like Enron’s but from what is public the productive wells are just barely profitable and most lose money.
The entire gas drilling industry’s future profitability forecast is based on the cost of gas going up. Without government incentives every well would be guaranteed to be unprofitable. And some think the entire Fracking industry is just another giant sized way to scam investors.
See:
New York Times
June 25, 2011
“Whales Were Considered to Be Swimming Oil Wells”; the whaling industry did not disappear because of a whales disappeared. It was because the whale population was diminished and ships had to go farther to bring back whale oil. Cheap oil and kerosene from oil wells killed the whaling industry.
We have reached peak oil and gas and solar fossil fuel cost are rocketing upwards, wind and wave power costs continue to plummet. Coal at least with present day technology is incredibly dirty and unhealthy. Anybody live through the “fogs” of the 1950s and the Donora smog? Coal power would cost a fortune to clean up so it stays dirty. Ask the Koch Brothers.
Sometime within the next decade fossil fuel will uncompetitive. The oil well business that put whaling out of business will be in turn put out of business by sunlight powered technology. Whale oil might be completive again. Car owners could brag about how many whales kill yearly.
Maybe it’s time to send early condolences cards to the Princes of Saudi Arabia and the Koch Brothers. O, I almost forgot Vladimir Putin.
The upfront costs of Solar are high. The operating expenses are low. The Solar industry profitability is based on low operating cost.
The upfront costs of Solar are dropping and expected to plummet far into the future.
SEE:
CLIMATE PROGRESS
Where Renewables Stack Up: Comparative Chart on Levelized Cost of Energy and the “Value” of Clean Energy
AND:
CLIMATE PROGRESS
Solar Panel Prices Continue Dropping, Grid Parity Not Magic Bullet for PV
I left out the Global Heating stuff, droughts, floods, tornadoes, fires and other extreme weather events that are caused in part by burning gas and are driving re-insurance companies out of business. If Global Heating goes unchecked those little infants you see now will be among the last humans to inhabit our earth.
SEE:
grist
GE’s ironic new slogan: ‘Natural gas. It’s hot stuff.’
So which is the better investment?
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
IT'S A SUBCOMPACT CAR PAYMENT
Solar Panels go up on my home on May 23, 2011
We recently made a commitment to solar power at our home in Coatesville, PA.
Several things helped us to decide to "Go Solar"
Several things helped us to decide to "Go Solar"
Electric rates are going up.
The Republicans are threatening to end all Solar and “Alternative Energy” rebates.
The technology the installer is using, “Enphase” Microinverters and the “Enphase Envoy” monitoring system. It’s relatively inexpensive to add more solar panels and the cost of doing so appears to be getting lower month by month.
And maybe most importantly the cost of installing solar panels has dropped significantly.
It’s a subcompact car payment
We were surprised that the cost was affordable, about $16,000. What is still unknown to us is how much electric power the 8 panels we have up on our roof now will generate. That is how of much the power generated by those 8 panels will replace what power we use.
And if they do not make enough power to replace or significantly reduce our grid power use; what power savings or additional number of solar panels will be sufficient. Which is where the Enphase Microinverters come in. You can basically put up more solar panels and plug them in to the rest of the solar panels. We have 8 and our roof will support about 20.
So far the “Green Home Energy Solutions” lived up to their brochure promises to help us get set up on the grid as an electric power plant.
They helped us get a Coatesville Codes inspection. The City had no one qualified and Green Home Energy Solutions found the “COMMONEWEALTH CODE INSPECTION SERVICE, INC.” to do the inspection.
We have been producing electricity and connected to PECO's grid since May 23, 2011. Several weeks later we are still not recognized by PECO or on the SAEC Solar Alternative Energy Credits program. Their man has not been here to approve the hookup yet.
You might think that certifying a customer to get what might be free electricity might be a low priority for power companies. But, my "power plant" produces power during the summer peak demand periods when everyone needs air conditioning. I think that knowing exactly how much power I am producing has got to be an asset.
This spring the Chester County PA Solar Panels grew like weeds.
I don't have any hard data but just from casual drives around Chester County I think the PECO solar man is very busy.
But and this is a big but:
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