Our solar is installed, inspected, and approved to send electricity to the grid. We thought the day would never come, but now I’m beginning to get used to it.
Now that sunlight is going to be making electricity.
We’ve had a lot of sunny days since we went on the common grid. One of our favorite activities is to watch our electric meter run backward. Another is to read the Inverter – the device that changes the electricity from DC to AC (direct current to alternating current). It gives us information like how much electricity we’ve put back into the grid and how much carbon (CO2) we’ve not put into the world.
This carbon thing was a surprise to us. I understand the words “Carbon Footprint” in general, but now we seem to be not using as much. Since we’ve been operating our solar, we’ve not put over 600 pounds of CO2 into the world. (That’s the stuff that comes out the tail pipe of your car.) I’m more impressed by this than I am about putting electricity back into the grid.
So the inverter is a fun thing to read. The other nice thing is knowing I can have all the air conditioning I want. I can run the washer and dryer during the day – because the electricity for these activities is coming from our solar and not from the common electrical grid. Well, if I’m doing all three things at once, we do take a little power from the grid, but the meter is moving very slowly.
What should you do about it? Whatever you can. If you can’t afford solar electricity, what about solar water heating? If not that, what about upgrading the windows on your house so you don’t absorb so much heat into your home? You know, saving energy and being conscious about the energy you use is a personal thing. It’s one of the many things where even a little bit helps.
We’re waiting to see how we fare during the winter. We have many cold, but sunny days in winter. What’s going to happen then? I can’t tell you yet, but I’m sure our bill is going to be a lot less.
Marilynne
———————————————————————–
Sept. 12, 2009
Cinders sent me a URL about solar energy on highways. Check it out at
http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/895850.html
I am so impressed by this! Since we put in the pool, I’ve wished for a solar heater so we can swim in the winter, but I’ve never expanded the thought to the whole house. Now I do!
Congratulations on being green!
Love, Cindy
.-= Cinders´s last blog ..Video test =-.
comment by Cinders — September 11, 2009 @ 5:50 pm
It’s serious business. If you heat the pool with solar it’s not as expensive as solar for electricity. You should look into it.
It’s a big step, but look into solar for your house as well. It’s fun to watch the electric meter run backwards.
Love, Mom
comment by Marilyyne — September 11, 2009 @ 7:52 pm
That’s awesome! Go Green! Out of curiosit, can you give a ballpark figure for the necessary renovations? Many people fear the green movement because of the price tag. How much is it initially versus the savings you gain from having it?
.-= Stargirl´s last blog ..Meow =-.
comment by Stargirl — September 12, 2009 @ 7:17 am
We have different challenges, as Roy pointed out. We’re not sure how the panels would take the lightning, for one.
)
Love, Cindy
.-= Cinders´s last blog ..Video test =-.
comment by Cinders — September 12, 2009 @ 7:33 am
I’m sure the solar people in your area know that answer. Our house is grounded once for the house and once for the solar panels. Check into it. Some solar places have classes where you can just learn about it. In California we have an energy center that just dispenses information.
comment by Marilyyne — September 12, 2009 @ 1:09 pm
We had to cut down a huge pepper tree that was shading the south side of the house.
I built a large new porch on the south side (12 x 24 ft) and they needed that roof for the number of solar panels they put on the roof.
For our largish house (2300 sq. ft.) it cost $40,000 minus a lot of incentives including a tax break, and federal and state incentives. We calculate we will be even(savings in electrical costs) in 7 to 9 years. We live in sunny California where most days are sunny. We have forced air heat and cooling. Our electrical meter still runs backwards with the AC on.
Keep in mind that it takes a lot of sun to do this. I’d start looking for free classes and bone up on the subject if you’re interested. We’ve wanted to do this for years, but it wasn’t financially feasible until now.
An unexpected benefit of solar happens to be that the insulated solar panels insulate the room under it – whether it’s sunny or not.
Marilynne
comment by Marilyyne — September 12, 2009 @ 1:15 pm