REALLY looking forward to spring

[Brandon]

We had some record winter temps today, amazingly enough we sat in the 60s most of the day, and I saw some FANTASTIC range numbers. I mean, that wonderful green cylinder on the HUD just didnt want to go down.... it was friggin GREAT! Cant wait to say goodbye to this mild winter of ours and hello to spring and amazing range numbers!

[Brittt1]

We had some record winter temps today, amazingly enough we sat in the 60s most of the day, and I saw some FANTASTIC range numbers. I mean, that wonderful green cylinder on the HUD just didnt want to go down.... it was friggin GREAT! Cant wait to say goodbye to this mild winter of ours and hello to spring and amazing range numbers!

Indeed, from 14 on Tuesday to around 60 this weekend its been a wild week. But I too look forward to March

[DCFusor]

Myself and the other solar types here are looking to spring for another reason - more free electricity as we come off the winter solstice. The way it works for me in VA, that's the time we have the very most extra, as we get long hours of sun before it gets hot enough to make my freezer run extra (in an unheated space).

I'm able to get a charge on my Volt in the spare juice in winter, but it often takes a couple of days. In spring, I'll be able to get more than one a day on some days. Heck, I might buy some more panels and racks!

For me, the difference between say the Camaro at 20 mpg and the Cruze at 40 - hey, that's nice. But the difference between any and zero - that's revolutionary, and I'm not even paying someone to burn coal either. Zero is really zero.

Any well designed solar system has excess capacity. When the main batteries get to full charge, the system tosses any extra electricity away - but if you have a Volt - you've got a place to put it. So it really is free by any measure. Free as in beer, and free as in freedom from wage-slavery to pay monthly bills. That's sort of nice, eh?

[Brandon]

I definitely envy your solar setup every time you talk about it Doug. If I were in a bit more of a stable home situation, I would definitely look into putting my own together. Cant risk building one and then getting orders.

[DonC]

I definitely envy your solar setup every time you talk about it Doug. If I were in a bit more of a stable home situation, I would definitely look into putting my own together. Cant risk building one and then getting orders.

I hear you Brandon. In California there was a neat program where the solar system was financed and the monthly payments became part of your utility bill. This ensured those enjoying the benefits of solar paid for the solar and removed the risk of stranded investment. Unfortunately Freddie and Fannie decided this was some type of encumbrance and wouldn't finance houses with this setup. Since those entities are financing most home loans the decision threw a big damper on the program.

But the idea of financing the installation of solar through a loan that runs with the house is a good one. Makes all kinds of sense.

[solar_dave]

Yeah I determined that my solar system needed an expansion when I added the second Volt. One of the problems with solar is most under estimate the amount of load and overestimate the amount of power the system generates. DCFusor sounds like yours is pretty balanced but with off grid you have to buffer your peak need. Mine with grid tie lets the utility be my buffer. My summer loads more tha exceeds my generation but before summer I get to bank kWh for use later in the season. This year I got my true up credit on the Jan bill with a credit of $149, about half of last Jan true up. I attribute it to the volt added in May to my loads. Now that we added another one we for sure need more panels. We have a 3920 watt expansion happening in the next couple months.

[Brandon]

Just a few more years and I'll be in the home stretch with my enlistment (meaning I'll probably be on my last re-up and at the final base where I'll retire from active duty) and at point I'll be looking at getting just as green as solar daves avatar...lol. I LOVE the idea, the technology, and just about everything there is about solar energy. Same with wind, lol, but I dont think I'll be throwing one of those turbines in the backyard any time soon.

[bonaire]

homepower magazine had an article in 2011 about community solar "farms" where people in a neighborhood or locality helped establish say a 200KW+ array that they all benefitted from. It will possibly be done that way in decades to come where each homeowner doesn't setup an array but someone within say 1-mile of homes does it on a farm or spare land and the neighborhood buys into it and gets dividends from the produced electricity. A 500 KW array for every 50 homes would help a lot in grid management. Add to that grid-storage at the station via big batteries and it's even better. (and even more expensive to do, though)

http://cleantechnica.com/2011/04/19/...-alternatives/

[tboult]

homepower magazine had an article in 2011 about community solar "farms" where people in a neighborhood or locality helped establish say a 200KW+ array that they all benefitted from. It will possibly be done that way in decades to come where each homeowner doesn't setup an array but someone within say 1-mile of homes does it on a farm or spare land and the neighborhood buys into it and gets dividends from the produced electricity. A 500 KW array for every 50 homes would help a lot in grid management. Add to that grid-storage at the station via big batteries and it's even better. (and even more expensive to do, though)

http://cleantechnica.com/2011/04/19/...-alternatives/

They are a community solar farm in Colorado Springs. I've been to their meetings, its an interesting idea. Great for those who don't have a roof (townhomes/condos) or whose house simply does not face well. Its more efficient in some ways (unified hardware, less ties to the grid etc) but less in others as you have to pay for the land and everything runs through the grid. Unfortunately I live about 2 miles too far away to be part of it.
I may push for one in my neighborhood maybe using our "detention pond" (A drainage runnoff area required by law to reduce/mange runoff) as that land cannot really be used for much but with pole-mounted tracking solar panels it might see dual use.