Conserving energy

[Paul B]

Whats everyone doing to conserve energy?
I figured it is in the news everyday so I would post about it.
I myself installed Solar Power on my roof which is working out much better than I thought it would. It generates 4,000 watts on a sunny day.
I also installed an efficient front loading washing machine and in a couple of weeks when I can shut off my heat I will be removing my 50 year old oil burner and installing a very efficient gas boiler that is so small, it hangs on a wall and is so efficient, you don't need a chimeny. The vent pipe is plastic, thats how little heat escapes it.
I cut down the lighting cycle on my reef and installed higher K rated lamps. I also eliminated the actinic lights.
All of my lighting is compact flourescents.
Hopefully that GM electric car will work out because I want one. I can charge the thing for free also.
Now if I could only get an electric engine for my boat.

 

[gotfish]

I'm gonna be putting insulation in my walls sometime this summer. The house was built in 1920 so nothing is in the walls. The attic and crawl space is insulated, just not the walls. Other then that, nothing. If you're meaning doing something for environmental reasons, then that's a no.

 

[danno14]

I switched from the 3/4hp hayward to individual high efficiency pumps with lower overall consumption.
My chiller has been replaced with a higher capacity closed-loop cooling setup that uses 37 watts when running.
Lighting cycle shortened, long time front load washer proponent, 97% efficient gas furnace water.

Wish list: solar pv (like yours) and water, lake loop for geothermal heat/cooling of house.
$$$$!!! even after the new rebates.

D

(for the record, I went back and re-read your old thread.....makes me want it even more!)

 

[Myteemouse]

I put a 90+ furnace in the house the exhaust is a 1 1/2" pvc pipe..
and I want Solar panels also..

 

[brandyrb]

I just quit paying my electric bill and they shut me off. That takes care of that. I'm not spending anything on energy consumption now. :lol: Think my fish and corals will be ok?

I made a fire pit in the back yard to boil water for my aquarium and I make my kids go swimming in our fish tank at least once a day to aggravate the water surface and provide plenty of flow.

 

[gotfish]

I made a fire pit in the back yard to boil water for my aquarium and I make my kids go swimming in our fish tank at least once a day to aggravate the water surface and provide plenty of flow.

You shouldn't be boiling your water. All that carbon you're spewing in the air, tsk, tsk.

 

[MrSculpin]

Well, my hot tub is broken, that has me conserving energy.. my elec bill went down 20 bucks last month and almost 40 the month before that. :badgrin:
Does that count?

Oh turned down the water heater and yell at my teenager to get out of the shower after 20 mins!

Id love solar panels, they are so expensive tho.

We have five chickens, we got last spring to raise for eggs.. doesnt conserve energy but I dont get mad when I go to the groc store to buy eggs anymore!

 

[Chichas01]

Hey Paul,
How do you store what the panels produce when your not using electricity? Batteries?
And if you don't mind me asking, what did it cost?

 

[MrSculpin]

Paul, since we are asking nosey questions, did you
install it yourself or pay someone to do it?

And dont you have to redo or add to your electric panel
to convert the power to something "usable"??

 

[danno14]

Answers to some of the questions:

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34834&highlight=solar

 

[Paul B]

MrSculpin, I have never paid anyone to do anything on my house, car or boat.
I installed them my self.
It does not store any power. The meter spins backward when I generate excess there by reducing my bill.
I laid out about $23,000.00 and got back about $14,000.00 in a rebate and about $6,000.00 back on my taxes.
The system comes with an inverter which connects to two circuit breakers in your panel. The inverter automatically converts the power from the Solar Array to usable power that is sent to your panel. There is no blinking lights, when the sun is shining, part or all of my power comes from the array, when the sun goes dow, all of my power comes from the utility company. I don't see any difference, there is no difference in the power from either system. I notice nothing different than if all my power came from the utility. There are no moving parts and the system is warranted for 25 years.
There is a read out on the inverter which is installed in my basement but could go outside that tells me exactly how much power the unit is supplying to my panel at any given time.
Usually on a sunny day it is between 30 and 40 amps

 

[brandyrb]

I remember my dad looked into getting solar panels when I was a teenager and they were too expensive. I don't know how much though. I think he was looking to have them installed by someone else too. He ended up getting a generator until power was able to be run to his property.

As far as conserving energy goes, I wish we could lower our monthly bills. When we first moved into our home, we paid $80 a month on comfort pay, now it's $340 a month. I blame the fish tanks and the cost of energy increases through avista. We now have four aquariums running. One of them is temporary for coral treatment.

 

[Saltyfish]

How much did it cost to have that installed, if I may ask? - NEVERMIND I read your other reply $3000.00 after all rebates and tax write offs. Nice what brand are they or where can I go to check these out?

I looked at it and with the weather here in Spokane it would only be good to us 4 to 5 months out of the year. This was a few years ago so maybe they have come a long way since then. Can you make them store the power?

The water heater I looked at it and I want to do it in the new house.

The new house the wife is designing we are going total green on it, well as much as possible. Spray in insulation, the windows are by VPI and they are sick (i am still looking around but these seem to be the best I can find), tankless water heaters, still have not decided on the siding yet.

Someone was telling me that since I am going to have a huge saltwater tank I could use the waste water from the tank itself and make de-icer with it. The "waste" water from the RO/DI unit we use about 50% of it now for things around the house so we are going to have storage tank(s) for that so we use all of it.

I like the solar panels idea I just dont know how well it will work for us here.

 

[Paul B]

Here is the information about my solar panels. They are made in the US by SHARP

http://www.npcpsolar.com/

 

[gotfish]

That site has a map of all the installations. Your 25 year savings is almost 40k? How is that figured out? Also, what the heck is that giant green thing north of you? Is that a big building or a field?

 

[Paul B]

Gotfish, the savings is figured because they have a copy of my electric usage and bills and they know exactly how much power I will be generating from the longitude and latitude. These numbers are known all over the world. They just deduct how much I am generating from how much I used in past years.

That green thing is a golf driving range. There is also a miniature golf course there also.
Many years ago that area used to be a garbage dump for the town. They sealed it and are not allowed to build buildings on it because of possable methane gas so they built that golf range.

 

[Scooterman]

because of possable methane gas so they built that golf range.

They should recycle that methane
Well I know they are doing that at some places, saw that on discovery or one of those shows.

 

[Paul B]

We built a huge methane re cycling plant on Statin Island on the worlds largest land fill.

 

[gotfish]

So what sort of maintenance is there on those and is that deducted from that dollar amount? Also, how durable are they? A good hail storm gonna break any of the semiconductors?

 

[Paul B]

They are very durable and you can walk on them. They are also supposed to be able to withstand golf ball hits.
The panels are maintenance free and are warranted for 25 years.
I will let you know in 25 years if they last that long