I'm going to tell him what you've said. BUT - he's 27 years old and thinks he's done enough research and knows it all. *sigh* Thank you for the input!
Chit Chat in VOLTVILLE Thread #2 :)
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I'm going to tell him what you've said. BUT - he's 27 years old and thinks he's done enough research and knows it all. *sigh* Thank you for the input!
The major problems I see with solar are the initial expense, fairly expensive maintenance and the lack of sufficient sunlight here in the 40s latitude. That lack of sunlight reduces the efficiency of the system making it even more expensive per kwh. Solar already costs three to four times, or more, than conventional generation, A wind turbine, or a few of them, might be a better idea, but the expense of maintenance is still there. The Government can afford to fool with it, after all they're not spending their own money.
In terms of reducing "greenhouse gases" I wonder if the amount of those gases produced by manufacturing the systems and disposing of the batteries is accounted for. Somehow, I think it's ignored or minimized.
In terms of reducing "greenhouse gases" I wonder if the amount of those gases produced by manufacturing the systems and disposing of the batteries is accounted for. Somehow, I think it's ignored or minimized.
Hehe! There is no "enough research", we still read many hours per day, searching, testing. I'm lucky i got to see, install, maintain all those systems and as Roland says, maintenance is expensive and the sunlight is a big problem, on sunny areas like Greece, Italy, Spain etc solar power is more (a bit) efficient. You will need a larger system to have the same output.
Not to mention the whole ECO promotion is a joke. (even on small things like a lightbulb)
Producing power is not cheap in small installations, i see it every day on big or small generators they are expensive to run and maintain.
Maybe he could use a small system with the grid and run it only for small things like lamps and laptops at night etc.
Hi Roland
Not to mention the whole ECO promotion is a joke. (even on small things like a lightbulb)
Producing power is not cheap in small installations, i see it every day on big or small generators they are expensive to run and maintain.
Maybe he could use a small system with the grid and run it only for small things like lamps and laptops at night etc.
Hi Roland
There was an episode of The Flintstones where they showed how their electricity was generated. Was it a monkey on a conveyor bike? Is your son planning to get a monkey?
Y'all don't sell Dave short. He may be bright enough to figure something out. Sure comes from good stock and his Dad was a real Rocket Scientist. If anybody can pull it off I'm putting my money on Dave. They laughed at Fulton and a host of others.
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If he does "pull it off" he won't need a job anymore, just collect royalties and roll in the dough.
Oh, I'm not selling him short. But - I know him. His youthful arrogance can get in the way of practicality. He has no actual experience with building any of these things, yet he's planning of building a home based on utilizing these features to power the whole thing. No furnace. No hookup to the grid. Yet my power bill has more than doubled since he and his fiance moved in here. I'm just worried ...
Oh wow! 
My late husband was involved with developing some of the first drones while he was in the Army back in the fifties. Jeesh. He had a lot of fun with them.
My late husband was involved with developing some of the first drones while he was in the Army back in the fifties. Jeesh. He had a lot of fun with them.
That might shock you but I wouldn't be surprised.
Oh, I'm not selling him short. But - I know him. His youthful arrogance can get in the way of practicality. He has no actual experience with building any of these things, yet he's planning of building a home based on utilizing these features to power the whole thing. No furnace. No hookup to the grid. Yet my power bill has more than doubled since he and his fiance moved in here. I'm just worried ...
Youthful arrogance isn't always a bad thing and of course you're worried. That's what Moms do. If it doesn't work out and they get tired of camping in their new home he'll figure out a way to get power in there. If it does work out they'll be putting that new addition on and have plenty of time to do it like Awsum said lol. Give them a good start and get out of their way. Wisdom comes from experience and sometimes experience comes from bad judgement. I've had to pick myself up, dust myself off and move forward with the next thing many times and so will my Son, and yours.
Oh wow!
You mean back when everyone said, "that will never work".
Pretty much. He had them going really well until they would get on the other side of a hill or mountain and they'd lose the signal. Then they would have to go hunt 'em down. He felt like a kid playing with RC planes. He was out at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
Oh, I know you're right, Wuzz. We raised him to be very self-confident and gave him the tools and training to do most anything that he puts his mind to. I am staying out of his way. Sometimes I question things and point out alternatives, but I wouldn't give him a rough way to go no matter what he decides to do. He's a grown man and doing quite well for himself. I'm just tickled pink that he has the gumption to build his home with his own hands - even cleared the land himself. How many of his generation are doing that these days? Not many, I suspect. So - we'll just see how it turns out. He'll make mistakes. He already has. But he learns from 'em. That's what it's all about.
There was an episode of The Flintstones where they showed how their electricity was generated. Was it a monkey on a conveyor bike? Is your son planning to get a monkey?
I've long held a theory that if we used young children in some sort of hamster wheel contraption, they could power a major city. If you don't believe me, just watch a child of 5 or so run in the house on a rainy day when you can't put the kids outside to play.
The basics are all the same with electrical work. He'll still have to install outlets and switches throughout the house, and wire them to a circuit breaker. The only main difference is between the power source and the circuit breaker - it'll either be a generator/converter of some kind, or the grid. Think of the circuit breaker as a toaster with a fat cord, and the power source as an outlet. It's not like he'll have to rip out walls and start all over if his plan doesn't work, and it would be easy enough to reroute that main line if he needs to, so if it were me, I'd probably give it a try too. Even if it only ends up partly working, it's still better than being 100% on the grid, right? So no worries, rave. Plus, he could always get a monkey.
Maybe what Rave is worried about is, if it doesn't work, guess who they'll be moving back in with!
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