Alternate electric ideas

[volts500]

Try alt.energy.homepower

[Stormin Mormon]

Seeing as how most everything now days has all kinds of serial numbers, identifying plates, and such, that sounds like good advice. My vote is on hamster wheel with a generator atached.

[Mike]

Where I live, for now, natural gas is more expensive than electricity.

[Mike]

[Mike]

You've got me curious call the power company/.

[Mike]

The only gas in my house is the stove and water heater and me. . . . .

I bought a circulating electric spot heater from COSTCO and only use the baseboard electric heat on very very cold days. There's a thermosat in each room . I'm on the utility budget plan @ $89.90 a month. However, July first the electric rate cap comes off and I'm looking at a 72% increase. Let me know if you're interested in the scam of utility deregulation and I'll send you an enlightening article.

Unfortunately, $200.00 - $300.00 maybe about right in a deregulated (read scam) market.

Mike

[Mike]

Let me know

>

[Jason]

Will do.

FWIW, the electric company sent the guy out for the permanent repair today, and he explained that the mysterious box is nothing more than a transformer. I have 2 "legs" coming in, and only one was working, so they hooked that up to a transformer temporarily.

Apparently, the squirrel on the wheel didn't work out as well.

- J

[ameijers]

(snip)

"Solar' does not always mean 'electric'. In the case of the hot tub, it is a no-brainer- a solar collector (can be as simple as a bunch of black tubing on roof), and a small electric pump, perhaps even a small windmill, would easily take over most of the water-heating duties for the tub. Electricity is very convenient, but sometimes stone-age forms of energy can still be very useful at a much lower price.

aem sends...

[me]

Agree

The Costco cf lamps are some of the best I've found

[Andy]

ameijers wrote:> "Solar' does not always mean 'electric'. In the case of the hot tub, it is a

Andy writes:

You are absolutely right.... I was assuming that he meant using photovoltaic cells to make electricity for stuff.......

Solar heating is a very practical, and very cost effective idea if one is in a climate where the sun is readily available when needed...

Unfortunately, solar cooling isn't as practical, although I think that solar heat could probably be used to power ammonia cycle refrigerators. I've never seen one, but the fridge in my RV uses a tiny propane flame to run the cooling apparatus, so I suspect an enterprising fellow could replace the propane flame with a solar collector..... As far as air contitioning a house, forget it if a swamp cooler isn't good enough....

Andy

[tunesandballoons]

Anybody can make energy, even kids: Oakridge-Marpole students were top winners at the Vancouver Climate Change game. Here's a link to the victory picnic party:

Andy wrote: