Solar Systems, Entry level--- More

Andy writes: Thanks Harry. Your experience with wide ranging aspects of buildings has put you in a good position for taking care of your own stuff... In the US, there are regions like New England where there is an attitude that is radically different than in more southern states like Texas...Only in the larger cities, like Dallas, do the regulations seem similar.... I live in a wilderness area about 100 miles south of Dallas, and we don't have many restrictions. Of course, if we burn our own house down, we have ourselves to blame :>)))....

Those on this newsgroup that try to make the task sound like some big deal have probably never heard of Heathkit, which sold kits for homebuilders from receivers/transmitters to color televisions for many decades. As a youth, I put togheter several kits of signal generators and transmitters. Even a non-trained lawyer, doctor, plumber, or dental hygienist could build their own color television (in 1960) if they just followed the directions and checked their own work.... That's the environment I was brought up in.... and believe me, a PV array is child's play compared to an NTSC color television.... Actually, Heathkit's first kit was an airplane, which any reasonably intelligent bicycle mechanic could put together and fly.......It all depends on the integrity of the design and the completeness of the directions... Well, good luck and thanks again for the rundown of your system.... It seems that you are getting a much better deal from your government than we are over here, tho the rebates that some posters claim are pretty good.......

However, I'll keep my 50K in the bank and pay my 10.5cents per kwh . :>))))

Andy in Eureka, Texas .

Reply to
Andy
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Being a commie anarchist, how would you know anything about capitalism? When people figure out what they are willing to pay for something, one of the first things they look at is what income stream they will get from it. If you have a PV array and you can tell them they won't have an electric bill and that as of right now, they will also be getting a couple thousand dollars a year in income on top of it, I'd say that does indeed factor into what they are willing to pay for a property.

It's basic business analysis 101.

While curb appeal is important, it clearly does not mean that people don't consider many other factors, which could easily outway what the house looks like from the outside.

Commies aren't supposed to make money.

Reply to
trader4

One of my aunts, a high school physics teacher, built a Heathkit stereo amp kit back in the 1960's and had no problem with it. Heck, there was a time you could order a complete house kit from Sears so you could build your own home. ^_^

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Also don't forget that many states that have promised rebates have defaulted on them. That would be a hell of a shock to my budget if I had installed a system and counted on that money being there. I ve had my roof replace twice in 20 years due to storms, First time was a tornado and recently hail damage. Also over the years that have been other hail storms that didnt damage the roof but probably would have damaged the photo cells. I had actually planned on installing a system at one time so I checked what it did to the value of my home. The effect was pretty much neutral basically depending on how the buyer saw it.

Jimmie

Jimmie

Reply to
JIMMIE

Having to cut back shading can be a major issue. Several years ago a test was done in North Fl I think near Jacksonville. Trees were removed or pruned to allow the sun to get to solar panels mounted on the roof. Net results were higher energy cost caused by the loss of shade. Planting trees sounds like it may be more benificial than installing solar arrays when used in areas where solar arrays would operate most effectively. This doesnt surprise me since using solar energy to directly heat something has always proven to be morre efficent than using it to generate electricity via photovoltaics. Now the question becomes more complex than just whether or not to install photo-voltaic but whether to spend my money on super insulating my home, adding solar water heaters, planting trees or maybe adding reflective shingles on the south facing side of my house. How do I figure out what is the best way to go?

Jimmie

Reply to
JIMMIE

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