Power the U.S. With Solar Panels!

[westwall]

When idiots decide what kind of solar panel setup they decide to go with, I wouldn't expect much. Maybe you would be better off if this person lectured you.


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Ed Begley Jr. House Tour Los Angeles

My system is 10 times better than his.

 

[westwall]

I wonder which fossil fuel industry you either work directly or indirectly for. Solar panels and the electricity they produce are PROVEN science. And there are more ways to store the excess electricity than you can shake a stick at. Either large scale or small scale. Are they expensive? Probably. Just as the fossil fuel industry would like them to be. Also, it takes 1 to 4 years for solar panels to produce the energy it took to create them. That is from mining the materials they are made of to the finished product. And with the energy they put out being free, I don't imagine it would take a hell of a lot longer for them to pay for themselves. So what is that. probably about 10 years max. The last I heard, solar panels can last up to 40 years. So that would mean up to 30 years of absolutely free electricity. Maybe you should bring up some BS about the cost of disposing of them in an environmentally friendly way.

Aahhhhh yes, the typical response.

Which solar company do YOU work for?

And where do you propose we get the 100 trillion dollars to take us onto solar power?

100,000,000,000,000

Where?

 

[surada]

Unlikely.

My electric bill was cut by half. I had a huge house and five kids. ... My system was just hot water. It saved me $150 a month.

 

[Sunsettommy]

My electric bill was cut by half. I had a huge house and five kids. ... My system was just hot water. It saved me $150 a month.

Well, that is good for you a good investment, but it didn't come close to powering the home in full which is what Goodluck and other solar power fanatics is pushing for so much which is why he and others like him in other forums gets a lot of push back because what they promote are so over the top that it turns a lot of people off.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

My electric bill was cut by half. I had a huge house and five kids. ... My system was just hot water. It saved me $150 a month.

Not solar panels. Because they take a long, long time to break even, if ever.

My electric bill was cut by half.

Your water was heated by electricity?

 

[Sunsettommy]

My system is 10 times better than his.

Ed Begley is a wealthy man who can afford all the stuff he uses which is EXPENSIVE clearly his home is for the wealthy class, but I can point to many homes that eliminates all that technology he uses by using simple methods that have been known for centuries and save 90% of the cost.

There was an episode of the Rainey Family rescuing a homestead in the middle of a hot desert region by using ducted air that runs 6 feet below ground under the Storage unit he converted into habitable space which cooled it down from over 100 degrees F to around 75 in a couple hours because the air coming in is around 55 Degrees F. a cheap natural cooling system that doesn't use electricity.

I have been in homes cheaply built using straw bales for the walls covered by mortar windows inserted nearly 2 feet into the room and a rooftop Solar array that heats water which they use as a warm ballast for the winter. No problem staying warm in the cold winter region.

Where I live, I gave up A/C and Heat Pump because it is too expensive to run and the repairs are massive that dries the air in the home, which is bad for health, I use swamp cooler instead, which I today finished replacing the entire water distribution system because it was old and breaking up with simple tubing and joints.

I run my Irrigation system I planned and built by opening up a single Ball valve that waters my entire yard without power.

 

[westwall]

Ed Begley is a wealthy man who can afford all the stuff he uses which is EXPENSIVE clearly his home is for the wealthy class, but I can point to many homes that eliminates all that technology he uses by using simple methods that have been known for centuries and save 90% of the cost.

There was an episode of the Rainey Family rescuing a homestead in the middle of a hot desert region by using ducted air that runs 6 feet below ground under the Storage unit he converted into habitable space which cooled it down from over 100 degrees F to around 75 in a couple hours because the air coming in is around 55 Degrees F. a cheap natural cooling system that doesn't use electricity.

I have been in homes cheaply built using straw bales for the walls covered by mortar windows inserted nearly 2 feet into the room and a rooftop Solar array that heats water which they use as a warm ballast for the winter. No problem staying warm in the cold winter region.

Where I live, I gave up A/C and Heat Pump because it is too expensive to run and the repairs are massive that dries the air in the home, which is bad for health, I use swamp cooler instead, which I today finished replacing the entire water distribution system because it was old and breaking up with simple tubing and joints.

I run my Irrigation system I planned and built by opening up a single Ball valve that waters my entire yard without power.

Yeah, I spent a ton on my solar array for a couple of reasons, one, I'm old so personal comfort is important to me. Second is I like experimenting with it.

Our irrigation is pretty extensive, so we have a few parallel lines so that if one is damaged we have a backup.

 

[Concerned American]

Obviously we would still need a power grid to transmit electricity from areas where it is sunny to areas where it is cloudy. And even on cloudy days, solar panels still produce at least some electricity.

Dream on buddy. Try NE WA in late Dec, Jan. and Feb. I've lived here for 11 years and the neighbors can't keep their batteries charged during that time and the cost of more solar panels and batteries has been ridiculous. LOL, solar might make it in the southwest, but in the northern tier states it is throwing money down the crapper.

 

[goodluck]

It's true, fossil fuels are cheap and reliable.
Solar panels are expensive and unreliable.

Unreliable? How about doing an experiment for yourself. Go on the internet and buy a cheap small solar panel. One powerful enough to light a small flashlight bulb or something like that. Hook them both together and set it out in the sun. Or maybe in the shadow of a house. Tell me if it ever fails to work as long as the sun is out.

 

[goodluck]

That's awesome! How much do your solar panels on your house cost?

I don't live in a house. Also, I take it you are also against electric cars. Tell me, about how much do you spend on gasoline each month. I bet it comes out to a pretty penny. Just imagine if you didn't have to pay that each month. And what if you had solar panels to recharge it. Even more money saved. Also, any number of things can go wrong with an internal combustion engine or transmission. Though it rarely happens, when it does, it costs plenty to fix. With an electric car you don't have to worry about any of those expenses. Or antifreeze, oil change, or air or oil filter. Which means even more money saved.

 

[goodluck]

My system is 10 times better than his.

If so, what are you complaining about. Ed Begley Jr seems very satisfied with what according to you is 10 times worse than what you have.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Unreliable? How about doing an experiment for yourself. Go on the internet and buy a cheap small solar panel. One powerful enough to light a small flashlight bulb or something like that. Hook them both together and set it out in the sun. Or maybe in the shadow of a house. Tell me if it ever fails to work as long as the sun is out.

Tell me if it ever fails to work as long as the sun is out.

Natural gas plants provide electricity 24/7.
How much electricity does your panel provide at midnight?

 

[Crick]

you

~S~

So, you can't name any.

 

[goodluck]

Aahhhhh yes, the typical response.

Which solar company do YOU work for?

And where do you propose we get the 100 trillion dollars to take us onto solar power?

100,000,000,000,000

Where?

Ah, the old lying ass scare tactic approach. How interesting. But I just looked it up. It would only cost around 4 to 7 trillion dollars to switch the entire U.S. to solar energy. Also, each year the U.S. spends over 2 billion dollars on imported oil. Along with 81 billion to protect oil producing countries. So after about 10 years, going solar would pay for itself in that regard. If we also switched to electric cars.

 

[goodluck]

My electric bill was cut by half. I had a huge house and five kids. ... My system was just hot water. It saved me $150 a month.

That's good. How much did your solar setup cost. And how long will it take your savings to cover that cost. After that, you will be in good shape.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

I don't live in a house. Also, I take it you are also against electric cars. Tell me, about how much do you spend on gasoline each month. I bet it comes out to a pretty penny. Just imagine if you didn't have to pay that each month. And what if you had solar panels to recharge it. Even more money saved. Also, any number of things can go wrong with an internal combustion engine or transmission. Though it rarely happens, when it does, it costs plenty to fix. With an electric car you don't have to worry about any of those expenses. Or antifreeze, oil change, or air or oil filter. Which means even more money saved.

Also, I take it you are also against electric cars.

If you want to buy an electric car, feel free.

Just imagine if you didn't have to pay that each month. And what if you had solar panels to recharge it.

Imagine if I spent $20K or more for solar panels and then plugged in my car after work.
How many hours of sunlight are left to recharge? How much did I waste...err...spend on the electric car?

With an electric car you don't have to worry about any of those expenses. Or antifreeze, oil change, or air or oil filter.

What's the range on my electric car during a Chicago winter? And how much recharging are my snow-covered panels giving me when it's dark when I leave home and dark when I return?

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Ah, the old lying ass scare tactic approach. How interesting. But I just looked it up. It would only cost around 4 to 7 trillion dollars to switch the entire U.S. to solar energy. Also, each year the U.S. spends over 2 billion dollars on imported oil. Along with 81 billion to protect oil producing countries. So after about 10 years, going solar would pay for itself in that regard. If we also switched to electric cars.

How many nuclear reactors should we build to back up your unreliable solar?

 

[goodluck]

Dream on buddy. Try NE WA in late Dec, Jan. and Feb. I've lived here for 11 years and the neighbors can't keep their batteries charged during that time and the cost of more solar panels and batteries has been ridiculous. LOL, solar might make it in the southwest, but in the northern tier states it is throwing money down the crapper.

Sounds like your neighbors just need more solar panels. Now if you want to talk about a state where they wouldn't work well, I would say Alaska.

 

[goodluck]

Tell me if it ever fails to work as long as the sun is out.

Natural gas plants provide electricity 24/7.
How much electricity does your panel provide at midnight?

You have to store excess electricity during the day for use at night. But that aside, all you naysayers are missing the point. Sure, it all isn't easy or cheap to do. But when the alternative is DEATH, it becomes easy and affordable.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

You have to store excess electricity during the day for use at night. But that aside, all you naysayers are missing the point. Sure, it all isn't easy or cheap to do. But when the alternative is DEATH, it becomes easy and affordable.

Geez, how much money do I have to waste to get this "free electricity"?

Sure, it all isn't easy or cheap to do. But when the alternative is DEATH, it becomes easy and affordable.

How many nuclear reactors should we build to back up your unreliable solar?