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How hard would it be to build your own windmill or solar panel? Save money that way . It couldnt cost as much as it would to buy it.
DIY plans to make them are available all over the internet. During the hippie era there were homemade wind turbines made of car alternators with oil barrel vanes dotting the rural landscape, but they aren't very efficient. The reason wind power has been catching on lately is because high tech designs are far more efficient.
DIY solar panel designs using surplus pv cells with surplus blems are a way to save some money, although they are labor intensive to make and to wire up, and they aren't so attractive these days with commercial panels selling for below $1 per output watt.
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What about the ones that are human powered , attached to a bike or treadmill or something like that?
They are great for kids science fair projects, or charging cell phones.
Properly facing a home to take advantage of passive solar energy and super insulating it goes a long way toward saving energy. Add high-efficiency heating/cooling systems and energy-efficient appliances and the costs drop significantly. If you have a good renewable supply or access to hardwood an efficient wood stove/dual fuel furnace can further reduce costs and dependency. You don't need expensive solar and wind components.
If you have a good renewable supply or access to hardwood an efficient wood stove/dual fuel furnace can further reduce costs and dependency.
But hardwood smoke is a highly toxic carcinogen, and wood smoke is a pollutant, so many people are turning to energy resources that do not have the drawbacks, like solar and wind power.
But hardwood smoke is a highly toxic carcinogen, and wood smoke is a pollutant, so many people are turning to energy resources that do not have the drawbacks, like solar and wind power.
You need to stop considering your particular situation, in a cold weather climate at best those solar panels or windmills are going to help power your primary heat which is going to be natural gas, oil, coal, wood or even a geothermal system. When it's 0 out, that's your choices whether it's one of them or a combination. I purposely left out standard electric because it would cost a fortune with solar or wind.
There is certainly going to be concerns about wood stoves in many denser populated areas and specific areas where smoke gets "trapped" but overall compared to forest fires it's a drop in the bucket. Much of that wood may even be harvested in areas where it's going to get burned up naturally anyway. Removing it and using it as firewood is a win/win situation because we have disrupted the natural fire process over the last century (yes I'm pointing my finger at you Smokey). That has left enormous amounts of fuel on the forest floor and it's devastating to forests when fires do occur.
You need to stop considering your particular situation, in a cold weather climate at best those solar panels or windmills are going to help power your primary heat which is going to be natural gas, oil, coal, wood or even a geothermal system. When it's 0 out, that's your choices whether it's one of them or a combination. I purposely left out standard electric because it would cost a fortune with solar or wind.
Not if the electricity is abundant enough and cheap enough. The solar and wind energy potential for Texas alone is more than enough to power the whole country. Not everyone needs solar panels on the roof in order for all to benefit from the technology.
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There is certainly going to be concerns about wood stoves in many denser populated areas and specific areas where smoke gets "trapped" but overall compared to forest fires it's a drop in the bucket. Much of that wood may even be harvested in areas where it's going to get burned up naturally anyway. Removing it and using it as firewood is a win/win situation because we have disrupted the natural fire process over the last century (yes I'm pointing my finger at you Smokey). That has left enormous amounts of fuel on the forest floor and it's devastating to forests when fires do occur.
That ignores the fact that woodsmoke is highly toxic, and people who depend on wood for heat have much worse health overall. It's a hidden cost of using woodstoves. A far better use for the fallen wood that can be harvested is to burn it in generator plants equipped with efficient smokestack scrubbers.
Not if the electricity is abundant enough and cheap enough.
Do you have any idea the size of the array and storage you would need to heat a house with solar panels? Here in Northeast PA the average 2000 sq. ft. home might need 1 million BTU's through the winter season and the average temp here is only just below freezing. . A newer home may be as little as 500K. Go do the math....
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The solar and wind energy potential for Texas alone is more than enough to power the whole country. Not everyone needs solar panels on the roof in order for all to benefit from the technology.
It's not cost competitive now and you're going to introduce whole new set of costs, inefficiencies and issues with storage.
[quote=thecoalman;37129655]Do you have any idea the size of the array and storage you would need to heat a house with solar panels? [quote]
Sorry I wasn't more clear... the solar panels don't need to be on your house. They can be in another state, connected by transmission lines. Or hydrogen can be generated, and trucked to your location. Or other variations. There is no absolute that NE homes have to use fossil fuels.
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It's not cost competitive now and you're going to introduce whole new set of costs, inefficiencies and issues with storage.
But that viewpoint is based on thinking that energy is scarce, when in fact it is not, in the big picture. Develop enough renewable energy resources and it will cease to be a concern.
Sorry I wasn't more clear... the solar panels don't need to be on your house. They can be in another state, connected by transmission lines.
Do you have any idea the size of the array and storage you would need to heat houses in colder climates with solar panels even if they are located in another state? LOL
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