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Old 06-22-2016, 11:28 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
12,287 posts, read 9,816,866 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wac_432 View Post
Cool, more fossil fuel use. More CO2 in the atmosphere slowly cooking us, and more slowly turning the seas to acid.

This is brilliant. Because its way better to pump our waste product into the biosphere to wreak planetary havoc than have it sitting in a solid state in casks on site or in a storage facility, where it might contaminate some nearby land, hundreds of years from now.
Modern reactors can use already spent fuel rods as a fuel source reducing waste levels by 80%, of course that would require build new nuclear power plants. God forbid that ever happened.
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Old 06-23-2016, 03:56 PM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,067,341 times
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In theory, I support nuclear power.

But a fault line is not the best place for a nuclear power plant.

Plus, we have enough days of sunshine in California that we could easily power the state with solar.
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Old 06-23-2016, 04:01 PM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,067,341 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shooting4life View Post
Modern reactors can use already spent fuel rods as a fuel source reducing waste levels by 80%, of course that would require build new nuclear power plants. God forbid that ever happened.
Well, it would also have the side effect of producing more plutonium which could in theory be refined and used to make a nuclear weapon. That's why former Naval submarine officer Jimmy Carter suspended all future plans for breeder reactors and reprocessing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by P. Andrew Karam, an adjunct professor of physics at the Rochester Institute of Technology
Although these fast neutrons are not as good at causing fission, they are readily captured by an isotope of uranium (U238), which then becomes plutonium (Pu239). This plutonium isotope can be reprocessed and used as more reactor fuel or in the production of nuclear weapons.
How do fast breeder reactors differ from regular nuclear power plants? - Scientific American

Personally I think breeders and reprocessing are excellent ideas. It just has to be highly secure, with involvement from the US Army and US Navy (the latter for their reactor experience, the former for their land combat experience).
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Old 06-23-2016, 08:31 PM
509
 
6,321 posts, read 7,037,074 times
Reputation: 9444
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutrino78x View Post

.........Plus, we have enough days of sunshine in California that we could easily power the state with solar........
We have owned a off-grid vacation rental for 20 years now. We advertise as a ECO place. But really, it is a PROPANE house that generates solar electricity ONLY for lights, computers, mircrowave, washer and well pump.

Everything else runs on propane.

You cannot run a modern house OR society on solar and wind. But it is cool technology. Love it...wouldn't trade it for the world.

Really solar and wind is just a scam to get taxpayer monies into private hands.

I looked at California's statistics....for every unit of solar and wind, the state builds FOUR units of natural gas generation capacity.....So does California have a solar and wind program OR a NATURAL GAS program?

It does sound cool.....but really nobody in the know believes it.
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Old 06-23-2016, 08:54 PM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,067,341 times
Reputation: 2158
Quote:
Originally Posted by 509 View Post
We have owned a off-grid vacation rental for 20 years now. We advertise as a ECO place. But really, it is a PROPANE house that generates solar electricity ONLY for lights, computers, mircrowave, washer and well pump.

Everything else runs on propane.

You cannot run a modern house OR society on solar and wind. But it is cool technology. Love it...wouldn't trade it for the world.
Sure you can, dude. Just because that particular home didn't doesn't mean that it is impossible. Lots of people live off grid using solar and using a large bank of batteries for power overnight (they charge it from solar during the day).

The reason everybody doesn't do that is that the panels are still a little bit expensive. Most people who live in suburban neighborhoods and install solar power use grid power at night instead of installing a large battery.

This page explains more about it, although the images don't work (at least not for me):

How to be 100 Percent Solar Powered - A&R Solar
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Old 06-23-2016, 09:21 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
12,287 posts, read 9,816,866 times
Reputation: 6509
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutrino78x View Post
Sure you can, dude. Just because that particular home didn't doesn't mean that it is impossible. Lots of people live off grid using solar and using a large bank of batteries for power overnight (they charge it from solar during the day).

The reason everybody doesn't do that is that the panels are still a little bit expensive. Most people who live in suburban neighborhoods and install solar power use grid power at night instead of installing a large battery.

This page explains more about it, although the images don't work (at least not for me):

How to be 100 Percent Solar Powered - A&R Solar
Solar is extreamly expensive, especially off the grid, battery banks have a whole host of environmental impacts as well. Plus solar panels have lots of heavy metals that is very harmful to the environment in their making and once they are landfilled.

Solar and wind power is mostly feel good proposals that are used to siphon tax dollars to chosen individuals and for people to show everyone else how green they are.
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Old 06-23-2016, 09:32 PM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,067,341 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shooting4life View Post
Solar is extreamly expensive,
I wouldn't characterize it as "extremely" expensive, but cost is the reason everybody isn't doing it. In 10-20 years all new homes will have it though.

Quote:
battery banks have a whole host of environmental impacts as well. Plus solar panels have lots of heavy metals that is very harmful to the environment in their making and once they are landfilled.
Both the batteries and the panels can be recycled.

Recycling Old Solar Panels: E-Waste Today, Gold Mines Tomorrow
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Old 06-24-2016, 09:42 AM
509
 
6,321 posts, read 7,037,074 times
Reputation: 9444
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutrino78x View Post
Sure you can, dude. Just because that particular home didn't doesn't mean that it is impossible. Lots of people live off grid using solar and using a large bank of batteries for power overnight (they charge it from solar during the day).

The reason everybody doesn't do that is that the panels are still a little bit expensive. Most people who live in suburban neighborhoods and install solar power use grid power at night instead of installing a large battery.

This page explains more about it, although the images don't work (at least not for me):

How to be 100 Percent Solar Powered - A&R Solar
Dude...you can't.

Here is what I run off the solar panels with a 1.5 kW system. After two days of cloudy weather the generator usually starts and runs for a couple of hours to recharge the batteries.

lights
microwave
stereo and TV
well pump
laptop

Here is what I run off the propane tank.

fridge
hot water heater
furnace
stove
oven
coffee maker!!
barbeque

You cannot run anything off solar panels that has a heating element. It takes too much energy. Take a look at the BTU's used by the above appliances. I bet you that the SOLAR BTU's are probably FIVE percent or less of the total energy consumption of the house.

BTW our in town house is 100% electric. How do you make up the difference with solar panels?? I believe EVEN if you roof the entire town....it won't get there.

We advertise our vacation home as an off-grid eco-home. But like most people living off the grid we really are a PROPANE house that generates some electricity using solar panels.

It is a nice house set on a high mountain meadow with elk and very few neighbors. You can rent it for $250/night a get a sense of what it takes to live in a "solar" house.

It is one thing to "advertise" tongue in cheek, but totally something else to set public policy on what basically is a lie.
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Old 06-25-2016, 10:55 AM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,067,341 times
Reputation: 2158
509, 1.5 kW is a very small system. You need at least 3.0 kW for your setup. It is expensive but it can be done. Many do it.
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Old 06-25-2016, 10:58 AM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,067,341 times
Reputation: 2158
Take this person's house in Australia as one of many examples. 5 kW system, it runs everything except their natural gas stove and oven. They have a plasma TV and clothes washer etc., all run off of solar.

https://theoffgridsolarhouse.com/system-specs/

Here's more examples, all 100% solar.

https://greenhomesforsale.com/catego...he-grid-homes/
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