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All the power lines in my area are under ground and in the 15 years I have lived here I have never had a lose of power. Besides I do have emergency power back up, so even if I lost power it's not a big problem.
Grid power in our town goes down at least once every month. I am on a portion of our road that has power lines, about half our road has no power lines. Vast majority of parcels in our town have no access to power lines.
As I understand it, running power lines below grade is a lot more expensive, so it is only economic if homes are close together. How many miles apart are homes in your town? How far to the nearest neighbor? I think that it is not economic to bury cable in a rural area. It only makes sense in a city.
It is all SOLAR......well, actually hydro. But without the sun the water cycle would not function.
Chelan County, Washington. We have the second lowest electric rates in the country at .027 KwH. The lowest are across the Columbia River in Douglas County at .023 Kwh. When we moved from Douglas County to Chelan County I was shocked at the increase in my bill and did call to complain. I cannot imagine paying .06 Kwh.
Here is the article that explains everything. That surplus electricity has also paid for municipal broadband systems in all three counties.
You defiantly have the cheapest rates, that I know of. With rates this low, the smartest people would have an all electric home. Hydro has always been the cheapest way to produce power.
Grid power in our town goes down at least once every month. I am on a portion of our road that has power lines, about half our road has no power lines. Vast majority of parcels in our town have no access to power lines.
As I understand it, running power lines below grade is a lot more expensive, so it is only economic if homes are close together. How many miles apart are homes in your town? How far to the nearest neighbor? I think that it is not economic to bury cable in a rural area. It only makes sense in a city.
I live in a private area of about 30 homes, all homes have 2-20 acres. Surrounding this area is all farm land. The nearest town is 3 miles with a population of 2400. My nearest neighbor is about 100 yards and my second nearest is about 200 yards. I can not see any of my neighbors because the whole area is virgin woods.
I've seen several articles claiming that solar is nearly competitive to power off the grid. My guess is, that if this was true, then there would be a lot more options available. I would think, if it was almost as cheap as power from the local power company, that you could buy kits or systems that could be assembled and set up. Apparently, that's not the case.
You're still comparing apples with oranges here.
You're not willing to give up the grid. As long as you are connected, you will continue your wasteful habits - leaving lights on in rooms where no one is using, buying bigger refrigerators than you actually need, running laundry machines with a half load or less, leaving small appliances plugged in when not in use - because you know that the power is there, and you can afford to pay the bill. You have no real incentive to cut back. The grid is simply too convenient, and too many people are 'addicted' to available power.
If you were living off the grid, the first time the batteries ran out of power in the middle of the evening, you would learn how much (rather, how little) power you really need. If you purchased only enough solar to power what you really need, the cost would be ridiculously low. Whoever posted here that they'd need to spend $75K on a solar array, was trying to replicate what they'd use while connected to the grid. When you're not connected, you don't need all that power. Ask me how I know.
You're not willing to give up the grid. As long as you are connected, you will continue your wasteful habits - leaving lights on in rooms where no one is using, buying bigger refrigerators than you actually need, running laundry machines with a half load or less, leaving small appliances plugged in when not in use - because you know that the power is there, and you can afford to pay the bill. You have no real incentive to cut back. The grid is simply too convenient, and too many people are 'addicted' to available power.
Off-grid....you become addicted to sunshine. You wait for a sunny day to do the laundry. Even a half load is done since tomorrow might be cloudy.
And then when the generator comes on the recharge the batteries.....you party like 1999!!! Run the laundry, turn on the stereo to high, turn on the TV, run the vacuum cleaner, etc. etc.
So it is just a "different" addiction.
But your point is well taken....conservation. Everybody can live like they are on solar!! It is really simple and you save gobs of money if you live in a high cost area for electricity!!!
When we move to Arizona I won't take my solar panels, but I will take my LED lights, barrier strips, and propane furnace, stove, and fridge.
You're not willing to give up the grid. As long as you are connected, you will continue your wasteful habits - leaving lights on in rooms where no one is using, buying bigger refrigerators than you actually need, running laundry machines with a half load or less, leaving small appliances plugged in when not in use - because you know that the power is there, and you can afford to pay the bill. You have no real incentive to cut back. The grid is simply too convenient, and too many people are 'addicted' to available power.
If you were living off the grid, the first time the batteries ran out of power in the middle of the evening, you would learn how much (rather, how little) power you really need. If you purchased only enough solar to power what you really need, the cost would be ridiculously low. Whoever posted here that they'd need to spend $75K on a solar array, was trying to replicate what they'd use while connected to the grid. When you're not connected, you don't need all that power. Ask me how I know.
You have an interesting post. I'll agree, that some of your observations are right. We do leave on some things like clocks that run all the time. We run the aircleaners most of the time because of my wife's allergies. I also leave on nights at light for safety. BUt you sound kind of judgmental. How do you know if I have a big refrigerator? In fact, I don't. And we don't leave on lights we don't need. I'm actually a bit of a miser when it comes to household expenses. But I'm also realistic. And summer time in Texas means we need central air to survive. Solar power is not going to be able to run an AC system to cool a 2000 sq. Ft. house when its 105 and the evening cools down to 97 or its still 80 when the sun comes up. You'd need one heck of huge solar system and big batteries to run it.
So before you jump on people, you might consider that you don't know their exact circumstances, and maybe slow down a little before you condemn people that aren't like you.
........... We do leave on some things like clocks that run all the time. We run the aircleaners most of the time because of my wife's allergies. I also leave on nights at light for safety............
So before you jump on people, you might consider that you don't know their exact circumstances, and maybe slow down a little before you condemn people that aren't like you.
Replace your clocks with ones that run on ONE AA battery. I replace those batteries every six months.
Outside lights at night do absolutely nothing for safety!!! Replace those with motion detector lights.
Don't forget to put the TV's on barrier strips.
Get one of these and find out how much that STUFF is costing you to run 24/7. You might be surprise how much "extra" money you have at the end of the month.
It is not judgemental......those are such minor things. Try them. You won't notice it.
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