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A friend of mine in Concord, New Hampshire, has been selling electricity to the utility from a solar voltaic array on the roof of her 100+ year old victorian house. She also has a thermal collector that provides heat to the domenstic hot water and should, during this winter, supply heat energy to the heating system.
These systems work but have to be made larger than in a sunnier part of the country for the same amount of energy collected.
Depends on your system. We live in far north Idaho and we lived on solar power for 7 years. We're grid-tied now but our PV panels still provide the lions share of our electricity. Our power bill last month was $14.00. And we've been running a free-standing air conditioner.
Depends on your system. We live in far north Idaho and we lived on solar power for 7 years. We're grid-tied now but our PV panels still provide the lions share of our electricity. Our power bill last month was $14.00. And we've been running a free-standing air conditioner.
Mistyriver...you know I think the world of you so don't take this the wrong way, but I think you are so successful, not simply because of your lattitude, but because of your commitment to economize. I've seen pictures of your home and its beautiful, but also effecient. I think this is the key to any instalation....reduce...reduce...reduce consumption, and then make a system work.
But the Northeast, with its snow and winter fog (called sea smoke) would put a damper on solar energy days. But the angle of the sun makes it powerful when it does hit the collector.
I experimented with solar on our first house back in the early '80s. Mine was somewhat unconventional in that it wasn't on the roof, and had two Green Ash trees in front of it.
I built two 4 foot by 8 foot boxes out of wood. I believe I used 1x8 for the sides. To the back of each I added a corrugated metal sheet I painted flat black. The front was a corrugated fiberglass sheet that was a very pale green color. Between the two were wood fillers that matched the corrugation so there was a tight fit. Each filler alternately stopped short at the top and bottom of the units so the air was forced to travel a longer route. There was a fan controlled by a thermostat to come on at 110 degrees that sucked air from the house, through both units, and back into the house.
The units were connected to make a 4 by 16 foot unit that sat on the ground at the front (south) of our house. I painted it to match the house and it was very unobtrusive.
It pulled air from the basement floor and blew it back out in the kitchen through an opening in the baseboard under the sink. This location was chosen because of where I could place the solar unit.
In the middle of an Iowa winter, on a sunny day, with the unit partially shaded by the leafless trees we would get 100 degree air (plus or minus) blowing into the kitchen for 3 to 5 hours a day. depending.
I put an old electric clock in the circuit so I knew how long it ran each day since I was at work. I checked the temps on weekends.
I don't remember how much it cost, but it wasn't much or I wouldn't have built it. We were pretty strapped for cash back then. I do remember my wife being very happy with the utility bills!
Edit: I should explain that this was a 1200 sq ft ranch with an open plan.
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