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I currently live in MA and plan on relocating to NH but this is something that MA may do in the near future that is actually worth its weight. Does NH have something like what MA is planning?
The short term investment may be a bit pricey but the long term savings may be worthwhile. Has or is anyone planning on partial or full conversion to alternative fuel?
This is really interesting to me too. I'm from the UK and here there is a steady ramping up of renewable energy schemes, from off-shore wind to solar panels to biomass powerstations.
I think its taken off quicker in the UK because everything is closer together, and we are already a crowded island, so there is a real need to get more of our energy from renewable sources instead of relying on unstable middle east countries for oil etc, or gas from Russia etc. The UK is lucky in that it gets a lot of wind and waves, especially on the west coast of Scotland.
I'm not sure if its the same in the US, but over here if you generate your own electricity (with solar panels or whatever), then any excess you make you sell back to the power companies! Brilliant!
There's no doubt that when I build my house I'll design it with this in mind so that I have no bills, and instead receive money from the power company every month!!!
I never said it would affect where I move to but because I currently live in MA and this is making headlines I was just wondering if NH has something similar to this in place.
I never said it would affect where I move to but because I currently live in MA and this is making headlines I was just wondering if NH has something similar to this in place.
Staying on topic but switching gears here, what have people done to conserve energy, whether it is to save $$ or the environment?
I drive over 150 miles a day, I sold my SUV and bought a vehicle that get about 35mpg. Plus, as my light bulbs blow I am changing them with compact flourescent lighting that has a 7 year life expectancy. They are a little more costly but if they do in fact last close to 7 years than it will be well worth the investment. Another thing that my family has done is that we do not turn our thermostat above 62 degrees. It is perfect for us because we are cold weather people but it is a little cold for some so we turn it up when we have company.
Changed almost all of my lights with CF bulbs. Especially lights that are on all the time like the kids rooms, the bathroom, the outside lights, the kitchen, the dining room, the livingroom, the garage, the basement, the laundry room, the hallway, the deck, the...............yep, just about all of them!!! I have already seen a drop in kw/hr usage. We also unplugged the fridge downstairs. We really don't use it that much. That will help I'm sure.
Staying on topic but switching gears here, what have people done to conserve energy, whether it is to save $$ or the environment?
I bring my own canvas/cloth bags to the store.
Reusable containers in my son's lunch (since he was in preschool...& he brings 'em back home too).
Walk my son to school instead of drive 95% of the time...in fact, most days don't use the car at all.
Home: new roof, insulated the rooms that went down to studs, new windows, new appliances, only replaced one bulb w/ CF so far, still trying to teach my boys to turn off things when not in use...now if I can just turn off this dang computer & save some more energy.
Oh, conserving water... I don't let it run wastefully. Well, my plants are dying, 'cuz I neglect them, so at least I'm saving water, right?!
nickjs: There's quite a few homes that take advantage of solar panels here in California too. I believe in Paso Robles there's enough heat in the summer to have excess power that gets bought back...at least that's what I've heard.
I'm glad you're all interested in this topic. My husband and I are considering a solar home in N.H. and are doing research into this.
I just don't have any desire to live in a huge 5,000 s.f. home that requires a lot of oil, and a lot of maintenance (and too many bathrooms to clean!). And I have an idea that those houses are going to be hard to sell in the near future. The soaring cost of gas and oil and all the information about global warming are going to scare people away from big homes.
We have been looking at passive solar houses - does anyone have experience living in one? It would be great to hear from someone whose house doesn't have a furnace but stays comfy all winter in N.H. We also want some solar panels for hot water and electricity. It would be great to make more electricity than you use and put it back into the grid for your neighbors!
I hope the US gets on board with the alternative energy movement like England, spain and Denmark - they're way ahead of us. I also hear that the Chinese are going to become the largest manufacturers of solar panels which is disappointing to me. We need these good jobs here in this country. I'd like to see our economy get a boost with building alternative energy(wind turbines, solar panels) and I read about a proposal for a green jobs movement, where we would put out-of-work young people to work installing home insulation and other energy saving things like planting trees. Sort of like the "CCC" program back in the 30s. They built a lot of our national parks and I think they did a lot of the Cannon Mt trail work too.
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great topic
