How will Obama's new coal buring rules
- Thread starter EERs 3:16
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I'm planning on going solar in the Spring, so the first answer is very little. I also have a windfarm close by so some of my electrical use via coal is already offset to a degree.
Impact on climate change? Depends on where you stand. If you don't think humans are influencing climate change then your answer is going to be zero. Even if you do think humans are influencing climate change then the answer is that this action in itself will have very little impact. However, it shows the US taking the lead and it might help other countries to get in line and follow. That will be the ultimate impact if those dominoes fall.
However, it shows the US taking the lead and it might help other countries to get in line and follow. [/QUOTE]
Assuming that manmade greenhouse gases are contributing to climate change, this is the big thing out of all of this. I don't think that what the prez did yesterday will have much of an effect on my electric bill.
Assuming that manmade greenhouse gases are contributing to climate change, this is the big thing out of all of this. I don't think that what the prez did yesterday will have much of an effect on my electric bill.
Let us know how the solar goes. My wife's Grandfather put in a small system years ago and even though it hasn't fully paid for itself yet, he has seen a drop in his electric bill plus he gets a check each quarter for his energy credits. I've been hearing however that insurance companies are starting to balk on coverage for solar systems as many have been installed improperly leading to fire and roof damage.
Assuming that manmade greenhouse gases are contributing to climate change, this is the big thing out of all of this. I don't think that what the prez did yesterday will have much of an effect on my electric bill.[/QUOTE]
It'll have some impact. Just like the Chesapeake Watershed has had a huge impact on utility bills here in this area, as local utilities are forced to raise rates to come into compliance.
I don't know how these things work. They're talking about things that will happen in 2020 and 2030. And Obama is doing this himself, without Congress and from what I read Congress could undo this if they had enough votes to override Obama's veto that would surely come, but they don't.
Obama has 1.5 years left. What if a Republican wins the Presidency in 2016? Since Obama was able to do this stuff just because he decided it and since it doesn't happen for 10 or 15 years, can't a Republican POTUS just decide to undo it?
Obama has 1.5 years left. What if a Republican wins the Presidency in 2016? Since Obama was able to do this stuff just because he decided it and since it doesn't happen for 10 or 15 years, can't a Republican POTUS just decide to undo it?
What kind of system did he install? Obviously it must be grid-tied if he's getting credits, but did he do the storage also? Did he get a micro-inverter system or are all the panels fed into a single inverter?
I hadn't heard that about insurance companies. Thanks for that, I'll have to check into it.
My plan is to do a grid-tie system with the micro-inverters, and then eventually also add in battery storage. I'm kinda waiting on Tesla's Gigafactory on the batteries to see what happens with prices there. Presumably they will come down. I'm very debt-averse and won't have the cash to do everything all at once. The micro-inverter systems make for easy expansion also, so I could even start out with just a $1k-$2k system and expand over time.
I did all the calculations and looked at the solar irradiance charts for my location and looked at average monthly consumption over the last couple of years. With my available south facing roof area, I should be able to produce more than I use in Summer, a little less than I use in Winter, and then more or less break even in Spring and Fall.
That's not the point. Suppose the courts rule it constitutional. Can't the next POTUS just undo it if he wants to? Why is it big news that a POTUS is changing the rules about what things will be like in 2030 when we know we'll have at least two more POTUSs before then?
Yeah, he's tied to the grid, but does not have any battery storage. So, in the event of a power outage the panels won't be of any assistance to him. The company he had install it though was the one that set up the energy credit deal. It was something he wasn't expecting, so was a nice little bonus to him.
I've thought about a system where I live, so that in the Winter if we lose power for a couple days I can have enough to power my well pump and a few appliances.
One thing that's occurred to me through all of this is the idea of the whole house generators. Yes, there are sometimes where you lose all power, but honestly they don't happen that often, at least not where I live. A couple of days every couple of years.
So, people spend $6k-$7k or more on these whole house generators that do absolutely nothing for them but sit there. There's almost no chance of them providing any ROI other than convenience.
If you took that same $6k-$7k and installed a solar system, you'd have at least some power if you lost everything, but more importantly, you'd be saving on energy costs 365 days a year. That system is working for you every single day, instead of just a few days once a year or every other year.
As for your grandfather-in-laws system. The system should still work for him if he loses the grid, it just won't do anything for him at night with no storage. Maybe that's what you meant.
We've installed some generators in the past, both residential and commercial, what people don't realize is a $6k generator is only going to power a little bit and use a ton of fuel.
Systems like my in-laws, that don't use a battery backup will not run in complete outages. Every local solar installer I've spoken with has told me that I need the battery backup if I want to be able to run on outages, and even then I may only get a day or two of running.
If you're grid tied, you won't have any power when the conventional grid local to you goes down. My dad has a nat gas generator that kicks on when the power goes out and it's crucial to him as he has COPD and depends on his electric powered oxygen concentrator. As I understand it, you must go off the grid for your solar power system to provide power all the time but you can't sell electric back to the power company that way. Also if the electric utilities get their way, selling electricity back to them may not last in its current form.
This could be something that WhiteTailEER may want to look into. Granted it's only 12.5 Amp at 120 Volts, it's better than nothing.
https://www2.buildinggreen.com/blogs/beating-achilles-heel-grid-tied-solar-electric-systems
You can install a hybrid system that is grid tied, but can also run off-grid. It requires an inverter that will disconnect from the grid when the grid goes down and run your house from your batteries. I assume the whole house generators must be installed with a similar type switching mechanism (but wouldn't be an inverter because the generators produce AC)
That's exactly what I was talking about, although I'm nearly 100% certain that I've seen some that can take more load than that.
Yes, see Mtneer's link but add the batteries and gear associated with making it a "hybrid" system and the costs add up. That would be the only system I would have but my electric bills are so low that I can't justify any of it. Best money I could spend right now is for a normal gasoline backup generator.
How is it on the gas though? At $2 a gallon, I'd hate to drain my tank and have to spend $1600 to refill it because the generator burned through it all during a weekend without power.
Haven't had to use it for a whole weekend and if I did it would be worth it. It also would not burn thru $1600 on a weekend.