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..or just dumped in the river, lack of regulations is how you get "cheap" panels.
Or you could buy "medium" priced solar panels manufactured without dumping byproducts in the river?
“Facts fall from the poetic observer as ripe seeds.” -Henry Thoreau
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
Ugh, never said you did NOT need a car, but you can get some exercise and reduce the need to sit in traffic doing errands in town on a bike.
Try it before you knock it.
Who is pog and airport parking ? Is this a normal thing here to be confused with a another poster ?
Posts: 11,017
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Joined: Sep 2012
Years ago, I had a cat.
It was a scruffy critter left in our yard by someone who dumped her off on the side of the road. My daughter loved that cat, and the cat appreciated all the attention given to her by my young daughter, which honestly, boarded occasionally on feline abuse.
My daughter groomed that cat with brushes and combs, and the cat loved it.
She gave that cat bubble baths in a pan of warm water, and the cat purred in ecstasy.
After all of that, came the main event, the floor show. My daughter dressed kitty up in all manner of doll baby dresses, and the cat strolled around the house like a Parisian runway model.
I cranked up the tunes.
The moral of the story is that the cat always came back for more. Good attention, bad attention, the cat didn't care. The cat was a glutton for attention and would do anything to get it.
“Facts fall from the poetic observer as ripe seeds.” -Henry Thoreau
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
Posts: 5,640
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Yes, I'll be sure to do my Home Depot runs on my bicycle, great suggestion! Maybe parking near the airport would be a better idea?
That list of countries with % renewables is amazing. The Congo (DRC) reaches 99%, who would've thought?!
I'm always amazed that more people don't have solar here, it's almost a no-brainer, except for HELCO not being able to handle it.
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quote:
Originally posted by RWR
Ugh, never said you did NOT need a car, but you can get some exercise and reduce the need to sit in traffic doing errands in town on a bike.
Try it before you knock it.
Nope, I won't try it. Will not ride in busy traffic without a bike lane, or on the sidewalk. Am perfectly content walking for block after block downtown though.
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"I'm always amazed that more people don't have solar here"
With the exception of our solar hot water system, we invested in conservation instead. Our electricity bill is usually right around $100. Unless the rates change dramatically, the "pay off" for a grid-tie system is probably longer than what's left in my life span. And besides, Hawaii will be 100% "renewable" grid electricity by 2045 anyway. Or so they say. Two of the things that many people overlook in the "pay off" is the grid tie fee and that you'll be paying more property taxes because the solar system increases property value (aka, some government eventually gets those solar credits back). It's not a huge sum but in our case the grid tie fee alone is ~20% of our bill.
I'm betting, or at least hoping, that either (or both) the cost of energy storage plummets dramatically or that the price of solar cells drop (or efficiencies rise at current prices) and then I can get an off-grid solar system that matches my financial situation and energy requirements.
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Let's see if you can get a mother with a infant child to park her car at KTA and go do chores on bike, including laundry for the family, then return to car and trek home.
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Our electricity bill is usually right around $100.
Mine is $0. System cost: $10K. Payoff: 8.3 years. Off-grid: priceless.
I'm sure someone can find fault with my math ... but I'm still not paying HELCO.
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Batteries are the weak point, but battery technology has come a long way and is continuing to improve. With grid tie-in you will still be a slave to Helco and subject to any power outages they have. Off-grid is the way to go. The only way you will know that that Helco is having outages is when you see your neighbors' lights all go out at the same time.
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I say I let you drive your vehicle if you let me drive my future truck. Hopefully won't this technology get legislated out of existence-
http://fortune.com/2016/08/14/nissan-gas...-obsolete/
So hopefully can release the excess diesel to the airlines and make air travel cheaper?? But I dream about a truck and a generator with this tech.
