do-the-math
An email follows and there are many I receive that are most similar to this one.. perhaps the Author will be angry when he sees it here, but I have deleted some specifics and changed his name.
Hey George,
To add further to my plight in search of large flywheel type engines, I have also added a very old steam engine. I will be picking one up that ran a compressor. This will take some time to restore, as well as sourcing a boiler at some point.
I have had some interesting scenarios play out where I live and more to the point I don’t enjoy my monthly power bill, and certainly don’t enjoy the power failing every single time the wind blows.
My goal is to be completely off grid and lower my monthly power expenses at any cost.
It appears to me to be a wise investment. I certainly can do better keeping the
lights on.
Mike
What’s of interest is the area that Mike lives… the fact that we currently have very favorable hydro rates where we enjoy one of the lower costs per KWH. Our Governor and other local politicians are doing all they can to raise our costs, installing wind farms, offering insane incentives and subsidies that we tax payers and rate payers MUST tender.
Here’s my point, at the moment, you are foolish to think you can ever compete with the power company and their huge economies of scale. It may be a while before the Politicians who use the Green Energy Scam to funnel money into the pockets of their supporters can siphon off enough to make your efforts worth while. If you look at the huge amount of money per gallon of gasoline that goes to the ethanol producers now, you might get an idea what will eventually happen with electrical power, it’s a source of money politicians want access to, and the flow of these revenues, subsidies, surtaxes, tax breaks will be so complicated, you’ll be hard pressed to follow the money back into the pockets of their supporters, yes in most cases, more corporate welfare, and of course Democrats think their representatives have no part of it! Yes, it was just two days ago, the President landed here to attend a $35,000 a couple lunch. He represents the little guy you know 🙂
Think about that big wind farm in Ellensberg, is it making a profit? Do you understand the subsidies, tax incentives, write-offs, depreciation schedules? You will understand the consequences when you can no longer afford to heat your castle on a cold winter day.
You’ve go to do the math before you invest, and some generator plants are so expensive that even free fuel will not allow them to compete with 8.5 cents a KWH commercial power, once you realistically add in the cost of maintenance, lube oil changes, repairs, etc.
Do the Math! It’s typical that a solar power plant will not pay for itself in 30 years here in Western Washington, so the dishonest, corrupt, and naive promise you a monthly check to buy an exceedingly poor investments like this. Let us pray that these payments are revocable, let us pray that those who buy into this crap suffer the consequences, not all of us who know better.
Of course, a Solar install where you do all of the install, build your own racks, and buy panels and equipment for the better price might cost half as much, and this changes everything.. it really is a DIYers game in areas where the sun doesn’t shine with intensity much of the year.
So we close on this statement:
“My goal is to be completely off grid and lower my monthly power expenses at any cost.”
What we all need realize is this (at any cost) mention is the President’s goal as well. Matters not if it bankrupts the nation, destroys the economy and leaves all of us poor and destitute. The most unused utencil in America is the pencil! That’s why politicians get away with what they do.
GB
One thing DIY solar power has going for it in the cost area is when it is treated as an investment for retirement. That is get it working “at any cost” so that you can have enough power for your modest needs and not be at the mercy of future price increases. A lot of financal investments might not keep up and provide the funds needed to purchase power, especially if the socialists are successful in dismantling the economy.
Something I sometimes forget in the weighing of grid and offgrid are fees the power company adds. In nc I was paying $10-15 in fees on my electric bill 7-8 years ago before leaving the grid. I was fairly frugal even then, using $15 worth of electricity. That doubles the price. 20-30 cents per kwhr unless you use enough to shrink the proportion of fees.
George,
The obvious solution to our energy problem is to create huge wind farms then take that energy and burn it to make light that we can shine on to a large array of solar panels and then use that power to run large distillers to make ethanol.
All of the excess electricity can be saved into the atmosphere by boiling water to make clouds that will produce rain which we can then reclaim as hydro.
A side benefit is that we can hire all the unemployed OWSers to stand under then wind mills and make eagle/bat Mcnuggets to feed the homeless
It is really simple you see,
Go ahead and Laugh Greg, I’ve met a few who would take you dead serious….