We are now harnessing the power of the sun! If you're going to do it, Arizona is the perfect place. While it doesn't take us completely off the grid, it does qualify for the renewable energy incentive from the power company. (When I say "we" and "us" I really mean my mom and her husband, as this is not my house - I just occupy the guest room. haha!)
How does it work? Well, I'm not going to go into the complex details (because I don't know them), but I can give you the basics. Our solar produces, on average and estimate 1/3 of the electricity we use. So we do still get power from the power company for that extra 2/3. If we happen to produce more energy than we use, it gets sent/sold/banked back to the power company.
Pretty cool stuff - even if you don't fully understand it, much like myself. One of the workers was kind enough to pose for a picture with one of the panels. In total, we got 18 of these bad boys! He said they weighed around 35lbs each.
Weeee!
Weeee!
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ReplyDeleteHaha...this is so cool. Seriously, what's not cool about saving on your energy bill? Hm?
ReplyDeleteGreat work. I wish I could do that. All houses built in AZ should have mandatory Solar water heating and electricity. We waste such a valuable commodity.
ReplyDeleteHow cool is THAT?! I really wish we could do solar but we get freezing rain for large chunks of winter that it would freeze over the panels :(
ReplyDeleteThat is great that your parents are doing that. I wish I could do that once I own a home but I don't know how much it would make being in WA.
ReplyDeleteIt's very good idea!!!
ReplyDeleteS.O.S. - save our soils!!! I like your eco-thinking! :)
yeah, Solar power is pretty awesome! I like it. You're in a great place for it too. Actually anywhere in the US is a great place. Germany is one of the leading countries for solar power, and they get so much less sunlight than any part of the US. Yeah, I saw a map in a lecture I went to about solar power. I'm a nerd.
ReplyDeleteThat's really neat! I don't think it'd work too well here, at least not in the fall/winter! Great that you can do that, though :)
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