Community Chat

[SilleeMee]

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@Icegoddess wrote:

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@SilleeMee wrote:

I have a close friend who lives in a very rural area just outside of Abilene and she tells me all the time about how hot it's been there. She also says that her power goes out during extreme conditions. Now she's considering getting solar panels put on her house. I told her that would be a great idea especially when her electrical power fails. She's looking into government-assistance programs for residential solar systems. I understand that some are free. She cannot afford a whole-house generator, like Generac, so solar would be the way to go for her.

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@SilleeMee I have not read all the answers, so don't know if anybody responded but something your friend should know about solar power.  If she signs a deal with the electric company to hook up to the grid, the power company can take the power she is generating with her solar panels and divert it to places they feel more worthy.  She may get paid back for her excess power that they buy from her, but many places are now instituting a minimum usage fee on their power bills.  

As a result, some friends of mine did not put their solar on the grid and power some of their house with their solar panels and the rest is the power company. However, I would imagine that the AC, being one of the larger consumers of power, is probably coming from the power company.  

Just some food for thought and to research.

Hubby has been thinking about solar also due to rolling power outages spreading across the country and not only CA anymore.  With more turining to EV's and the like, unless the grid is upgraded, it will not be able to fully accommodate eveything at once.  We also have a lot of trees, but there is some roof-line that gets sun at least half the day I think since we don't have tall trees to the west.  

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@Icegoddess 

Thanks for that info about how the solar energy is allocated and used. I will convey that to my friend in Texas about that. She is very knowledgeable but I'll mention it to her anyway. Thanks.

[ThinkingOutLoud]

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@JamandBread wrote:

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@ninjawife wrote:

What are people supposed to do when everyone supposedly has an electric car?  Some ideas are just not well thought out. 

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Can you still gas up your car in Texas if you lose power? Here, if the power goes out, gas stations can't pump either.

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The thing is though, you can store a bit of gas in a gas can. Don't know of a way to store extra electricity.

[Spurt]

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@granddi wrote:

On Monday Texas's Independent Power Grid came within 0.61% of its capacity. The 10 day forecast shows no break in the heat. Rangers stadium increased inside temp from 72 to 75. I'm setting in my house with every fan on plus the AC, few lights only window lighting. It's getting critical here.

ERCOT (power company) said "we just didn't know it was going to be this bad!"

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@granddi 

And wasnt it "smart" to encourage sales of and to add all those electric cars to a grid thats already straining....SMH!!!  🙄  And then theres that new electric company headquarters building here that sets their thermostat at 65!!!! 

Meanwhile I conserve as they ask with my thermostat at 78 to 80....with fans, dont run major appliances during peak energy periods like washer/dryers/dishwasher/oven etc etc etc...And only one LED light on...and I do this  primarily because I want to keep my bill affordable!!! 

Sorry, but we are not ready to "go green".................

[deepwaterdotter]

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@ThinkingOutLoud wrote:

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@JamandBread wrote:

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@ninjawife wrote:

What are people supposed to do when everyone supposedly has an electric car?  Some ideas are just not well thought out. 

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Can you still gas up your car in Texas if you lose power? Here, if the power goes out, gas stations can't pump either.

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The thing is though, you can store a bit of gas in a gas can. Don't know of a way to store extra electricity.

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Can solar and wind energy be stored for later use?   

[SilleeMee]

Where I live, Colorado, builders put a lot of efforts into insulating and weatherproofing homes and buildings. In fact I hired an environmental specialist to come to my house and evaluate it for energy efficiency. From there I did some upgrading with more insulation in my attic and walls, all new insulated windows and doors. I replaced my furnace and hot water tank with ones that use less energy.

All that took several years to complete but in the end it made a huge difference in the comfort level inside my home plus my utility bill dropped significantly. Of all the improvements I did there I have to say that the attic insulation was worth every penny and some. That proved to show the most drastic difference inside my home when compared to what it was like before. Second to that was the window upgrade where they told me 30% of heat transfer in and out of the house happens through windows....wow.

[Spurt]

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@SharkE wrote:

I thought they fixed that after what happened last yr.

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@SharkE 

I dont know about your city but ours did a thorough investigation and found that many upgrades that were supposed to made but were never done....yet the CEO of the energy company here received HUGE bonuses one alone was $450,000.....and the citizens got socked with 2 major rate increases....

[ThinkingOutLoud]

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@SilleeMee wrote:

Where I live, Colorado, builders put a lot of efforts into insulating and weatherproofing homes and buildings. In fact I hired an environmental specialist to come to my house and evaluate it for energy efficiency. From there I did some upgrading with more insulation in my attic and walls, all new insulated windows and doors. I replaced my furnace and hot water tank with ones that use less energy.

All that took several years to complete but in the end it made a huge difference in the comfort level inside my home plus my utility bill dropped significantly. Of all the improvements I did there I have to say that the attic insulation was worth every penny and some. That proved to show the most drastic difference inside my home when compared to what it was like before. Second to that was the window upgrade where they told me 30% of heat transfer in and out of the house happens through windows....wow.

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Sounds great but not everyone can afford that.

[Spurt]

I hate to disillusion those of you on the National 

Grid that think you are "safe" but you aren't....

Just look at what's going on in California...... And even in the other States on the National Grid your individual States are still responsible to maintain a certain level of aedequate power.... During the Texas February artic storm when we lost power and water 3 states were supposed to help us---Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma---but those States started to experience their own grid problems and were having to do rolling blackouts themselves....  And all Grids are very vunerable to hacking .......

The challenge facing state policymakers is how to craft policies that promote cost-effective investment in the electric system while allowing innovative technologies and new energy management approaches to flourish and compete in a rapidly shifting environment. This effort will require states to adapt their policy regimes and infrastructure, which were designed for a centralized energy grid with one-way energy flows from large, centralized power plants to customers. Instead, they must craft policy that will function with a less centralized electric system that incorporates multi-directional energy flows between energy providers and customers (or between customers) and includes a far greater number of participants. Significant infrastructure upgrades will be required to address the needs of an evolving energy network.

[SilleeMee]

@ThinkingOutLoud 

I was fortunate enough to qualify for a government weatherization program (DOE) where they help homeowners upgrade their homes in order to conserve energy. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which few homeowners get to experience. I am so grateful for all that was done...believe me. No way I could have afforded all of it but only a part of it maybe.

[Spurt]

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@ThinkingOutLoud wrote:

I read that part of the issue is not enough wind for the wind turbines. Seems green energy isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

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@ThinkingOutLoud 

Not only that, but weather plays a part with solar too....and what the heck are they going to do with these HUGE (Ive seen them up close along the Texas coast) when its time to replace them...and the used solar panels too....as well as lithioum batteries on the electric cars...It seems we are trading one set of problems for others....SMH