Info on solar-powered houses

[vtqanh]

I have searched a lot on google but i haven't been able to find a good place for pictures and explanation on solar-powered houses. Anyone ever come across one?

 

[Zebo]

It's about 50K to be solar and you need an 1/2 acre for solar panels. Lost all my links with new OS instll but you'll find very quickly it's a complete waste unless you have a deep moral commitment to the enviroment. Good luck. Try googleing it's not that hard.

 

[vtqanh]

Originally posted by: Zebo
It's about 50K to be solar and you need an 1/2 acre for solar panels. Lost all my links with new OS instll but you'll find very quickly it's a complete waste unless you have a deep moral commitment to the enviroment. Good luck. Try googleing it's not that hard.

No, i'm not going for solar, it's very costly; i'm just doing some research!!! The thing is all the sites i came across only had pictures of the houses' roof. I need pictures of the battery, generator and other related devices.
Thanks

 

[todpod]

Motherearth news had a write probably about a year ago about this. Go to there web site at www.motherearthnews.com and you maybe able to find the issue they might have the article online to. I think they showed the entire setup.

 

[DannyBoy]

Dont you save money in the long run with not having an electricity bill?

Also dont you save money on things like UPS's for your pc 😛

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Solar panels are not good for the environment if that's what you are concerned abuot. It takes more energy to make them than they will ever produce, and there are toxic byproducts of manufacturer (I don't recall what they are).

 

[PowerMacG5]

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis
Solar panels are not good for the environment if that's what you are concerned abuot. It takes more energy to make them than they will ever produce, and there are toxic byproducts of manufacturer (I don't recall what they are).

Well, some of the components of the panels are made from PVC, which releases poisonous cholorine into the air when it is created.

 

[RU482]

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis
Solar panels are not good for the environment if that's what you are concerned abuot. It takes more energy to make them than they will ever produce, and there are toxic byproducts of manufacturer (I don't recall what they are).

kinda like hybrid electric cars!!

 

[ScottMac]

There's basically two flavors of solar: Power and heat.

Solar collectors heat a fluid that ultimately heats the house (through tubes/pipes in the floor) and can provide hot water.

Photovoltaic (PV) uses panels of "solar cells" to generate DC electricity. The solar DC usually charges a bank of batteries, then the battery power is either converted to AC with inverters, or the house is built to use DC (or some combination).

A friend of mine has a site DayCreek.com) where he journals the building of a 16 sided energy-efficient house, with Solar Heat. In the earlier entries, he describes how he decide to engineer the system, and the reasons for making the decisions he made.

I believe he also has links to other renewable energy sites.

The house is still being built (he's doing most of the work himself, building a Cordwood home in MN).

It's a pretty good read, he's been doing this for years.

FWIW

Scott

 

[Triumph]

ellis ownz you.

 

This house has been on the news many times

 

[vtqanh]

Originally posted by: Triumph
ellis ownz you.

😕 ?

ScottMac, Roger: Thanks for the links

 

[sharkeeper]

Also dont you save money on things like UPS's for your pc

HAHAHAH! That's gotta be the funniest thing I've heard in a long time!

Utility power is the most steady resource you'll ever have. When you start to produce your own power, things go quickly downhill from there!

Cheers!

 

[BatmanNate]

I heard today from one of our Xerox techs that he was intending to invest in geothermal heating/cooling for his house. Apparently they dig a ten ft deep trench under the yard or house and run pipes through which water or glycol or some other liquid circulate and apparently it uses the earth's warmth (below the frost level) in the winter and the Earth's cool in the summer to heat/cool the house. He says it is more efficient. I'm not sure about the relevance of his claims, but it sure sounded interesting.

EDIT:

Here's some info I googled:

http://www.geoexchange.org/about/how.htm

 

[Cyberian]

Originally posted by: ScottMac

A friend of mine has a site DayCreek.com) where he journals the building of a 16 sided energy-efficient house, with Solar Heat. In the earlier entries, he describes how he decide to engineer the system, and the reasons for making the decisions he made.

I believe he also has links to other renewable energy sites.

The house is still being built (he's doing most of the work himself, building a Cordwood home in MN).

It's a pretty good read, he's been doing this for years.

FWIW

Scott

That was a very good read, and the links were also interesting.

Thanks!