Yep, I've gone overboard. This eco-friendly "green" thing is my new project. I always have to have some project. Hubby is getting used to this aspect of my personality. He's so supportive but also knows that my projects don't usually pan out. It's just something for me to get excited about and research. It keeps my mind active.
This all started when my father-in-law gave me a backpack. He's a doctor and gets all sorts of free stuff at the various continuing medical education conferences he attends regularly. He's always giving us free stuff. Anyway, this backpack is unique because it's solar powered. Yep, it has a solar panel on the back and can be used to charge your cell phone or iPod. These generally run about 200 dollars in the stores and I got this one for free.
So, I started researching solar and wind power and found out that you can install a system and tap into the electric grid. If you generate more power than you need for your own home, the electric company actually pays you! How cool, huh? So, I called the electric company and asked if they had this program and was pleasantly surprised that they do indeed!
I was thrilled. I thought to myself, "Why stop there? Why not buy some land and install some wind turbines and sell that energy back to the electric company"? So, I started shopping for solar panels and such to get an estimate on the cost of such a system. That's when I found out that yes, these things do generate electricity but not much. For example one solar panel might generate 200 watts of electricity. Well, HELLO! That's hardly enough to power two of my 90 watt kitchen light bulbs (you don't want to know how many of these we have around the house)!! Geez. Put in these terms, lights use up a hell of a lot of electricity. Now I'm going to have to go down to Current Energy and buy even more CFL light bulbs.
I'm still interested in this solar/wind idea. I ordered some books for the library's inter-library loan program. Even if I can determine that it makes financial sense, I still have to get our Homeowners Association to approve the project. That might be unlikely since we live on a golf course and they might consider it and eye-sore. Still, maybe I can buy some land and install a solar farm or something.
posted by Avorie @ 8:13 AM,
2 Comments:
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At 5:09 AM,
Amanda and Tim said...
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Wow I've missed a lot! I've just moved back in with my parents - financial reasons and working out a new business venture ;o) and so have not been around much - and I come back to see all this "green living" on your blog! I have to say - I LOVE IT!! I've been trying to live in a more environmentally friendly way since I lived in Germany (they're very big on that kind of thing over there!) So I love to see new ideas - I never knew anything about Santa Fe and Adobe houses either - I think I ought to investigate!! I know that feeling of needing to have a project on the go, too - I sometimes wonder if I ever stop LOL!
It's good to be back online properly and able to check in here!
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At 3:22 PM,
Isabel said...
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We totally planned on putting solar panels on our new house. But after looking and reading and cruncing numbers, we realized it wasn't worth it. Plus, we live in Seattle where we just don't get that much sun.
But other than that...we're doing all that we can to help our house be "green".
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Yep, I've gone overboard. This eco-friendly "green" thing is my new project. I always have to have some project. Hubby is getting used to this aspect of my personality. He's so supportive but also knows that my projects don't usually pan out. It's just something for me to get excited about and research. It keeps my mind active.
Amanda and Tim said...
