Electric Propulsion Reality Check

pnichols wrote:


Huuuuuhhhh??

You live in Southern California(?) and you don't need air conditioning hours and hours per day for days and days per year? If yes ... then how many acres of panels do you have on your property in order to offset this? If no ... then how do you put up with the summer heat? Also, how do you heat in the winter and how do you cook?

In addition, some of us have tried for years to reduce producing CO2 in support of our residences by installing a high efficiency heat pump to both heat it and cool it. I hate to think of how many panels I would need to install to offset the heat pump and all of our other appliances' electricity consumption. Plus ... even though we live on some acreage with maybe the room ... I'd have to sign up for a big 2nd-mortgage loan to have enough solar installed.

IMHO, the ultimate answer for the greatest number of people is to have huge solar and wind farms (and/or fusion reactors) feeding our existing distribution grid. However, this means that electric bills would be mostly made up of charges for maintenance of the distribution grid - not for raw electricity generation costs. That's the direction our electric bill has been headed for some time now.

P.S. Ignore everything I've said above if your situation is that you're living in an RV instead of a sticks-and-bricks residence. ;)

3 kW DC rated installed by Solar City six years ago. 12 solar panels on the roof with central grid tie inverter. About $17k installed and net cost after credit $12.5k. Avoids about $2,500 per year in electricity cost for a five year payback or 20% return. Cost to install would be much lower today but now it is paid for so no regrets.

I run the air conditioner from about March through October. I run the air on a program to chill the 3300 sq-ft house at night for better sleep and to chill the house to coast through the heat of the next day. This uses low cost overnight electricity and minimizes consuming during peak hours. Also the A/C is more efficient running in the cooler night air. Creates a natural daily cycle in the house.

Furnace burns natural gas. We also mostly cook on the gas range and avoid the electric oven. We use the oven more in the cooler months. Dryer is gas. Dishwasher is set with a timer to run overnight and runs virtually every night.

We have mostly LED lights and a few legacy CFLs. Most common used lights are LED with dimmers.

My last annual true up bill for net metering was $49.28. SCE provides the electric. This is the real deal.