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Going Green?

S

Sunin

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - August 2008
Joined
Dec 27, 2005
Messages
3,421
Has anyone thought of building a Solar/Wind farm to power their folding farms? I've started researching it and my goal in the next year will be to get 1 machine off the grid, with more following every couple of months until I'm using 100% Green Energy for the farm.

Would save me $3600 per year. :)
 
I certainly hope you either have a lot of money to blow or are in a pretty sunny state. I have talked to a few experts here in the midwest and they all say that solar doesn't pay for itself here. Even with grants and such, it just isn't feasible everywhere. They do say that powering small devices and road signs are, but not full arrays. I'm keeping my eyes open for the prices to drop. I would love to have zero debt to the electric company.

Winds turbines would work here, but if you want to generate enough power for something like this, you would probably run into a lot of issues with environmentalists trying to protect the birds that tend to fly into the blades.
 
It's stll cheaper to get the power off the grid. This may change in the next few years.

Just like I haven't purchased a i7 yet. With time comes great savings.
 
I am looking at wind energy. Self built Wind Turbine. Cost should be about $400 and should produce about 500 watts or more to start. I'll add pictures of the project when I get to that point!
 
Sunin said:
Has anyone thought of building a Solar/Wind farm to power their folding farms? I've started researching it and my goal in the next year will be to get 1 machine off the grid, with more following every couple of months until I'm using 100% Green Energy for the farm.

Would save me $3600 per year. :)
Click to expand...

yeah ive been doing some research into it and messing with various designs of home made solar power.. problem with where i live is that only 1 side of my house gets sun like the entire day.. and by winter time it gets very little sunlight due to the house across the street and all the trees where i live.. my goal is to get atleast 2000w of solar power.. if i can do that.. then i can take all my computers off my electrical system in my house along with all the hardware in my theater room.. if i can do that it would save me about 1500-2000 dollars a year..


Kendrak said:
It's stll cheaper to get the power off the grid. This may change in the next few years.

Just like I haven't purchased a i7 yet. With time comes great savings.
Click to expand...


out side of california and a couple other states, yes it is but thats still only short term.. the long term is where it counts.. here where i live we avg about 350-400 dollars a month in electricity.. even if you end up only saving 50-60 dollars a month.. 50x12= 600 dollars.. say your whole solar/wind what ever costs 1500 dollars.. it takes you 2 1/2 years to pay it off.. then from there on its all money in your pocket.. 600 dollars can buy you a whole new computer almost.. or 2 more gfx cards per year..
 
Why waste such money on the "Go Green" scam? Most of the chemicals and products they market and make as "Going Green" are a lot more hazardous and dangerous than the current products. They aren't proven and not cost effective. I don't know about you, but my state has been a lot cooler this whole summer. No Global Warming here. But, if you feel inclined to be an Environmentalist Neo-Lib hippy, then be my guest. All they're doing is stealing your money. Nothing about this "Going Green" is actually going green or life changing. It's for the Neo-Liberal rich (Al Gore.) and his cronies to get rich and richer.

But, all in all feel free to de-value the dollar by spending it on some worthless items. That the efficiency and cost won't benefit.
 
Sunin said:
I am looking at wind energy. Self built Wind Turbine. Cost should be about $400 and should produce about 500 watts or more to start. I'll add pictures of the project when I get to that point!
Click to expand...

If your willing to test it.....

I'm guessing some sheet metal and a car alternator strapped to a pole?
 
AMDXP said:
Why waste such money on the "Go Green" scam? Most of the chemicals and products they market and make as "Going Green" are a lot more hazardous and dangerous than the current products. They aren't proven and not cost effective. I don't know about you, but my state has been a lot cooler this whole summer. No Global Warming here. But, if you feel inclined to be an Environmentalist Neo-Lib hippy, then be my guest. All they're doing is stealing your money. Nothing about this "Going Green" is actually going green or life changing. It's for the Neo-Liberal rich (Al Gore.) and his cronies to get rich and richer.

But, all in all feel free to de-value the dollar by spending it on some worthless items. That the efficiency and cost won't benefit.
Click to expand...

This has nothing to do with fake "green" household chemicals, etc. It has to do with saving power, which equates to saving (lots of) money.
 
AMDXP said:
Why waste such money on the "Go Green" scam? Most of the chemicals and products they market and make as "Going Green" are a lot more hazardous and dangerous than the current products. They aren't proven and not cost effective. I don't know about you, but my state has been a lot cooler this whole summer. No Global Warming here. But, if you feel inclined to be an Environmentalist Neo-Lib hippy, then be my guest. All they're doing is stealing your money. Nothing about this "Going Green" is actually going green or life changing. It's for the Neo-Liberal rich (Al Gore.) and his cronies to get rich and richer.

But, all in all feel free to de-value the dollar by spending it on some worthless items. That the efficiency and cost won't benefit.
Click to expand...

I suggest you read the original post before you post next time so you don't make a total ass of yourself
 
I was looking at a 6m long dual blade windmill. It was expenisive till I found out that New York (im not sure about other states) offers a federal grant to pay you if you built a windmill. Im not sure of the pricing of windmills since it was a while ago when I researched it but, see if your state has anything to offer. I think the grant I saw saved about $4000.

I'd love to get a windmill and geothermal heating/cooling when I buy a house. :)
 
AMDXP said:
<snip> I don't know about you, but my state has been a lot cooler this whole summer. No Global Warming here. But, if you feel inclined to be an Environmentalist Neo-Lib hippy, then be my guest. All they're doing is stealing your money. Nothing about this "Going Green" is actually going green or life changing. It's for the Neo-Liberal rich (Al Gore.) and his cronies to get rich and richer.

But, all in all feel free to de-value the dollar by spending it on some worthless items. That the efficiency and cost won't benefit.
Click to expand...

Wow, misinformation much? Speaking as someone who voted for Bush both times and McCain this last time (more than once while holding my nose, BTW), there's nothing Neo-Lib or Hippy here. Many of the techniques you dismiss out of hand because Rush told you to (and I listened to him on my way to work today, great diatribe about a Harvard professor dissecting National Health Care) can actually work IF done the RIGHT WAY. Ethanol/biodiesel is great if done in the midwest, where it can be used near where it's grown & processed, but is it a great idea to try and ship it to the northeast? Hell no! Solar is the same way - like Sirmonkey, I live in good old Kalifornia, and here, Solar is very practical, and yes, I would love to get my house mostly off grid. Is it to feel better about stopping global warming? Fuck no, I don't believe that crap either. But I'd sure like to not see my money going to the middle east, so I'd rather an American get rich as I run my folding farm than some terrorist who wants to use that money to kill me and my family! </end conservative sick of uber-conservatives rant>

sirmonkey1985 said:
yeah ive been doing some research into it and messing with various designs of home made solar power.. problem with where i live is that only 1 side of my house gets sun like the entire day.. and by winter time it gets very little sunlight due to the house across the street and all the trees where i live.. my goal is to get atleast 2000w of solar power.. if i can do that.. then i can take all my computers off my electrical system in my house along with all the hardware in my theater room.. if i can do that it would save me about 1500-2000 dollars a year..

out side of california and a couple other states, yes it is but thats still only short term.. the long term is where it counts.. here where i live we avg about 350-400 dollars a month in electricity.. even if you end up only saving 50-60 dollars a month.. 50x12= 600 dollars.. say your whole solar/wind what ever costs 1500 dollars.. it takes you 2 1/2 years to pay it off.. then from there on its all money in your pocket.. 600 dollars can buy you a whole new computer almost.. or 2 more gfx cards per year..
Click to expand...

Looking longer term, let's even say it cost $4K - assuming rates don't EVER increase, you're paid off in just under 7 years... Still a decent long term investment, especially if you plan on owning your home for a decade or two, which I do.

Luckily, I live east of Sirmonkey, over in the central valley, and the back of my home faces south over an undeveloped orchard. Here I can get a commercial solar setup installed that could mostly wipe out my electric bill, with low interest payments that would be roughly the same as what I currently pay from April - October, where the warranty on the panels would be 5 years longer than the payments (25 year warranty vs. 20 payments I think). And best of all, as electric rates go up year after year, my solar panel payments won't, so 10 years from now I'll be money ahead. Can this work everywhere? Of course not! But here in CA, down in AZ, NM, etc, it can, and if I can line the pockets of a small businessman to install my panels rather than a large electric company, than I see nothing but win in my book.


Sunin, I've been planning on getting one of those free quotes from a couple of my local solar companies, and I'll post the actual numbers once I actually get around to doing it... :D
 
AMDXP said:
Why waste such money on the "Go Green" scam? Most of the chemicals and products they market and make as "Going Green" are a lot more hazardous and dangerous than the current products. They aren't proven and not cost effective. I don't know about you, but my state has been a lot cooler this whole summer. No Global Warming here. But, if you feel inclined to be an Environmentalist Neo-Lib hippy, then be my guest. All they're doing is stealing your money. Nothing about this "Going Green" is actually going green or life changing. It's for the Neo-Liberal rich (Al Gore.) and his cronies to get rich and richer.

But, all in all feel free to de-value the dollar by spending it on some worthless items. That the efficiency and cost won't benefit.
Click to expand...


WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SAVING MONEY!!! NOT ABOUT SAVING THE EARTH!!.. open your pea size brain and read the first post again and you might understand..

not one damn person brought up anything about global warming or any of that crap we were all politely talking about ways to save us money until you.. not to mention you obviously have zero understanding of solar or wind generated power..

and if you ever call me a Environmentalist Neo-Lib hippy again in this forum.. god help you... thats all i can say.. I've been a right winged gun toting nut job since birth and will die one..


Jathanis said:
Luckily, I live east of Sirmonkey, over in the central valley, and the back of my home faces south over an undeveloped orchard. Here I can get a commercial solar setup installed that could mostly wipe out my electric bill, with low interest payments that would be roughly the same as what I currently pay from April - October, where the warranty on the panels would be 5 years longer than the payments (25 year warranty vs. 20 payments I think). And best of all, as electric rates go up year after year, my solar panel payments won't, so 10 years from now I'll be money ahead. Can this work everywhere? Of course not! But here in CA, down in AZ, NM, etc, it can, and if I can line the pockets of a small businessman to install my panels rather than a large electric company, than I see nothing but win in my book.


Sunin, I've been planning on getting one of those free quotes from a couple of my local solar companies, and I'll post the actual numbers once I actually get around to doing it... :D
Click to expand...

lucky you.. yeah we did one of those free quote things before to have the panels put on our roof completely on both sides.. we currently have 3 panels on the back of our house but those are designed as back up power when the main grid goes down.. so it sits there charging 12 truck size batteries.. then when the power goes out.. the batteries take over.. but they only last about 10 minutes if the AC was on at the time.. with the AC off they last about 25-30 minutes.. which is why i want to remove my self off that power.. because my computers are the reason they die so quickly.. im currently pulling 1500w just to my room.. and i think the theater rooms some where around 2300w since i have 2 computers in there as well as all the other stuff..
 
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Long Term I am spending 300 per month on electricity to fold. I am going to see if I spend $400 on a 500 watt setup that in about a year for a 4k (wind farm of 10 wind turbines) investment I can be completely off the grid. I'm spending 3.6k per year right now on electricity so this is not brain surgery. I'll have to see what one makes electricity wise.

I have 10 9800 GX2s (175Wattsx10), 1 295GTX (200watts), 3 88GTs (85wattsx3) all folding plus 3 CPU's (150Wattsx3) plus 5x45w AMD processors. Freeing up $300 a month = Expand the farm!

I anticipate 500 watts is 1/6th my wattage from the farm adn 1/6th my electricity bill = $50 bucks per month savings. All guesstimates.

Time will tell plus I love building things. :)

First Goal

1. One Computer off Grid

Second Goal

2. Within 1.5years Entire Farm off Grid

Third Goal

3. Within 3 years Entire House off Grid
 
Fun times. I may try to set up a home generation setup of some kind whenever I get a house of my own. Looking at a place with geothermal heat/cooling right now. Wind is much better for us here in Missouri.
 
AMDXP said:
Why waste such money on the "Go Green" scam? Most of the chemicals and products they market and make as "Going Green" are a lot more hazardous and dangerous than the current products. They aren't proven and not cost effective. I don't know about you, but my state has been a lot cooler this whole summer. No Global Warming here. But, if you feel inclined to be an Environmentalist Neo-Lib hippy, then be my guest. All they're doing is stealing your money. Nothing about this "Going Green" is actually going green or life changing. It's for the Neo-Liberal rich (Al Gore.) and his cronies to get rich and richer.

But, all in all feel free to de-value the dollar by spending it on some worthless items. That the efficiency and cost won't benefit.
Click to expand...

Those damn neo-dem-liberal hippies :rolleyes:
 
The other thing I didn't mention above is that most wind turbine setups tend to be loud and may cause complaints by neighbors. Some cities will let you do it without penalty because of their incentives for alternative energy sources, but most would tell you if the neighbors complain you gotta bring it down due to depreciating the neighbors property values. I watched a special where somewhere in California, a guy had to cut his trees down that were fully grown because his neighbor decided to install solar panels and the trees caused too much shade. The city had ordinances that said that solar panels got priority even if the trees were there first. That is crap if you are a land owner, but just an example of what to watch out for. I for one would love to have someone local to test a wind turbine with, but I don't see them realistic for us poor folk. Again, I'm in the midwest and solar is NOT financially sound even long term unless you last longer then projected for several years. Wind turbines on the other hand I'm not sure about.

I noticed above someone mentioned Hydro electric....according to the articles I have read, the US is tapped out on feasible Hydro setups and you don't make squat off of local streams and creeks.

I like the idea of thermal heating and cooling as well...but most of those take a long time to pay for themselves when you can do the super insulated homes for about the same price or less. It is really just preference and current construction prices.
 
Man I hope the wind turbine I create is not loud. I would hate for this idea to go south due to noise complaints!
 
can we please try and keep the thread on topic?

anyway, i would recommend a grid-tie inverter system... this avoids needing batteries and such for solar setups (night) or calm weather (wind)

simply put whatever power you generate offsets the power you use so you only pay for the difference, or if you generate more than you use, the power company pays you for the difference (your meter will run backwards)
 
FLECOM said:
can we please try and keep the thread on topic?

anyway, i would recommend a grid-tie inverter system... this avoids needing batteries and such for solar setups (night) or calm weather (wind)

simply put whatever power you generate offsets the power you use so you only pay for the difference, or if you generate more than you use, the power company pays you for the difference (your meter will run backwards)
Click to expand...

This would be the way to go, even after you have enough to power the house totally off of wind/solar. The grid would be a back up for the days that you can't pump out enough, and when you have extra you get paid.
 
What if you used a DC-DC power supply? I know there are 12, 24, and 48V computer power supplies out there mostly for the server and telecom market. If you could just rectify your power to 48V and feed that into a bank of batteries then you eliminate 2 steps in the conversion/inversion chain. It was discussed a little bit in this thread I started a couple months ago in Power Supplies:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1433538
 
That has potential. It would make the system more efficient most likely. I'll have to look into this. As the rule of thumb is you lose about 10%-15% every time you convert electricity.
 
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