BREAKING NEWS: Utilities don't want you to get your own power

nitro

nitro

"...
Patrick Altier, the owner of Solar Trek,a panel installer, said that while utilities tout their own solar projects, they're less friendly to the idea of customers getting hold of solar on their own, he said. Their solution then, is to build solar facilities and charge customers for it...."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102742034
 
Gee what a big surprise. Wouldn't want the common man to not have to be entirely dependent on giant utility companies now would we?
 
nitro said:
"...
Patrick Altier, the owner of Solar Trek,a panel installer, said that while utilities tout their own solar projects, they're less friendly to the idea of customers getting hold of solar on their own, he said. Their solution then, is to build solar facilities and charge customers for it...."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102742034
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yes, for a long time it was illegal for us to brew our own beer, and to this day it is still illegal to grow your own pot

that's just the way "they" are
 
There isn't much preventing us from buying some solar panels and using them without the grid. They produce DC, they can be series/paralleled to provide different voltages and charge batteries with just some current limiting resistors. No need for an expensive inverter or connection to the grid. That can be carried a step further if one can modify appliances that run on ac but don't draw huge amounts of current. They all run on DC internally:TV's, DVR's, etc. Convert lighting to LED fed by DC.... Air Conditioning draws huge current but it can be done differently, it's about as stupid as it gets really. Build your house with a shade over it! They don't get hot. If shade isn't enough then build it with a thick slab, put cooling passages in it and run a cooling fan from your DC stored in batteries at night. The cool air cools the slab and the slab will definitely keep a house cool all day, even with minimal shade. I saw an example of that in the Mojave Desert, the guy's cooling bill was $40/month in the summer and he had just one large tree partially shading the house. The walls have to be 6" instead of 4" to hold more insulation. Heating could be done via the slab with some natural gas or propane and cooking can't be electric but gas is better for cooking anyhow. Microwave ovens are DC internally but high voltage and high power, converting one of those would require an internal DC to DC power supply but it's doable. The beauty of those is that they aren't on very long and don't run down batteries quickly. Refrigeration should be installed under the house really, if the ambient temp is 65 degrees it takes less energy to cool something and it can be done by other methods than electricity ala the propane refrigerators that are in RV's.

Battery technology and solar panel technology is good enough nowadays. Any house builder in the US can start building houses that barely need to be connected to the grid in some climes but so far nobody does.
 
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