Tony Butterfield's posts

Right about the first $5000 of improvements.
Looking at a 203K FHA Loan which will allow for upgrades.

Most homes in Houston have single pan windows and min. insulation.

A local radio home improvement show said that a tankless water heater is so over priced that it would take 15 years for a standard payback.

A friend has a SolCool DC a/c system with 4 dedicated panels.

Almost need a check list.
- a/c
- hot water
- windows
- insulation/radiant barriers
- fridge/freezor
- entertainment/computer/lights

So, to the community, best suggestions for $5000 in home improvements before buying a PV system.

Thanks,
Update to my units:
2040 KWh May to Oct.
1080 Kwh Nov to Apr.

1016 Sq. foot apt.

14.6 cents/KW on a 1 year contract which ends in August.

Shopping for a home $60 square foot not more than 1500 sq/ft. to remodel/renovate which would include the solar system upgrades.

Well,
I am glad I was able to spark a little conversation.

My original goal and my long term goal has changed since I have joined the ranks of solar power users.
Because I am in an old apartment in Houston I have huge electric bills. The apt. complex has no interest in putting in an efficient a/c unit. I spend $315 for 2kw/h per month for a 1000 sq. feet.  Doller per sq. foot I am getting really ripped off.  At first I just wanted to drive my own window a/c unit with a solar panel hidden on my back porch since a window unit couldn't be any worse then the a/c unit that I have from the apt complex.

But since then I have started to look at buying my first home.  It will need to be a run down foreclosure needing help. 

My thoughts based on what everyone here has said are now to skip the batteries at the apartment and go to a small grid tie system and some how bundle it into a renovation of the foreclosure.  This might be possible with the Enphase Micro-Inverter which I am told can be used to start a "small" grid system and grow with more panels over time.

I think a good goal would be 1.5 kw/h per month for a 1500 square foot home with 50/50 grid and tie in electric.

Maybe the question should be put out to the community is not how many panels or on/off grid system but how many kw is need per square foot of living space.

More thoughts please.

Tony

Hi,
It seems that a person starting out should build an off grid system and then keep adding more panels until there is enough kwatts to make it worth while to tie into the grid.
What do you suggents?

update:

here is a link to a battery company and their solar products:

http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=839

note that their charge controller is 11.1 v

This week at the Detroit Auto Show new hybrid models use Li-ion.  Here is a list that I have found:

The MercedesS400 BlueHybrid lithium ion battery
BYD China lithium iron phosphate cells
Toyota Prius Solar Panels and lithium ion.
Chevy Volt li-ion
Cadilla Converj li-ion
Tesla 6,300 laptop cells
Johnson Controls unveiled its re3 air-cooled, 96-cell, 22 Ah Li-ion battery pack

and a press release rom GM:

General Motors Corp. (GM) will establish the first lithium-ion battery-pack factory operated by a major auto maker in the U.S. to produce battery pack systems for its Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric car.

I think it will be soon the Li-ion batteries will be a common part in the auto industry.

Funny video but, all Hybrid Car in the US for 2010 are going to use Li-ion.  Why not use them for Solar/Wind power?

Can Li-ion batteries be used or does anybody have a small setup that uses Li-ion (example:laptop battery).

What are VRLA batteries? How small do they come and can golf cart batteries be used on a small setup?

Does anybody use NiCD batteries and if so what is the largest.
How do those kind of batteries differ from the lead acid ones.