Solar Panels

[Doug in NC]

If anyone has any doubts about what to do, check out what the President does for his compound in Texas....he lives off grid:

Bush’s ranch is off-grid, boasting a range of eco-features including geothermal heating and cooling, that would make Leonardo di Caprio proud.

The passive-solar house is positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls. Does his inside knowledge lead him to suspect that he will need it to survive a downturn very soon? "

“He has installed a very environmentally friendly heating and cooling system, and he has put in place a system to recapture groundwater.”

Rainwater and household wastewater are reused for irrigation.

Under a gravel border around the house, a concrete gutter channels the water into a 25,000-gallon cistern for irrigation. In hot weather, a terrace directly above the cistern is a little cooler than the surrounding area.

Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into purifying tanks underground — one tank for water from showers and bathroom sinks, which is so-called “gray water,” and one tank for “black water” from the kitchen sink and toilets. The purified water is funneled to the cistern with the rainwater. It is used to irrigate flower gardens, newly planted trees and a larger flower and herb garden behind the two-bedroom guesthouse. Water for the house comes from a well.

The Bushes installed a geothermal heating and cooling system, which uses about 25% of the electricity that traditional heating and air-conditioning systems consume. Several holes were drilled 300 feet deep, where the temperature is a constant 67 degrees. Pipes connected to a heat pump inside the house circulate water into the ground, then back up and through the house, heating it in winter and cooling it in summer.

The water for the outdoor pool is heated with the same system, which proved so efficient that initial plans to install solar energy panels were cancelled.

The features are environment-friendly, but the reason for them was practical — to save money and to save water, which is scarce in this dry, hot part of Texas.

The materials used to build the house were relatively inexpensive. Factory-built roof trusses were shipped in and nailed into place. Most of the floors are concrete. The white roof is galvanized tin.

The walls are built from discards of a local stone called Leuders limestone, which is quarried in the area. The 12-to-18-inch-thick stone (sounds like a house built to withstand fallout with walls that thick) has a mix of colors on the top and bottom, with a cream- colored center that most people want.

Interesting facts. How did you find out about this?

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

How would you know what the utility bill of a comparable is for residential homes that sold?

ask.

If you do not have any comps, you can capitalize and depreciate the cost and use the monthly savings as income. In that manner, you can develope a value for the system.

exactly...

Ditto for energy efficient homes touted as such. We have subdivisions of these. They cost more, and they sell for more, they appraise for more because they save you money period.

Once the price of oil affects electric costs fully, people will realize it is in effect a large burden. Reducing that burden is going to be an excellent selling point.

more concerned abouth the danger of the banks of batteries

still living in the 70's Dale? Modern solar panels go directly into an inverter which feeds back energy to the utility company.. It sort of runs the meter backwards and thus subtracts from your bill rather than you using the energy directly from storage. Its a plus for the energy company because it is energizing the grid at the very time the grid needs it..during hot summer months.
Cost varies from area to area due to tax breaks and volume. I would adjust and in the absence of comps, I would use income adjustments. Again, even in SFR areas, few subdivisions don't have some renters. The fact appraisers don't seek them out thru sheer laziness does not mean that they are not there. Few communities can claim less than 10% renters.

 

[LA Woman]

Bush lives off the grid

I found it while searching the internet about how to live off the grid. You can just goggle Crawford Ranch and find several articles about it.

 

[Doug in NC]

I found it while searching the internet about how to live off the grid. You can just goggle Crawford Ranch and find several articles about it.

I would love to own a self-sustaining house like this. I wish payback periods were shorter on these energy efficiency devices, unfortunately, I think that is the major reason we haven't seen more people going in that direction. It's going to happen eventually though. Energy prices are skyrocketing and there is no end in sight. We're going to have to either find cheaper energy sources, more resources, or cut back- probably some combination of the three.