Quote:
Originally Posted by ngdawg
You should explain how those things are free because, quite frankly, they aren't.
You have to pay for solar panels, piping, the windmill, construction, seeds, electronics, etc., and what you call "upfront costs" are not upfront, but ongoing. One solar panel can run several hundred dollars before all the installing, piping, etc. and the reason they are not more popular than they are is that the return can take up to 20 years.
The utility companies actually will give grants and/or rebates for many energy saving installs and appliances because it costs them to shell out mor energy as well.
Even in places that utilize wind power, the utilities charge for it.
Nothing, NOTHING is free. Even if you were to build a wind combine from crap you took off the curb on garbage day, it's not totally free because it took time and effort to build.
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Solar Heater
This is the cheap and easy passive solar that I was talking about. Sorry about the confusion. You can build even cheaper ones than this, or more elaborate 'professional' looking attached green houses or sun porches.
People use solar water heaters to heat swimming pools and to get hot water too.
Welcome to The Sietch - Projects Build Your Own Solar Thermal Panel
I would expect more people to look into this form of heating in the south and southwest, and you don't need expensive solar panels (the equivalent active solar panel energy needed to run a furnace or hot water heater would be huge).
The concept is the same thing when you get in a car after it's been setting in the sun for a few hours, but this system is designed to maximize the amount of heat that is created. I haven't seen the type I am thinking of building on-line yet though.
Seeds can be found, or saved from being discarded.
GreenDealer Exotic Seeds, How to get free seeds
Dirt can be used to make rammed-earth or poured earth homes (dirt mixed with concrete).
How rammed earth construction is made - Background, History, Raw materials, Design, The manufacturing process, Byproducts/waste
Wind power can be harnessed for free once the initial windmill is made.
How I built an electricity producing wind turbine
Rainwater can be collected and used for some jobs. An electric pump for well water and geothermal cooling could be useful too.
But that is the thing, people might spend $500-$1000+ on regular utilities a year. If they spent some money on these types of systems that generate heat or energy at no cost, they could be saving a lot of money year after year, without impacting their lifestyle too much. If home designers actually built for maximum energy savings and production, people in a large part of this country could live without monthly utility bills probably.
And my time is free, I'm not one of those people that puts a value on every hour of their day, and if they aren't being productive they 'lose' money. If I am building something, I'm learning and I feel good when I complete a project.