From: blane@islet.com (Brian Lane)
On Sun, 24 Nov 96 13:18:54 -0800, Cloyce Osborn
 wrote:
> JD> Thank you for the encouragement, however, the question is,
> JD> HOW MUCH MONEY WILL IT COST TO BUILD A FUCKING SYSTEM TO
> JD> PRODUCE 1200KWH IN AN AVERAGE MONTH IN KIOWA COUNTY 
OKLAHOMA?????????????
>
>$1,000,000.00 if you include the "Fxxxxxx" part.  You wanted a simple 
nswer,
>you got it.  In Kiowa County, you're much better off using a wind powered 
system
>than using a PV system.  Might not be as glamorous as a PV system but you've
>*always* got wind out here whereas you may or may not always have enough
>sunlight to make a PV system viable.
  No need to reflect his violations of echo rules yet another time
. The bottom line with alternative energy is that it is currently
going to cost you ALOT more than grid power, unless you are located in
a remote area where the grid would have to be extended for several
miles (The home of HomePower comes to mind as an example of this). AE
is still in infant industry, although we have seen giant reductions in
cost in the last several years. When there isn't a mass market for
products they will cost more.
  Take a look at the systems featured in HomePower, most of them are
in the $10,000+ range, and all the good ones are designed as an
integral part of the home, and the user's lifestyle. There is no
'simple' answer to what a person needs, and regretfully some folks
cannot get that thru their thick skulls.
  I guess I should re-introduce myself to the group -- I've been off
of FidoNet for a few years. I'm an microcontroller
designer/programmer, and one of my main interests lies in AE and
efficent uses of micros to help reduce power usage. I work for a RF
and Micro designer, and our old office was run off of 42 Exide
batteries and a Trace 2012 2kW inverter. Enough power there to run the
computers for a week (which happened once when the battery charger
blew a fuse and we didn't notice ). Living in Washington State, we
didn't have any PV, Wind, or hydro recharging the batteries, just a
charger connected to the grid.
  Brian
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