Hello all!
My first post here, so keep the flame throwers on low for a while :-)
I currently live in an apartment near Dallas and am planning on moving way 
out in the boonies sometime next year. I'm planning on building a 'monolithic 
dome' stone dome house that is extremely energy efficient and solar power it 
as well as try to go underground with it.
I've been reading Home Power magazine for a while and am fascinated by solar 
energy, etc. and energy efficiency (got my summer electric bill down to $20 
monthly in Texas!), etc.
I am curious about how one would go about powering a house by solar power and 
still use regular appliances and not DC like I see in some magazines and 
about how much I could expect the conversion equipment to cost. I'd also like 
to know if there is any way to solar power a first floor apt with a western 
exposure or if it would be worth it at all for the time being.
Thanks!
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