# Putting Our Money Were Our Mouths Are!!



## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

It was 'sposed to happen in Sept. THEN, it was 'sposed to happen in October.....then...yup...November. We gave them ample time to do this when it was WARM!!! But - nooooo - it's 16* out there (they say it doesn't matter.) The coldest day so far. But - hey - the Solar panels have <finally> arrived and the boys are up there hammering away. Wolfwood's electriity is going SOLAR!!!. *TODAY!! *














At least it's sunny!!! And yes, I know the rules. This post will be updated with photos as progress is made through-out the day.

Tomorrow's activity will be watching the meter roll BACKWARDS!!! <hehehehehe> Eric - ya' wanna bring the popcorn?


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## jasonrebecca (Oct 30, 2007)

That is very cool, what system did you go with?
Getting the 15% tax credit is the best as well and one from your utility I am guessing as well!


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

It's a PV system with no storage...so no batteries. The incentives are pretty incredible, although the PUC did decrease their rebates a bit < read: _discontinued_ their Residential PV incentive> only 1 week after our System was approved (and, therefore, eligible for the pre-reduction incentive). We will receive a Fed. tax deduction, already have the State PUC incentive, AND a town property tax value reduction. All told, the ENTIRE System (installed) will only cost us about $3,000 net ... and will be 'paid back' in 3 years!! For the benefits it will deliver - to us AND this planet - we just didn't see that there was even a question!! Yeah - we're pretty excited about doing this ... AND we're the 1st in this tiny town!!


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## Chuggs (Jun 8, 2010)

Awesome job Ladies!!!









I'm very excited to hear about this project...


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

That's very cool, Judy!
How much capacity are you getting?

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

Very very cool!


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

PDX_Doug said:


> That's very cool, Judy!
> How much capacity are you getting?
> 
> Happy Trails,
> Doug


2kw ... from, I think, 8 panels

That just happens to have been the max for the PUC incentive, too (BEFORE they discontinued it). LOVE when it all works out


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## jasonrebecca (Oct 30, 2007)

With no batteries you will be either using the power or feeding the grid correct? So at night you will be getting the power from the grid?

We have a small 4 panel system for our cabin and it charges 6-6v batteries.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I looked into this during the summer, and it was going to cost me around $40,000 (AFTER Rebates) to have this done on my house.	Needless to say....were stiil "on the grid".


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Very Cool!!! I definetly would love to do it, but I need to put on a new roof next year, not something to cover it...


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## swanny (Oct 31, 2007)

my son installs solar panels. they have a lot of work. he's been installing for about two years now. another nice benefit from the panels is how they block the sun from hitting your roof or southern exposed walls. tends to cut cooling bills in the summer.

kevin


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## outback loft (Sep 22, 2008)

Welcome to the solar club, my house is actually completely off the grid, but I have lots of roof area and a large section of flat roof that is completely covered in panels. I get enough power during the day to charge a battery bank, and I can run through the night off the batteries. If I get a bad day I have a standby generator that comes into play. Even with with the few times the generator kicks in to supplement my power at night I still pay a hell of a lot less than anybody with our electric utility does.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

Judi's computer crashed and she will post photos when back up and running


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> Judi's computer crashed and she will post photos when back up and running


Hmm... New solar panels... Computer just crashed...

Just sayin'...









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

Very nice, I want to go solar but have not convinced my wife yet.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

PDX_Doug said:


> Judi's computer crashed and she will post photos when back up and running


Hmm... New solar panels... Computer just crashed...

Just sayin'...









Happy Trails,
Doug
[/quote]
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

Congrats! You ought to get a charge out of that!


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

jasonrebecca said:


> With no batteries you will be either using the power or feeding the grid correct? So at night you will be getting the power from the grid?
> 
> We have a small 4 panel system for our cabin and it charges 6-6v batteries.


Correct..same if the day is cloudy without enough sun coming through


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

BACK ON LINE!!!!! must say, it's been tough BUT I've been rewarded SEVERAL times over!!!!

yes, the Mac quit yesterday. Just QUIT!! Called Apple and the diagnosis was that there was a h/w problem and, for a flat rate of $400, they would research it and fix it...flat rate.$400 no matter what it ended up being. We decided to go to a new Apple Reseller and see what they could/would do. Long story short: the laptop is FINE (DAMN IT ...meant no iMAC) - it was actually a bad power connector (the plug thing that connects the 'puter to the power source). Saved $400 there!I We've been talking about an iPAD ... Both as a traveling 'outer and a to allow downloading of photos/scrubbing of the cards when traveling. IF the MacBookPro had, in fact, required some major repairs, we were planning to cut our losses and trade it in on an iMAC with 27in screen (INCREDIBLE RESOLUTION!!!) for photo processing and an iPAD for traveling with. Soooooooo....as I said, the laptop is fine. No iMAC, BUT this message is being typed on our new iPAD!!! Of course, now I've seen and actually TOUCHED to iMAC and that has most certainly created some SERIOUS screen envy!!! Maybe next year. The reality is that it looks like I may have my hands full figuring out this iPAD!!!

As for the solar stuff.....as I had expected....the cold may not bother the panels or roof, but the installers were bitterly cold and their hands quit working. They got 4 panels installed, with 4 more to go up on Monday. So- NO - the Solar install didn't have anything to do with the 'puter quitting. Unless, of course, it was the Universe's way of distracting us from yet another delay ....

No idea yet on how to post a photo from the iPAD. I'll work on that ....


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## Dub (Dec 8, 2008)

Wait on the iPad, Apple has a 1 year product life cycle on it, in April 2011 it will be refreshed. There are already rumors on the web that it will have front and back facing cameras which is obvious, a better display which is an easy guess. If they do go through with a deal on Verizon you may have multiple choices for carriers for 4G versions of it. I'll just stick with the Wifi version and tether to my work paid unlimited data BlackBerry. I really would love to have the front facing camera and so do most people so I figure it's a for sure option.

I use an iMac and a MacBook to edit the photos from my photography business. Backup everything with time machine and BackBlaze. The iMac is a great all in one solution and on some occasions when I've had a couple of weddings to work through I've taken with me on travel and even to the camper...they make cases just for it. However, the flaw with the iMac monitor as well as most MacBooks is that the "brightness" buttons at F1 and F2 don't actually control the brightness of the screen but the backlight. In order to properly calibrate brightness you have to use a program like Shades http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/shades For this reason I think my next purchase may be a Mini Mac or I might build a Hackintosh and get a better HD screen that has HDMI input.


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Too late on the iPad. I've got it in my hot little hands!! It does everything WE need it to do ....provided I have a 'puter for photo processing, document writing, etc. I just can't figure out how to post a photo on here (when the photo is already small. DUB, have you found an App re: photos that is worth using?

Now - back to the Solar...
They left early Friday because it was just too cold (I agree with that 100%). They didn't come yesterday because it was raining. Didn't come today because we had a dusting of snow. They're "scheduled" - again - for tomorrow... Of course, I won't be here tomorrow or Friday, so pictures will have to wait.


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

I want a IMac too. Question does the Mac do updates all the time? I hate that my PC wants to update something right when I need it and everything slows down until that update is done. Or it keeps asking me if it is OK to reboot to finish a update then when you finally let it reboot it comes up and says it need to update something again after it boots back up. Gee couldn't everything update at the same time??


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

We were BOTH out of the house all day today so had no idea if the installers came or not. Kenneled the dogs and closed the cats in "their room" just incase, tho'. Kath got the call late this afternoon. WE ARE OPERATIONAL!!! The wireless monitor has even been installed so we can see exactly what's going on at any given time. Of course, unless the panels should fail, the monitor is more entertainment than anything. I'll try to get some photos tomorrow...provided my camera doesn't freeze up. Today's temps were more like January than December. BBBBRBRRR


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## Dub (Dec 8, 2008)

wolfwood said:


> I want a IMac too. Question does the Mac do updates all the time? I hate that my PC wants to update something right when I need it and everything slows down until that update is done. Or it keeps asking me if it is OK to reboot to finish a update then when you finally let it reboot it comes up and says it need to update something again after it boots back up. Gee couldn't everything update at the same time??


Yes, and no. The update experience is much better than windows. And like Windows you can schedule it, or turn it off and do it on demand. Very rarely does an update require a reboot, probably one every 60 days on average. It doesn't ask you to reboot every 20m when you update because when a restart is required it shuts down the OS and installs it in a mid-OS state then reboots. All available updates will run at once though, no going to the windows update site 10 times in a row to get everything caught up. Sometimes a restart update doesn't apply to me like when it's required for Safari..since I don't use it I just ignore it until an OS update needs a restart. I am Database Administrator and can program computers and exclusively use Windows/Linux machines at work. However, for my personal life I prefer MacOS, it's a completely better experience, less buggy, and a more intuitive interface. If you want to save money you can build you a PC and make it a Hackintosh.


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Dub said:


> It is a tempting device. I was just showing a friend one at lunch yesterday at the Apple Store. Like me he's gonna wait to see if they come up with a front facing camera, either way the thing will be very helpful for my photography business as well as my day to day job.
> 
> I'm not sure I follow you on the found an App re: photos that is worth using? Are you talking about the iPad or on the iMac? I just posted in another thread, Lightroom 3.0 is the way to go for processing, managing, and editing photos. I can go through 2000 images from a wedding and sort out all the good ones I'm gonna touch up in about an hour or two.


I was looking for a photo App for the iPad but thenI found PS Express for $0. Seems to be enough if "emergency" touch-ups are needed while in the field. Yup - I swear by Lightroom and do also have but rarely use PS. The iPad can't handle either of them or iPhoto...but PS Express has now been released expressly for the iPad. The iPad screen resolution is GREAT but it's way too small for any serious processing. Besides, that's what the laptop is for and even that will eventually be replaced by a 27" iMac.


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## Dub (Dec 8, 2008)

wolfwood said:


> It is a tempting device. I was just showing a friend one at lunch yesterday at the Apple Store. Like me he's gonna wait to see if they come up with a front facing camera, either way the thing will be very helpful for my photography business as well as my day to day job.
> 
> I'm not sure I follow you on the found an App re: photos that is worth using? Are you talking about the iPad or on the iMac? I just posted in another thread, Lightroom 3.0 is the way to go for processing, managing, and editing photos. I can go through 2000 images from a wedding and sort out all the good ones I'm gonna touch up in about an hour or two.


I was looking for a photo App for the iPad but thenI found PS Express for $0. Seems to be enough if "emergency" touch-ups are needed while in the field. Yup - I swear by Lightroom and do also have but rarely use PS. The iPad can't handle either of them or iPhoto...but PS Express has now been released expressly for the iPad. The iPad screen resolution is GREAT but it's way too small for any serious processing. Besides, that's what the laptop is for and even that will eventually be replaced by a 27" iMac.
[/quote]

Okay, I get it. I wasn't sure what you were talking about, I thought the iPad had native software to view and lightly touch up photos...red eyes, etc. I love the iPad but if the next gen doesn't come with a front facing camera I will probably end up with a Droid Tablet by Archos, 10.1" screen, 16gb, $300.


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