Electric bills

[Davy Crockett]

I'm always looking for a way to save buck where it can be saved without discomfort, I've been interested in the shingle concept since the product first came out but in the early stages durability and payback was a problem this far North. This I good news , I hope it pans out. Darn Electric rates just keep going up and I don't see that changing any time soon.

Does anyone have experience with Solar ? I wonder what Insurance companies think of this.


https://electrek.co/2016/11/17/tesl...roof-even-before-energy-production-elon-musk/



On a positive note my wife gassed up the car at Fargo fleet farm last week for a buck seventy something a gallon.

 

[Ericb]

In Az there are a few companies that will put solar panels on your house. You get free elecricity off of it and they make money by selling the excess back to the power company. My mom did this she pays a access fee to the power company each month but only had charges for electricity one month this summer. Probably from running the A/C to much. Previously she would have three four hundred dollar electric bills in the summer.

Solar probably wont be quite as viable here but may be worth looking into. They also started putting coved parking at the big retail stores with solar panels on them. Looks goofey as shit but coverd parking is a premium down there.

 

[BrokenBackJack]

I'm always looking for a way to save buck where it can be saved without discomfort, I've been interested in the shingle concept since the product first came out but in the early stages durability and payback was a problem this far North. This I good news , I hope it pans out. Darn Electric rates just keep going up and I don't see that changing any time soon.

Does anyone have experience with Solar ? I wonder what Insurance companies think of this.


https://electrek.co/2016/11/17/tesl...roof-even-before-energy-production-elon-musk/



On a positive note my wife gassed up the car at Fargo fleet farm last week for a buck seventy something a gallon.

Still over 2 bucks here in Bis/Man. What a flippin joke. Just keep raping the people with a refinery right in Mandan.

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My neice and her husband have them on their house in Las Vegas and it way more than pays their electric bill every month and he said something about a deal from the government for having it too. Also some low interest involved. He is a really smart guy and really digs in and studies a subject before going ahead with it. The company he went with was having problems with one of their components and he suggested to them to try something different and it fixed it.
Don't think it would work up here in ND. Wonder what the hail this summer would do to the it?????

 

[Kurtr]

2.20 here

 

[MSA]

I just switched every bulb in my house to LED and cut my electric bill by about 20%.

 

[Davy Crockett]

Looking at LEDs online, They aren't as expensive as I thought they were. Might have to pick some up.



I see KW usage meters are less than $ 20 It would be interesting to have one.

 

[Bed Wetter]

We're building a new house and the builder spends a lot of extra time and money making the doors/windows/HVAC work together to be as efficient as possible. At some point they bring a guy in with a bunch of doodads and test every room in the house to ensure maximum heating/cooling efficiency. Costs like $4000 on top of the cost of the nicer Minkota windows but then there's a $3500 tax rebate (thanks jerks!!) so it works out. Biggest thing for me is that we're going to have a bunch of south facing windows and the builder assures me that they're sound enough to not require any window coverings in winter and I can leave the blinds open without it getting drafty. More natural light = less winter blues.

 

[raider]

Still over 2 bucks here in Bis/Man. What a flippin joke. Just keep raping the people with a refinery right in Mandan.

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My neice and her husband have them on their house in Las Vegas and it way more than pays their electric bill every month and he said something about a deal from the government for having it too. Also some low interest involved. He is a really smart guy and really digs in and studies a subject before going ahead with it. The company he went with was having problems with one of their components and he suggested to them to try something different and it fixed it.
Don't think it would work up here in ND. Wonder what the hail this summer would do to the it?????

i know of people who put up wind turbines many years ago that did the same thing... they would probably be more viable around here, but i don't know anything about the cost...

 

[guywhofishes]

In winter the old school lights aren't 'wasting' anything. They are just "little heaters" whose heat helps warm the house (albeit at a more expensive rate than gas or offpeak).

in summer old school lights are the devil.

Same with refrigerators etc.

women struggle with this concept - don't try to explain it - it's too maddening

 

[MSA]

What i dont understand about the LEDs is they use ten times less watts, but theyre still hot?

 

[Traxion]

One thing to consider when doing solar is each power company does things differently. Some charge access fees while others will only pay you wholesale price for the electricity generated rather than retail (the price you pay). As far north as we are, you also need to consider panels that the angle can be adjusted through the seasons. In winter our sun angle is so low that it is difficult to get much exposure on most of our roofs. Summertime it works but the rest of the year is less than optimum. Adjustable angle panels are way, way more money.

That Tesla roof is awesome! I have so many questions but it looks promising! If I were to build new, it would be SIPS and solar for sure.

I need to look into the LED bulbs. LED trims for can lights are crap expensive unfortunately...about $40 each. LED bulbs aren't too bad though it looks like.

 

[Davy Crockett]

Bed Wetter I'm pretty sure you will like those South windows, Artificial lighting makes me feel like I'm living in a test tube.

 

[Ristorapper]

I've done this with windows here in the great white north. They look pretty nice. Even leave some of them on year around. Made wood stained ones for our house that match the wood trim/color. Made some for my daughter's place, they have white trim. Worked out very well and pretty simple to construct. Some basic carpentry skills and you have a three or four panel barrier for your windows.
http://www.midcoastgreencollaborative.org/Documents/storm_pamphlet.pdf

 

[BrokenBackJack]

We have ordered quite a few led's from here.

1000bulbs.com

 

[gonefshn]

A lot has to do with your electric company too. Unfortunately I have a REC. Across the road my neighbors have Ottertail. They pay only about half of what my monthly bill is.

 

[Pudge]

CFL bulbs use one quarter and LED bulbs use one fifth of the energy as the old filament bulbs. Example a 100w incandescent is equal to a 23w CFL or 19w LED. Try to look up Solar panel Studies the one I look at last year asked for your zip code to see how efficient your area would be. Bottineau was not very efficient.

 

[Bfishn]

ND is just not a great place for Solar from the maps I've seen. I think we are more of a wind/geothermal state if your looking for renewable energy. I have all CFL bulbs in my house, haven't looked to much at LED yet becasue my CFL's wont burn out. I will probably go LED once they do. I have capitol electric in Bismarck and my bill is always between $40-50 on a 2400 sq foot house (the 1200sq basement is unfinished).