Neanderthals (as we understand them) are extinct. We are not extinct… yet.

I am in the process of replacing the plastic release latches with aluminum replacements on our Lazy-Boys. For a few dollars, there is a world of difference in quality. Measure carefully so that you get the correct replacement size. With a little practice, it takes 5 minutes or less to replace the latch and cable. IDK of BIFL brand recliners, but this is an EZ upgrade when the cheap part wears out.

E-bike repair and sales.

Electrician, as household remove gas appliances, they will be switching to electricity. Any building trade, actually. There are going to be a lot of houses and buildings that will upgrading to be more green, and as climate effects will be stronger, houses will have to be built stronger to withstand a more angry mother Nature, and more insulated.

Given the number of houses that will be needed to replace what we have, this will be a boom industry for years. Factory built houses that are field assembled is one area that could be high growth. I expect 3D printed houses, and underground houses to be a trend, too.

I have a building contractor friend tells clients that he can build good, cheap, or fast, pick any two. That adage applies here.

We had our questions answered, and decided to go ahead with the deal.

I doubt that I can build a 12 panel solar collector, the inverter, the tie-ins and electrical panel upgrades, the batteries, the mounting structure, and wiring for $3200, which is 10% electrical capacity above our highest usage to offset the inevitable loss of efficiency by aging equipment. It will pay for our $1100 yearly electric bill and an additional return of $350 as a yearly rebate together, which adds to $1450 yearly return for 20 years (in today’s’ dollars). The payback is an estimated 45% declining to 40% every year over 20 years.

I also do not have to tie up land, nor maintain the collector, nor worry about vandalism, nor accidental damage. Edit add: An additional government rebate dropped my cost from $4800 to $3200. This swung the offer to be so convincingly enticing.

When mine were new, I waterproofed them. Regular maintenance, cleaning and re-treating them with a silicone spray extends their life substantially. I also have repaired and re-glued mine when repairs were still at a small stage, to extend their life. I have re-sewn tops to the soles, too. I wear my junker shoes when conditions are wet, saving the good shoes from water damage. YouTube teaches about anything, now, including basic shoe repair.

I learned efficiency in heat transfer by opposite current flows. For example, a heat trade between outside air coming in, and inside air blowing out is most efficient if the highest temperature has the exchanger with the coldest temperature, and second and third stages of exchange always move so that the last exchanger have both sides closest in temperature.

If you want to squeeze the most that you can in a passive system, this principle will help.

Don’t forget, in insulating, you want the least transfer, so you go in the opposite direction.

“I’m going to build my vertical farm/solar panels to put you into perpetual shade. Then, I will put float reflective Mylar panels to steal even more solar.” “Enjoy my shade!” /$ For truly transgressive, I will build coal smoke towers, positioned to block your sunlight, and cover everything that you have with soot. Art that reflects this would carry your point across.

Thanks for chiming in. I will need to dig in on how the electricity generated is calculated out per customer. I ASSUMED that panels will be replaced as they lose efficiency, and added as their farms grow, getting new panels and new members over time. New panels, with far better efficiencies, will reduce costs. Time is on their side. This is another Moore’s law-Koomey’s law coming into play. I see that I need more details to make a truly informed decision.

I moved to high ground, and have undue wind damage risk at my site. I have always opted to having control in my past. I have some other plans in the near future, If I do it myself, solar will be shelved for a few years, realistically speaking.

Eleven panels are quoted as needed. I am buying 12, (if I buy in) and would get my fraction equiv to twelve panels in their total array farm. Their insurance, wear, and depreciation is not my problem, because it is priced into their panel array costs. $4800 is a one time cost. Payments are available, at 20% higher cost. (20% for financing is far more than I am willing to pay.)

Alliant (the company) wants to be “green”, and are putting in wind farms and solar farms. They sold their nuclear plant and mothballed their coal plants, rebuilding to more efficient natural-gas turbines and co-gen facilities. (Elec and heat). They are putting in incentives for people to buy in to solar, in their pricing structure, IMO. More farms will be built. This will average out old array replacement and will presumably reduce their costs, as efficiencies increase.

I also get the satisfaction of getting my net energy to zero, and helping to fund an innovative energy initiative, while off-loading risk and another complex time suck. edited the company name. thx auto-correct for messing me up again, lol

I see it set up as a co-op, with the electricity generated to “my” panels being applied to my usage, for 20 years. The numbers in my particular case actually break even at 4 years, but I am checking the numbers carefully. This is close to the too-good-to-be-true category, so I am looking at it carefully. My wife worked at this company for years, from a meter reader up to an exec position in accounting. The numbers are based on kW, not dollars. If I use more, I pay more, and less usage means refunds. This leans to their favor. They use rates that are low for their refunds. If I did it myself, there are added costs of batteries, an electrical shed, separate from my home, using land that I can use for other purposes, and my time, which has value. If I built this, it would come in at about the same cost for materials alone. I purposely overengineer my stuff. TMI alert. Climate change caused disasters has cost me two homes. (flood, then wind) My house “codes” are aimed to European standards, and intended to last for lifetimes. I am a natural disaster prepper. edited a phrase to make it cleared to understand.