solar house left in dark

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http://www.detnews.com/article/20090515/...se-left-in-dark
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Troy -- It was supposed to be a shining example of the green movement -- a completely independent solar-powered house with no gas or electrical hookups.

Seven months ago, officials gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the $900,000 house owned by the city of Troy that was to be used as an educational tool and meeting spot.

But it never opened to the public. And it remains closed.

Frozen pipes during the winter caused $16,000 in damage to floors, and city officials aren't sure when the house at the Troy Community Center will open.

"It's not safe right now, and there's no estimated opening time because it depends on when we can get funding," said Carol Anderson, director of the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

880 sq ft / $900,000 = $1125 sq ft.
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When I was a kid, my dad always laughed when he told me about solar powered flashlights.

Now he can tell the joke "Son,did you hear about the solar powered house?..."
 
Stupidly designed. It should be connected to the grid and that will still be savings and more insurance.

Pumping power back into the grid during daytime and taking power back from the grid at night is more efficient than using battery, and provide peak power at the same time.
 
If you are allowed to link up with the grid it a good way to go but often times the hydro companies won't allow it or it is too expensive for a household.
We seriously considered not hooking up to the grid as we are a 1/4 mile from the road but in the end we did.
Going off grid does make your house not quite as idiot proof in situations like this but if you like a remote location then often its the only choice.
I see michigan is trying to push itself as a renewable energy manufacturing centre. Its a good idea overall as the next time oil hits $150 they will do well.
 
Originally Posted By: Onmo'Eegusee
Even if I didnt connect to the grid I would have some sort of fallback, like a generator.

But then you would be making evil CO2...
 
I seem to recall some Roman Candles that never left the Kennedy Space Center. I guess they wasted their time too.

This is laughable.

If I handed you a "green" magic box that produced all the power you could use ..with only the stipulation that you give it away at cost, you would do whatever was necessary to bury it ASAP.

I had pondered that if I gave you the same box and said that you could market it for whatever you want ..that you would take me up on the offer

..but after this, just finding it "good" that a green attempt failed, I'm all too convinced that you would destroy the box and assassinate me to assure that no one else got the offer.

It would upset your vision for Tempestdystopia.
 
It's not a failing of environmentally sensitive thinking, it's yet another example of governmental failure. Typically, take a great idea, burden it with politically minded stipulations, then send the idea-of-mitigated-greatness off to the wasteland of tragically incompetent execution and follow-through.

Making too much 'evil' CO2 with your backup generator? Plant some extra trees in the yard. Anybody have links to figures for plant respiration?
 
If he had just said that they paid too much for not enough, that may have made sense. It would probably leave off some details like a parking lot for visitors/tours. Public grade restroom facilities on site ..and who knows what else ..park grade durable trash cans ..whatever.
 
Originally Posted By: Boomer
Gee, and they could have purchased a couple of large plastic tarps for what.....$1000??


They could have, but the local governing board has a bunch of FedGov employees on it, who are obviously used to FedGov-level spending.
 
If they house is far from the grid, then you have to compare the cost of connecting to the grid vs the risk of power outage and the need for a generator.

It is hard to judge how much it cost and how good is the grid. We in CA have rolling blackout when Enron was manipulating the grid, in the middle of summer. I personally only used about 100 kwh per month, and if I'm a few miles away from the grid, having a solar/diesel generator and battery/inverter might be cheaper than hookup for a few miles, right of way, lawsuit, insurances, and the electric bill.
 
We're basing it on our current ideas of consumption. Small or no windows, ultra insulation, and very few energy intensive appliances, coupled with some decent storage medium for solar heat energy and photovoltaic energy ...
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even in sunny old aussie i would still have a backup generator. in the northern USA a solar powered house is about as useful as an igloo down here.
 
There's a research institute in Denver growing Bananas using passive solar technology.

Just got to make the most appropriate decisions for the location.
 
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