[conservaKate]

“Solar has always been “back to the land” for me. It’s as natural as hunting and camping. .....”
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I agree. Not sure why solar is considered a bad source of power by some folks. There are downsides to most all sources of power...be it solar, hydro, gas, wind, coal or nuclear.

I’m in the all of the above...how can I get it the least expensive way?

[Georgia Girl 2]

Well you are right there is nothing wrong with the alternative energy sources and we should have been doing more to incorporate them into individual homes all along.

I have long been an advocate of incorporating solar into all new homes that are built as a standard feature. At least in states that have a lot of sun.

In Georgia where we are I believe you are required to be hooked to the grid if its available so you can have a grid tie solar system but you cannot have an off grid system and uncouple from GA Power. We are putting in an off grid system in our mountain retreat and keeping it for backup as we are pretty certain the grid is going down somewhere along the line and it will be a moot point anyway.

But back to the point even a grid tie system in every new home would save untold amounts of money and the need to build new power plants. There is nothing wrong with these kinds of ideas.

[98ZJ USMC]

I agree. Not sure why solar is considered a bad source of power by some folks. There are downsides to most all sources of power...be it solar, hydro, gas, wind, coal or nuclear.

I’m in the all of the above...how can I get it the least expensive way?

The problem is, and has always been, not one of feasibility, but feasibility on a commercial scale. If the homeowner wishes to incur the expense, he/she can power their home PARTIALY through solar. Without a viable and affordable storage capacity, the homeowner-scale solar system requires a coal/gas/oil/nuke back-up for 24/7/365 power availability.

Solar has it's place, but if and until they can affordably compete with current generating systems, you are going to bankrupt people with pie-in-the-sky nonsense THAT STILL REQUIRES THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF BACK-UPS when employed on a commercial scale. That is a lot of the expense of solar, which is still more expensive than current with huge subsidies.

Perhaps in 20 years, it will be feasible. I don't know. My crystal ball is broken.