Grid-tied solar

[houstonscott]

One thing we are doing is replacing the 65w bulbs in the can lights (which need new trims anyway) with LED replacements (trim and bulb in one). IMO, that should hold up better than LED PAR bulbs. Aaron Z

I'm slowly doing same as they burn out, but the 13w led's are bright, too bright. HS

 

[TomSeller]

I'm slowly doing same as they burn out, but the 13w led's are bright, too bright. HS

A very green thing to do. Solar panels, LED lights... What green thing is next?

 

[aczlan]

I'm slowly doing same as they burn out, but the 13w led's are bright, too bright. HS

We are not happy with the amount of light from a 65W incandescent bulb (6 cans not bright enough for the room at full brightness), so we are upgrading to 20w LEDs (on dimmers) so we can make it bright when we want to be bright.

Aaron Z

 

[ultrarunner]

One thing we are doing is replacing the 65w bulbs in the can lights (which need new trims anyway) with LED replacements (trim and bulb in one).
IMO, that should hold up better than LED PAR bulbs.

Aaron Z

My place in Washington which is rented now... has a lot of can lights... they put them everywhere back in 1977...

If/when I were to move back... it would be one thing I would jump on...

 

[aczlan]

I got these: Feit LEDR56/827 Led Retrofit Kit 5/6-Inch 100 Watt Equivalent - 2 Pack - - Amazon.com $20/each on Amazon.
Lowes carries them for $27 each so its significantly cheaper to get them from Amazon.

Aaron Z

 

[dave1949]

A very green thing to do. Solar panels, LED lights... What green thing is next?

I'm not a religious person but I think Pope Francis nailed a couple of excellent points in his recent Encyclical. There are more green things to come and also to spread the wider implementation of green things already present. But at the end of the day, being "green enough" to preserve life as we know it today into the distant future is going to require action and thinking on a different plane.

It will require a much greater understanding of the natural world and the incorporation of environment-specific values into our set of moral values. The progression towards that possibility is examined in this opinion piece a little bit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/o...-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region

Being "green" has to extend beyond adopting the latest energy saving technologies. Every personal choice we make has an associated environmental footprint whether we purposefully choose "green" or not. Incorporating environmental values into daily lives means not seeing self-limited choices as sacrifices but rather as contributions to a greater good. Until that mental corner is turned we can expect increasing losses in what remains of the natural world.

It is a difficult concept to sell--given the only payoff people currently alive and making those choices can expect is of a spiritual nature. Environmental preservation is a necessity if we are to have "life everlasting" as we know it on earth. That is not a widely held or considered value I think. Perhaps that is why moving society in that direction will benefit from a spiritual approach.

 

[houstonscott]

My point earlier was "green" is nothing new, been happening for over fifty years. There doesn't have to be a some big mind change, Americans have always been green. If you think green is something new its you who are late to the thinking. Electric Mobility: Electric Boats on Bavaria'''s Lake Koenigssee - Mobility & Motors - Pictures of the Future - Innovation - Home - Siemens Global Website Germans mandated electric boats on their alpine lakes 100 years ago to preserve the area. Not a new idea. Being a protector and supporter of the environment and not buying the CO2 hoax are not mutually exclusive. HS

 

[ultrarunner]

I would counter by saying many of us are Green and never bothered with the label...

My Grandparents little dairy farm was very Green... they only bought in bulk things they could not raise... flour, sugar, coffee... never bought any finished/processed goods... just about all of my grandmother's clothes she made from bolts of material... they never owned a car or truck... they did buy a tractor in 1950 and it was still being used 50 years later...

I seen the other side too... managing apartments in the city... seems there is never enough space in the dumpsters... we had a garbage strike a few years back and the city was drowning in trash... my parents could fill a 20 gallon trash can in a month... kids just tossing bottles to watch them break.

Maybe being green is taking a step backwards... just like using mason jars, the same ones year after year and not buying into the disposable everything...

I guess I'm a throwback too... never needed the newest or latest of anything... my 30 year refrigerator, rotary phone and hand me down CRT TV's work just fine...

The biggest contrast I see is low income families where each member, kids included have cell phones... the cable package costs a $150 a month and 50" TVs and yesterday's game station is in the trash...

 

[ultrarunner]

My point earlier was "green" is nothing new, been happening for over fifty years. There doesn't have to be a some big mind change, Americans have always been green. If you think green is something new its you who are late to the thinking. Electric Mobility: Electric Boats on Bavaria'''s Lake Koenigssee - Mobility & Motors - Pictures of the Future - Innovation - Home - Siemens Global Website Germans mandated electric boats on their alpine lakes 100 years ago to preserve the area. Not a new idea.

Be a protector of the environment and not buying the CO2 hoax are not mutually exclusive.

HS

I've cruised and hiked Lake Koenigssee many times the last 50 years... the boats are almost silent... sound can echo several times... up to 7 I think... the captain will play a few notes on a horn and the echo reverberates...

The region is a very popular tourist destination and for decades the American military had a R & R resort in the region...

 

[houstonscott]

I would counter by saying many of us are Green and never bothered with the label... My Grandparents little dairy farm was very Green... they only bought in bulk things they could not raise... flour, sugar, coffee... never bought any finished/processed goods... just about all of my grandmother's clothes she made from bolts of material... they never owned a car or truck... they did buy a tractor in 1950 and it was still being used 50 years later... I seen the other side too... managing apartments in the city... seems there is never enough space in the dumpsters... we had a garbage strike a few years back and the city was drowning in trash... my parents could fill a 20 gallon trash can in a month... kids just tossing bottles to watch them break. Maybe being green is taking a step backwards... just like using mason jars, the same ones year after year and not buying into the disposable everything... I guess I'm a throwback too... never needed the newest or latest of anything... my 30 year refrigerator, rotary phone and hand me down CRT TV's work just fine... The biggest contrast I see is low income families where each member, kids included have cell phones... the cable package costs a $150 a month and 50" TVs and yesterday's game station is in the trash...

There has always been a similar feeling between generations, your examples are just your generations observations. You wouldn't go back to whale oil lamps and horses, but there were those who would have. Yeah, I have hiked and enjoyed those boat trips on two trips to Germany, a jaw droopingly beautiful area. I trace my roots to Switzerland and Germany
HS