Heating Budget

[Oaktree]

13,000 acres of farm ground going out of commission.

Work starting on 13,000-acre solar farm in northern Indiana

An Israeli company has started work to build a solar energy farm that’s planned to cover some 13,000 acres (5,261 hectares) across two northern Indiana counties when completed.

www.tribstar.com

Wife and I did a road trip thru the midwest this summer, I was surprised to see the huge wind farms in Illinois & Indiana. Around here you might see a dozen windmills on a mountain top, they were in the hundreds there.
Don't recall seeing any large scale solar farms though.

 

[3930dave]

A few details - this boiler was mandated in Germany/Europe in the 90's to meet lower emissions, and it has a number of differences to the normal oil boiler. We have a GB125 BE - 87K BTU, three pass boiler with outdoor temp offset control same that is on many newer oil furnaces.

View attachment 725607

Thanks for posting that Carl !

I've sent this page link to my Sister. They might have already updated their's, but a few years back, they were still running an older oil boiler.

Your boiler sounds relatively easy to clean.... what I'd hope for in a modern design, but hadn't spent the time chasing down the info....

..... then, it drifted into my view on TBN .

Rgds, D.

 

[Oaktree]

I agree the Hydro QC power thru the NE would be a "good thing" but there are so many competing and politically motivated energy projects in New England these days.

Clearly, you haven't spoken with many people in my part of the state (north country). Northern Pass was hugely unpopular here...more blight so people in Mass. could power their Teslas, no tears shed by much of anyone when the application was turned down. Hopefully, they won't try to revive it in the aftermath of the vote in Maine.

Natural gas is going to rapidly become an energy source in its twilight. At least here in NZ, connection charges are rapidly rising. Friends recently replaced their NG boiler with a heatpump system and their overall energy bill is now lower.

It does seem to be the demon du jour, funny how once upon a time NG was touted as being clean burning.
Seems short sighted, as it is the electric grid/generation capacity is barely adequate, with yet another way of generating power off the table things could go dire quite easily, especially as we become more dependent on electricity. Wind & solar will never make up the difference, even hydro power is pretty much maxed out (and extended droughts would reduce that capacity even more, as has been the case in much of the U.S. west).

 

[3930dave]

Wife and I did a road trip thru the midwest this summer, I was surprised to see the huge wind farms in Illinois & Indiana. Around here you might see a dozen windmills on a mountain top, they were in the hundreds there.
Don't recall seeing any large scale solar farms though.

While rooftops are usually obvious, sometimes solar gets tucked into spots that are harder to notice.

I changed jobs this year. I'd spent about 2.5 years driving down a rural line-road to my last job, when I finally noticed one PV site, not long before I left there.

A big field well off the main line-road, notched into (from my driving viewpoint) taller trees had a large solar installation.

It does vary widely though, by geography..... here, there was a time when there were huge incentives in-place, to do ground-mount solar PV.

Rgds, D.

 

[Rustyiron]

Would a single windmill or solar panel (in a "farm" setting) be built without a government subsidies and tax credits? I'm doubtful.

 

[LouNY]

^^^^^
Does that get the point across that they are not economically effective on their own

 

[DieselBound]

Would a single windmill or solar panel (in a "farm" setting) be built without a government subsidies and tax credits? I'm doubtful.

It's all insane. The fossil fuel industry is subsidized to high-heaven also (factor in military activities in this equation as well). I'd always figured that cutting back on subsidies to the fossil fuel sector would have been the better way to go. There is critical mass to consider, that the existing infrastructure was built up over many decades. I have no "answers." I take no sides in any of this because in the long run nothing is going to be able to support infinite growth... For now I will continue on with firewood...

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Likewise. Severe cold snap predicted. I have a wood shed full of 2-year dry firewood, and more food on hand than I can eat in 3 months. Power goes out? I have gravity feed water, a Kindle Fire HD-10 and a car charger. I downloaded some movies for entertainment, and have a DX-440 for SWL. Let it snow.