Solar project #4

The question that first arises when one talks of solar PV or photovoltaic arrays is "is it cost effective?" I have to ask in what sense?. Our cars, may not be cost effective as compared to an elephant which runs on peanuts, or a mule. We choose it to be so by comparing apples to apples. We make a list of specifications, how fast it will go, how many it will carry, about the heat and cooling and such.. Likewise with your home. It is unlikely that you will get $150,000 in benefit from the home on the first day so to consider the economics of it we must factor in the convenience, comfort and amortize the cost over the life. So it is with the solar panel system. Why do you want one. What do you expect of it. Why do you want to play.

For me I expect electric power to go to 30 cents in the next few years. Three times the present rate. Along with that, if you read the news, we can expect $6 gasoline. I paid $5.35 for propane last week. If a person can put in a 4KW system for $20,000 and pay it back over 5 years at the end of the loan the 4Kw free power is just gravy. You got something back over the original period.

I also expect the armadillo problem to be as bad or worse. By this I mean that if you look at the number of solar days since the 80's when this was last popular you see that 40 years ago the sunlight for 35 degrees latitude was more like Cincinnati than Denver. Today not so much. I don't know who to blame global warming on but I know an armadillo when I see one.

The bad news is that right now a 4Kw panel is likely to generate only $86 a month in power on average while costing something like $400 a month to pay back the $20,000. Not immediately economically feasible as they say. But in simple terms without factoring in the future value of a present sum or other time value of money we see that the system will need 232 months to pay for itself. But like a home that is paid for in 20 years and has a fifty year life, the solar PV array should live and work at least 50 or 60 years.

Now all this is considering power at the current rate. If you believe that it will stay cheap forever then solar is not for you. But if, like me, the news crawler on FOX about Egypt and China makes you nervous then consider what happens if energy goes up. Consider a not unreasonable factor of three. At 27 cents the panel only takes 77 months to pay for itself leaving a reasonable expectation of 523 additional months of trouble free operation.

The other thing to consider is inflation. We know that stimulus money, borrowed money, and just spending money we don't have is inflationary. It is also reasonable to expect that a solar PV array will actually appreciate in value.

I know this is contrary to what everyone expects. As they become more popular, the price is supposed to come down. And down it will come in absolute dollars but in Obamadollars the price will continue to go up. It just might be a good idea to get some of that gold out of the basement and put it on the roof.

I know this is a lot of numbers when all you wanted me to say was that it would pay for itself in five years. Sorry. The truth however is that you can pay for it in five years with money you earned elsewhere. And like a new car you can enjoy it for the rest of your life if you want. It adds value to our home and as the energy costs keep going up for your neighbors and they don't for you.. You can enjoy that bit of internal smugness too.

Solar Project #3

The 190 watt panels are lighter in weight than expected. High efficiency I suppose but the ten panels are mounted on the ballast plates in pairs. A ten degree lift strut and a wind shield tilts the panels upward into the southern sun at something less than the optimum 34.7 degrees for our latitude but since the power goes as the tangent of the incident rays what we may lose in the dead of winter by not being optimum I expect we will regain in the sweltering summer Alabama sun.

Each of the panels contains a single Enphase converter that turns the DC output of the panels into phase matched power to connect directly to the grid. This eliminates the need for batteries which is a topic of discussion all its own. There is little or no need for batteries in modern systems since the microprocessor grid tie inverter technology has effectively turned the entire US grid into a giant battery. The inverters automatically turn off the output in the event of loss of line voltage.

Batteries are the bottleneck in any alternative energy system. Truly, at this point in battery development the only use of a battery is to eliminate the extension cord. Any other use of them, from a green standpoint, considering the carbon footprint of manufacture, or from a economic standpoint, makes no sense. So, the micro inverter puts us into the position of being able to get a 200 watt panel in our hands with a zip cord that plugs right into a socket on the front porch. You might not want to do that. It might not meet codes. But, the day is upon us when a person with little electrical skill can set up a solar panel and plug it in with the same ease that one would set up an ironing board and plug in the iron. {if you don't know what an iron is, look it up}

Unpacking the 190 Watt Panels

Solar project #2

I don't mean to promote a particular product and the Andalay system was not our first choice. But incentives from Lowes, along with the convenience of installation and the reliability factor of having multiple inverters seemed to outweigh the single inverter system. Quite frankly the number of people who offer a turnkey system is not at all impressive.

I got the solar system and IT is HOT!

All content Copyright 2011 by Jim Bonner.. No use is permitted except by permission of the author.

Well folks, the content of this site for the next few weeks is going to be boring.. I mean really boring. Even more boring that my usual self introspection and grandiose promotion.

I simply intend to use this space as a notepad to gather facts and data regarding the installation of a Solar Power Cogeneration site. So if you are reading this you are privy to the notes intended for students and interested or disinterested parties as the installation progresses. As the tombstone says, No Les-No More.

Feel free to go to the restroom at any time.

A few weeks ago Northwest Shoals College and Lowes Corporation put together a package of 180 watt solar panels. At this point I don't even know if they are polycrystalline or Monocrystalline cells.

Poly is cheaper but less efficient. Monocrystalline - meaning single cell, is more efficent but the cost are greater.

Not meaning to plug any supplier but one might find a system very similar in the $10,000 price range at:
http://www.solarpanelstore.com/solar-power.large-solar-panels.andalay.andalay_2275.info.1.html

Or just look up Andalay solar which should get you to the general space. Our system is intended to highlight the methods of installation of the electrical interface. The actual nuts and bolts of putting panels on the roof is outside our trade. As such we choose a ballasted mounting system that we can just toss on the roof. The part that keeps electricians in the loop is that we have to follow codes. Conduit to the outside, proper interconnection to the breaker panel since the system generates power instead of uses it.

Even special consideration to the size and type of wire since losses in the system must be kept to the absolute minimum.

I told someone yesterday that I can explain Solar Power to a four year old in a few words but I can't explain it to you because you know to much about it. As Will Rogers said, "it ain't what we don't know that gets us into trouble. It's what we know that just ain't so" .

Discussion of solar power with most people gets into the issue of costs, green energy, break even points, and just plain aesthetics. But no matter what your political bent and your opinion on Global Warming the fact is; solar is hot. It is also a fact that the Middle East, Egypt, especially today, the price of gasoline and the number of degree days are all factor in our energy costs. If the trends hold the cost of electricity could double or treble.

When it does you can bet the cost of solar will go up as well.

We will be posting more as the system is unpacked and installed. I hope to present some things to consider, maybe some things you knew and some things you didn't.

As I said, the cost of solar is likely to go up instead of down in the short term. The only way to beat the system is to buy cheap and sell high.

I think it might be time to buy.

More tomorrow.

That nasty law of unintended consequences

One year ago today the US Supreme Court ruled five to four in a case brought by a group calling themselves Citizens United. The case was originally brought because a negative biopic full length feature film portraying Hillary Clinton in an unfavorable light was ruled a political ad by the Federal Election Commission.

The case was originally intended in the lower courts to simply rule as to that the film was not in violation of the McCain-Feingold Campaign reform act which prohibited such a political advertisement within 30 days of the 2008 primary election. Michael More was prohibited from screening Fahrenheit 9/11 prior to the election in 2004. In fact, Citizens United filed with the FEC to ban even the advertisement of the Michael Moore film 60 days before an election.

As I said, the argument was originally just that the film was "just a documentary" and did not fall under the definition of political speech as defined by McCain-Feingold.

The court ruled two surprises.

One- Against the plaintiff stating that the film was most certainly political speech.
Two - That since it was political speech then it was protected by the first amendment and superseded McCain Feingold.

The result of this ruling was the shot heard round the world in political circles. Under the new Supreme Court Ruling the Bipartisan Campaign Reform act of 2002 ( McCain Feingold. ) is essentially gutted and corporations and unions may use their general treasury funds to make an "electioneering communication" defined as speech that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate.

What has that to do with anything that concerns me you may ask ?

Well, friends, As usual it is mostly about me. I am an active Alabama Education Member. Many Riley Republicans early in the race dubbed me the offensive RINO term. Republican In Name Only. I personally have settled on the more palatable Republicrat, or even better the "Bentley Republican". - A fiscal conservative who doesn't really buy into the idea that we have to bail out bankers and insurance salesmen on the backs of the poor and the jobless.

Thus so, I rise to defend our teachers.

When our New Alabama Legislature took up the special session ethics law I sent letters and emails to members of my party asking them to think long and hard about making illegal union dues collection that were used for political purposes, arguing that the issue of union dues collected by payroll deduction had been settled in the courts many years ago and now the activities of unions on the political stage was clearly protected by 130 S.Ct. 876 . One Senator responded, "Yes the bill is worded poorly but amendments are discouraged".

So it seems that under McCain-Feingold some AEA activities were questionable and probably could have been challenged in court rather than on the Alabama House and Senate floor, Especially A-Vote. The heavily partisan AEA-PAC. However, under the 2009 Supreme Court ruling such political activities are now clearly legal.

Our new and light green Republican Alabama Legislature has been pressured into passing a law that seems in violation of the most recent decisions of the highest court in the land.

Even a backwoods Russellville lawyer should be able to point out to the court that the intent of the law is to circumnavigate a higher court decision.

Mike Goens and The Times Daily Empire part deux

A few months ago I went on an obtuse rant about the misuse of white space in the Times Daily. - Well not exactly the misuse of the white space, rather the fact that it seemed to be marred by numerous black and gray alphanumeric characters arranged in such a manner to make little or no sense at all.

Granted the story lines were complete. The grammar was correct. The punctuation precise.

It was just the complete absence of facts that seemed to get my goat.

As Kathryn Tucker Windham, Alabama's storyteller, and author of " 13 Alabama ghosts and Jeffrey", once said " You just can't tell the whole story if you stick to the facts. " Otherwise stated by a familiar family member - "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story."

But I am not sure this applies to the editorial page.

My problem child is the waste of valuable news space, By my calculation $1300 a day, devoted to such things as the imaginary left lane law and Fluoride in the City water system.

Recall in September 2008, when Doug Clement, manager with the Russellville Water Board, said the city would stop adding fluoride. The Times Daily went on a rant and absolutely called the city fathers idiots. This resulted in such a public outcry that the motion was tabled indefinitely. If not for the influence of the Times Daily editorial staff I am pretty sure the measure would have passed. J.C Hester wrote a fair and rational response as well but by then the damage was done.

Now comes the Times Daily on Saturday Jan 8 2010 with a published article titled "City of Atlanta to reduce Fluoride in City water supplies". This article quotes the Environmental Protection Agency as saying "Studies found that prolonged, high intake of fluoride can increase the risk of brittle bones, fractures and crippling bone abnormalities."

Stupid when Russelville does it, but absolute genius when the entire city of Atlanta does the same thing.

Again, I could give a rip about the Russellville city water supply. I don't drink the stuff. But I do purchase drinks bottled with fluoride, My fast food comes with fluoride, as does my toothpaste and many packaged foods, which tend to concentrate all the water additives in the cooking process. Does this have anything to do with my broken hip? Depends on who you ask.

But I digress. I really care little about this debate. What I do care about is the fact that editorial space could be used to talk about corruption of our elected officials, lack of money for textbooks in our schools, problems of crime and drug abuse in our communities. All this is going on under our nose and our public spokesmen seem to be more concerned about the number of people who drive in front of them when they are in a hurry and getting in the business of our local city leaders.

Apology accepted.

Enie Meanie Mighty Moe...

"I don't care shucks for the morality of it nohow. When I start in to steal a nigger, or a watermelon, or a Sunday-school book, I ain't no ways particular how it's done so it's done. What I want is my nigger; or what I want is my watermelon; or what I want is my Sunday-school book; and if a pick's the handiest thing, that's the thing I'm a-going to dig that nigger or that watermelon or that Sunday-school book out with; and I don't give a dead rat what the authorities thinks about it nuther."

Said Huck Finn on trying to dig nigger Jim out of his imprisonment.

Next month, NewSouth Books will publish a combined edition of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" Edited by Auburn University-Montgomery professor Alan Gribben which will omit the word "nigger." The new edition will substitute the word "Slave."

The word, uttered 219 times in the original text has been considered such incendiary language that many college English professors and most high school English teachers pass up the novel for more easily digestible fare. They would rather pick some inferior work rather than deal with "the word" in the classroom. I have personally seen grown men and women walk out of a graduate classroom because the instructor used the word as part of his history lesson. Gribben said, "For a single word to form a barrier, it seems such an unnecessary state of affairs,""I'm hoping that people will welcome this new option, but I suspect that textual purists will be horrified."

And horrified they seem to be. Although most of the "Textual Purist" have decried the "Censorship" of Twain's work most of the outraged were too pantywaisted to actually use the word in their own criticism, substituting the somehow more socially acceptable "N-word." Perhaps the Twain text should be rewritten substituting "N-word" at all the appropriate places?


Which is why, gentle reader, you may be surprised to find that I rise to the contrarian view in support of the new "Slave" edition.

My immediate question is " What word do they use for "nigger" in the Norwegian translation? In the Chinese text? As to Twain being sacred text, what about the sacred text? I personally carry a King James Bible. Mostly for show because the leather binding is prettier than my NIV. But if have to actually read it I use the NIV. Because the KJV is not written in English! At least not so far as I can tell.

I argue that the change of the word 'nigger" to the word "slave" is actually a modern translation of the text and language of the day into the text of to-day. The word "slave" is what Twain meant when he used the word in the first place. Words mean different things in different times and cultures.

Ennie Meanie Mighty Moe/ Catch a Slave by the Toe.

Less offensive? Probably not.

A more accurate interpretation of the original meaning?

Very likely.

A nugget

Gold lay upon the hillside
Cried "where is my love?"
Come to me forever
If you only know your name

I am FIRE the flame sputtered
Even more brilliant than you
I consume all in my path
With me your beauty will be shared by all

"No", said the Gold, Depart
Fire is not your name

I am EARTH the hill cried out
I support the weight of all
You will be light upon my back
And I can carry you forever

"No", Said the Gold, Depart
Earth is not your name

I am WATER cried the river
Fire and Earth bow before me
You will glisten in my shallows
Come and be my love

"No", Said the Gold, Depart
Water is not your name

Then Gold became dust
And blew away with the wind

"Why?" they all cried
The wind said "Nothing"

...

" Precisely"
___________________________________________________

When asked what he studied in College Jack Benny answered -


" I majored in Humilities"