$1000 a month utilities in rural Escondido?

[NotCranky]

Nice house and property… he did a good job. Must be very disappointing. I saw several similar cases of this in Jamul.

Here are a few things I see on water/energy consumption:

The new vegetation on all those slopes takes a lot more water to get started then to keep going. Even Ice plant has to be watered plenty to get started. He had no choice but to put this vegetation in as a condition of his permits. The lawn since it is on a flat area was optional. If he has wierd pumping fees this can get expensive.

The attics appear to be minimally ventilated(people don’t like the looks of vents). There may be a power ventilator in the regular attic sections,if there are any. With vaulted cielings like the house has,there isn’t much air circulation above and below the cieling. It has relatively tall exterior walls and minimal eve overhang. This is all a combination for lots for heating and AC. I like the eve detail but it doesn’t knock down any sun.It is fire resistive though.

[UCGal]

[quote=Eugene]Your usage seems to be barely above baseline, solar panels would take a very long time to pay for themselves, even if you install them by yourself.[/quote]
Hijack:

That’s why we haven’t done it. On average, over the past 24 months, we’ve used 412kWHs/month. You pretty much need to average around 500kWHs/month or higher to get a decent payback. Even with the current tax incentives/rebates.

Now if we were able to buy an affordable (sub $30k) plug in hybrid – we would be able to justify the cost a bit since that would up our use and we’d be able to drive with a minimal carbon footprint. But plug-in cars aren’t out yet in any real way. I can’t afford a Tesla. LOL.

[UCGal]

[quote=Eugene]Your usage seems to be barely above baseline, solar panels would take a very long time to pay for themselves, even if you install them by yourself.[/quote]
Hijack:

That’s why we haven’t done it. On average, over the past 24 months, we’ve used 412kWHs/month. You pretty much need to average around 500kWHs/month or higher to get a decent payback. Even with the current tax incentives/rebates.

Now if we were able to buy an affordable (sub $30k) plug in hybrid – we would be able to justify the cost a bit since that would up our use and we’d be able to drive with a minimal carbon footprint. But plug-in cars aren’t out yet in any real way. I can’t afford a Tesla. LOL.

[UCGal]

[quote=Eugene]Your usage seems to be barely above baseline, solar panels would take a very long time to pay for themselves, even if you install them by yourself.[/quote]
Hijack:

That’s why we haven’t done it. On average, over the past 24 months, we’ve used 412kWHs/month. You pretty much need to average around 500kWHs/month or higher to get a decent payback. Even with the current tax incentives/rebates.

Now if we were able to buy an affordable (sub $30k) plug in hybrid – we would be able to justify the cost a bit since that would up our use and we’d be able to drive with a minimal carbon footprint. But plug-in cars aren’t out yet in any real way. I can’t afford a Tesla. LOL.

[UCGal]

[quote=Eugene]Your usage seems to be barely above baseline, solar panels would take a very long time to pay for themselves, even if you install them by yourself.[/quote]
Hijack:

That’s why we haven’t done it. On average, over the past 24 months, we’ve used 412kWHs/month. You pretty much need to average around 500kWHs/month or higher to get a decent payback. Even with the current tax incentives/rebates.

Now if we were able to buy an affordable (sub $30k) plug in hybrid – we would be able to justify the cost a bit since that would up our use and we’d be able to drive with a minimal carbon footprint. But plug-in cars aren’t out yet in any real way. I can’t afford a Tesla. LOL.

[UCGal]

[quote=Eugene]Your usage seems to be barely above baseline, solar panels would take a very long time to pay for themselves, even if you install them by yourself.[/quote]
Hijack:

That’s why we haven’t done it. On average, over the past 24 months, we’ve used 412kWHs/month. You pretty much need to average around 500kWHs/month or higher to get a decent payback. Even with the current tax incentives/rebates.

Now if we were able to buy an affordable (sub $30k) plug in hybrid – we would be able to justify the cost a bit since that would up our use and we’d be able to drive with a minimal carbon footprint. But plug-in cars aren’t out yet in any real way. I can’t afford a Tesla. LOL.

[PadreBrian]

UCGal, you are right, the break even point on solar is about at the 400-500kWh a month low end. If you use less than 400kWh forget it and stay on the grid 100%.

BUT, if your bill is over 500kWh a month, Obama’s 30% tax credit makes solar a no brainer.

[PadreBrian]

UCGal, you are right, the break even point on solar is about at the 400-500kWh a month low end. If you use less than 400kWh forget it and stay on the grid 100%.

BUT, if your bill is over 500kWh a month, Obama’s 30% tax credit makes solar a no brainer.

[PadreBrian]

UCGal, you are right, the break even point on solar is about at the 400-500kWh a month low end. If you use less than 400kWh forget it and stay on the grid 100%.

BUT, if your bill is over 500kWh a month, Obama’s 30% tax credit makes solar a no brainer.

[PadreBrian]

UCGal, you are right, the break even point on solar is about at the 400-500kWh a month low end. If you use less than 400kWh forget it and stay on the grid 100%.

BUT, if your bill is over 500kWh a month, Obama’s 30% tax credit makes solar a no brainer.

[PadreBrian]

UCGal, you are right, the break even point on solar is about at the 400-500kWh a month low end. If you use less than 400kWh forget it and stay on the grid 100%.

BUT, if your bill is over 500kWh a month, Obama’s 30% tax credit makes solar a no brainer.

[patientrenter]

[quote=Oxford]….He did show me this heating system that ran hot water through pipes in the slab….[/quote]

Oxford, sounds like a heat pump. I have some family members (in Europe) who are fanatical about lowering fossil fuel usage. Extremely well insulated house, cooled and heated by a deep heat pump, pumping cooled or heated water into flooring all through the house. Solar panels on top. I don’t think they use more than 50 euro a month in fossil fuels, through cold winters and warm summers.

But poor design or execution can lose most of the efficiency. I have to assume this person did a sloppy/cheap job of installation.

[patientrenter]

[quote=Oxford]….He did show me this heating system that ran hot water through pipes in the slab….[/quote]

Oxford, sounds like a heat pump. I have some family members (in Europe) who are fanatical about lowering fossil fuel usage. Extremely well insulated house, cooled and heated by a deep heat pump, pumping cooled or heated water into flooring all through the house. Solar panels on top. I don’t think they use more than 50 euro a month in fossil fuels, through cold winters and warm summers.

But poor design or execution can lose most of the efficiency. I have to assume this person did a sloppy/cheap job of installation.

[patientrenter]

[quote=Oxford]….He did show me this heating system that ran hot water through pipes in the slab….[/quote]

Oxford, sounds like a heat pump. I have some family members (in Europe) who are fanatical about lowering fossil fuel usage. Extremely well insulated house, cooled and heated by a deep heat pump, pumping cooled or heated water into flooring all through the house. Solar panels on top. I don’t think they use more than 50 euro a month in fossil fuels, through cold winters and warm summers.

But poor design or execution can lose most of the efficiency. I have to assume this person did a sloppy/cheap job of installation.

[patientrenter]

[quote=Oxford]….He did show me this heating system that ran hot water through pipes in the slab….[/quote]

Oxford, sounds like a heat pump. I have some family members (in Europe) who are fanatical about lowering fossil fuel usage. Extremely well insulated house, cooled and heated by a deep heat pump, pumping cooled or heated water into flooring all through the house. Solar panels on top. I don’t think they use more than 50 euro a month in fossil fuels, through cold winters and warm summers.

But poor design or execution can lose most of the efficiency. I have to assume this person did a sloppy/cheap job of installation.

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