PV as an investment [RE-wrenches]

Fri Sep 7 19:49:57 PDT 2001

Very good thread indeed,

I use the boat example.  It's derivative of Bill Roush's.  I tell them about
the person with the new bass boat (or insert whatever luxury item may be
popular in you area).

Did he buy a 20 yr old pontoon boat with a 5 hp motor because he really
wanted a bass boat that could also pull two skiers?
(Implying regular energy is comparable to the old bass boat and any old joe
could go out get a old pontoon boat)

No he bought the bass boat.  (Green Energy and the person I am talking too
implied)
And he (you) bought that bass boat (green energy) because he wanted it and
that's what he believed in.  Does it make any sense to get a bass boat.  Of
course it does if that's gives you pleasure.  Now amortize the cost of the
boat over the year into $/use and it comes up to over a $1000 per use for
most folks as they only get to use a boat a few time a year.

A PV system is a bargain compared to that!

Warning ... Confession Alert System Activated....
We all have our luxury items or hobbies or whatever you want to call them.
I'll tell you all something I realized the other day.  I was flying over
Kansas in a single engine plane at about 1000' coming home from a glorious
day at the Heartland National Drag Races.  Funny cars breaking 300mph, that
use 10 gallons of nitro meth in a 1/4 mile.  Nothing to green about that but
I had free starting line tickets so who could blame me.  We flew over house
after house that had a pool in the back yard.  I couldn't help that it's
things like those back yard pools that we are competing with.  We are asking
the average guy with a wife and 2.3 kids to make a choice between a solar
energy system and it's very intangible benefits to that pool, something his
entire family can enjoy.  I doubt many "average" families with 2.3 kids can
afford both.  As a father of a young child with 1.3 on the way I realized
that given the choice between the pool and more solar panels I'd choose the
pool every time and I'm pretty green.  What's that say about average
"Americana".

Travis Creswell
Ozark Solar

----- Original Message -----
From: "Allan Sindelar" <allan at positiveenergysolar.com>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2001 8:29 PM
Subject: Re: PV as an investment [RE-wrenches]

> Wrenches,
> Please continue with thoughtful responses to this thread. We're regularly
> asked this, too, and we need a good response. As I have done with a few
> other essential threads, I will save all of the good postings on this
topic,
> edit them to a single document that we can hand out to customers asking
> about payback, and make it available to other wrenches who request it.
This
> is good, important stuff. It is a "consciousness shift here folks... that
is
> why the change to renewables is so much more complicated than what seems
to
> be so obvious..."
> Allan at Pos Energy
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Todd Cory, Bald Mtn. Solar" <toddcory at jps.net>
> > Good thread...
> >
> > Another reply I have come up with to the usual payback question is to
ask
> them why they
> > think it is with energy, "cheaper is better"? I ask if when they bought
> their vehicle or
> > home, did they look for the rock bottom, cheapest thing they could get?
Of
> course not,
> > so I point out that likewise, some kinds of energy are different (and
> better) then
> > others.
> >
> > Yes, that $500.00 used, rusted out, 1967 pickup will move your body from
> point A to B,
> > just like brown, carbon based power will light a bulb or run the TV, but
> green power is
> > different and better because it is clean... but like a Lexus, it does
cost
> more.
> >
> > I also then point out how the current cost of brown power does not begin
> to include the
> > long term environmental consequences of using it. I tell them that their
> children's,
> > children's, children will get to pay that bill. I encourage them to be a
> leader, be an
> > example to others and make the only intelligent choice for the health of
> future
> > generations on our planet.
> >
> > We are dealing with a consciousness shift here folks... that is why the
> change to
> > renewables is so much more complicated then what seems to be so obvious
to
> us that are
> > on the "other side". Again, 70+ % of what I end up doing is education of
> the customer...
> > too bad the schools don't teach people to think outside the box better.
>
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