Good idea with the FAQ page. We have simple responses
"boilerplate" text in the outlook express Signature file so I can see the
questions asked and pop in a few canned answers, often adding a few lines of
text to tie it to the specific need. For example here is one we paste
in often, just takes one click:
To use solar electricity, a home must function with between 1
and 4 kilowatt hours a day. That is about 5% to 15% of the power used in a
typical house.
To do this we of course learn not to waste energy, and
we do without perhaps air conditioning, but mostly it is not about doing
without. Mostly we select appliances that use far less energy and arrange the
house design so that less energy is needed for the same comfort level. Things
like no forced air furnace blowers, but use gas heaters located where heat is
needed each with its own thermostat. We catch "phantom loads", which are the
things like garage door openers and TV and office equipment, stereo, microwave
oven and other items which consume some power even when switched off. We put
these on a wall switch (or sometimes a timer) to cut them off completely when
not being used. And we use appropriate fuels, i.e. passive solar, wood, or
propane/natural gas for heating: home heat, water heat, cooking, and clothes
drier, never electricity. Electricity can operate short-term heaters like a
microwave oven, toaster oven, toaster, and hair drier. We design to eliminate
the need for things like heat tape on pipes, and all night yard lights.
$5000 spent on making these energy saving provisions will save more
energy and cut more off your electric bill than the same amount spent on
producing your own energy. And these things must be done before solar energy can
power your home anyway, so that is the place to start.
So the best advice is in two directions: Design passive solar heating
into your home. Then use the same methods off-grid solar homes do to keep your
electric bill under $10 a month. Passive home design is in many library
books. The electrical conservation information is available partly in our
catalog, and more fully in a book compiled by Rocky mountain Institute, (Amory
Lovins' outfit), called HOME MADE MONEY: HOW TO SAVE ENERGY AND DOLLARS IN YOUR
HOME that costs about $15 from our catalog.
Backwoods Solar Electric Systems
www.backwoodssolar.com A catalog
business on a mountain
2 miles from utility lines,
powered entirely by
our catalog products.
IF UTILITY POWER IS 1/4 MILE OR MORE FROM YOUR SITE,
get our free 160 page solar-electric Planning Guide/Catalog.
(Your
postal address required - Our list is never given or
sold).
Phone(208)263-4290 Fax (208) 265-4788 in Idaho, USA
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2001 6:10
PM
Subject: Re: Leads and(oops)viruses
[RE-wrenches]
Sorry for sending the virus piece back around. I dutifully sent
it to everyone in my address book and received enough replys about hoaxes and
such not to bother again, although computer semi-illiterates like myself need
to error on the side of caution. As far as leads and managing them , what
about sending any interested party to a page that would have a short"
frequently asked questions" section to pop peoples bubbles,scare off
tire kickers and semi-educate folks and have a list below that of contact info
of all the wrenches that want to participate so that the potential customer
can pick someone in their area. Each of us that gets out of town leads
could fire that URL off to the person and then hopefully they do their
homework and choose the wrench in their area. Carl Reuter
Land and Sea Solar, Renewable Energy
Systems. Email: carl@lan- Get personalized email
addresses from Yahoo! Mail Personal
Address - only $35 a year!
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For info contact list moderator by email:
michael.welch@homepower.com
____________________________________________________________
T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less.
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
- - - - - - -
To send a message:
RE-wrenches@topica.com
The archive of previous messages:
http://www.topica.com/lists/RE-wrenches/
To unsubscribe send a message to:
RE-wrenches-unsubscribe@topica.com
To check out the other RE-Wrench participants:
www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/index.html
Hosted by Home Power magazine:
www.homepower.com
For info contact list moderator by email:
michael.welch@homepower.com
____________________________________________________________
T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less.
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01