Trace C40 [RE-wrenches]

[Todd Cory]

<x-flowed>Hi John,

I don't mean to be too critical, but the FIRST thing I do before 
designing or building anything for a customer is to have a very long 
and quite detailed meeting aimed at educating then about what a RE 
system can do for them and what it cannot. I try to get them to 
understand about the loads they are used to using and compare that 
with the available power from a RE system... and say shocking things 
like "can you get your current electric bill down to $15 a month"? 
Another one of my favorite shocking statements is to say  "...and for 
your $15,000.00 investment, you can expect about $10 to $15.00 a 
month worth of equivalent grid power. This gets their eyes WIDE open 
and makes the reality of how little energy they will get very clear. 
Then I counter this with education about what CAN be done with very 
little energy like using compact fluorescent lights, energy efficient 
refrigeration, non-electric space heating, propane dryers (or clothes 
lines) etc.

My goal is to get them as informed as possible so they can make 
educated and intelligent decisions as to whether they are willing to 
live within an energy budget AND be responsible for flying their 
system successfully with knowledge of it's abilities and limitations. 
THEN and only then, will I begin the process of load calculations and 
system design. If they appear to not be willing or able to work 
within a system's design, I will not build it for them. As I have 
often said, designing and installing the system is the easy part, 
educating the customer is where the real work begins.

It does the field of Renewable Energy no service at all to have 
customers out there using systems that, while operating within their 
design, fail due to uneducated idiots running them. It is hard to 
believe even installing resistance electric heating in a renewable 
energy home (unless it is a diversion load). These customers go a 
long ways to help perpetuate the myth that "solar does not work". I 
would rather do less work than install systems for people that will 
be unhappy with them.

Todd Cory
--
Todd Cory
KE6SXS
toddcory at jps.net
Bald Mountain Solar
P.O. Box 689
Mt. Shasta, Ca. 96067
(530) 926-1079


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