"100% of people who do not save money do not have any!"--Dave Ramsey

[JSH]

I was shopping for some open land and came upon this listing. Any thoughts on the area Xist?

12 acres, $25,000, 30 minutes from Show Low, AZ

https://www.landsofamerica.com/prope...zona/13830394/

(Can't link a picture as for some reason all the buttons in the Advanced posting stopped working for me)

[Xist]

Some scheduler persuaded mom to waste her time today. Allegedly they wouldn't recommend signing up unless she would save money, but he started out saying "Many people are willing to pay more to save the environment."

Everyone has a different situation, but often it comes down to the power company not wanting you getting power from anywhere else, so they make you getting solar as undesirable as possible.

I have read that sometimes it is more cost effective to never tell your provider that you are getting solar, never set up two-way power, and just ground any excess solar.

They talk about saving 20%, but her bill averages $100 monthly.
They talk about how much you can save for how many years, but she told him she doesn't expect to live much longer, and he responded "Awesome."
He talked about her tax credit, but I pointed out she doesn't pay taxes.
I reminded her that having anyone besides Home Depot work on the roof voids her warranty and he said it would probably be okay, just not where the solar panels are.
So, they will be drilling into her roof and that part won't have a warranty anymore?

She mentioned the ROI of solar is generally 8 years--far longer than she expects to be around--and he said talking about ROI doesn't make sense when you don't buy up front. If you want to pay $30,000 cash then go ahead.

This says that if you have a $100 electric bill then you will need a 4.81 kW system, which would cost $12,698 before incentives, and $8,657 afterwards.

Those aren't even close!

APS doesn't offer net metering, but they do offer net billing, which doesn't save as much.

APS requires you to use time of use plans, but your panels would produce the most before 1500, while you would use the most and be charged the most after 1500, saving you less.

He said that if a home buyer is choosing between two homes they would choose the one with the lower energy bill.

You guys have multiple options when looking for a house?!

My brother's provider helps her dad with rentals and they have sold some.

Nobody ever asks about utility bills.

Even if you asked two sellers how much they pay, can you really compare two different families when you don't know how you would compare with either of them?

Due to the caveats I mentioned, I don't know if this is a good option, but it definitely is a better one!

APS limited-income customers now have access to rooftop solar

[freebeard]

Whatever happened to location, locomotion, loco....

Jack Rikard at EVTV had a massive rooftop solar install, and he found that the utility company was buying excess solar from him and selling it back at a higher rate, but the electricity never left the premises. I forget the details.

He had a plan called Selfish Solar where you have a utility connection but you never use more than the minimum.

evtv.me › 2017 › 07 › selfishly-solar
Selfishly Solar - EVTV Motor Verks
What I would propose is a bit different type of solar system I term "Selfish Solar". This is a solar system you build for you and your house. It IS connected to the grid. But kind of as a backstop/supplement. We would use the grid if necessary. But we never give or sell back to it. And the concept is to pay the monthly minimum connection ...

Start with solar hot water.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Start with solar hot water.

Didn't I look into that recently?

Why aren't I the foremost expert in what I have posted recently?!

Edit! It was on the third page in the lounge!

Adding solar water to a rental

I shared a video where a guy said that straight solar was more effective and was easier to set up, although took more space, than solar water.

How about DIY solar water?

Someone show me how to DIY solar electric panels!

[Xist]

Originally Posted by JSH

I was shopping for some open land and came upon this listing. Any thoughts on the area Xist?

12 acres, $25,000, 30 minutes from Show Low, AZ

https://www.landsofamerica.com/prope...zona/13830394/

(Can't link a picture as for some reason all the buttons in the Advanced posting stopped working for me)

Each time I start responding to this I get interrupted!

It's green!

I didn't see a single tree, just the same bushes that I see everywhere, but there is grass! Grass everywhere!

I like green!

I have never been to Vernon, I just remember passing it, but I didn't remember where until I checked Google Maps.

Vernon is the same elevation as Show Low.

This is the first image they share, but when I right-clicked I didn't get any image options.
I needed to go into the code to find this:

Oddly, that is in a folder called "Resized Images," but there don't seem to be dimensions in the image, like on Zillow, where I found this:


That is a 2-bedroom, 1,152-square-fooot mobile home that sold in 3 days.

They asked $180,000, but I didn't pursue it when Zillow said that with $0 down and $0 mortgage insurance the payment would be $1,000.

I feel that if I could afford $1,000 monthly, plus utilities, I would have significantly more savings than I do.

I built a greenhouse and I insulated a shed. I feel confident that I could make a tiny house, but how long would it take?

[freebeard]

How about DIY solar water?

Someone show me how to DIY solar electric panels!

A batch heater is just a water tank painted black in an insulated box. The hard part is a structure to hold up the weight.

There are videos here on making solar panels from old laptop screens, LEDs, and etc. that I haven't reviewed.

duckduckgo.com/?q=gordon+murray+smith+DIY+solar+panels&iax=videos &ia=videos

[Xist]

You didn't mention the glass top and for some reason I visualized a black tank inside a closed insulated box, but the first search result clarified that.

It also said that people empty them in the winter so the pipes don't freeze.

Pipe insulation is inadequate?

[freebeard]

You didn't mention the glass top...

Sosueme.

Technically, the glass top, or front, needs to be insulated as well. An insulated curtain would serve.

I'd look for a curved of architectural glass, like you see on those lean-to additions on fast food restaurants.

[Xist]

Single-pane windows have an R-value of 1, while Energy Star–rated windows typically have an R-value of 3. When properly installed, an insulated curtain can increase a window’s R-value to as high as 6

Bob Vila: The Best Thermal Curtains of 2022

So, up to R-3?

[freebeard]

With a rotating shutter the R-value can be anything you want.

An East-West trough aligned to the Equinoxes with a pipe at the focus can be drained into an insulated tank.