As you may see by the title, it has been 10 days since updating this blog. There is good news, and some old challenges to overcome.
The good news is that there is now 40 percent more solar power generation on my roof. The new panels came quickly, and I hooked them up in the front yard on the second day that I had them. I then got a frame together and welded, and put them up on the roof. I am excited at the prospect of more free power!
Each of the panels produce 195 watts of power, and I placed them to get the most sun possible. They were really a good deal too. There was no shipping charge, and each panel was only $ 220. This is less money per watt than I have spent on the used panels, and I had to drive to pick those up. There is the impact of manufacture and shipping from Germany. There is less impact because the panels came mostly by ship, and only between Georgia and Orlando by truck. These panels also have a good score for the manufacturing process.
There has been some use of my van lately for basic transportation. It has been too cold for me to ride the scooter too much, and I have put almost 100 miles on the van in the last three days. I have been driving it very gently, and hope to be getting about 24 MPG or more.
There has also been more consumption of meat and chicken. I have been trying to avoid this, but probably end up having meat 6 or 7 times per week. Darn that free bacon at Ikea!
I got my power bill for December 7 - January 9, and it was very low for this time of year. I used 93 KWh for a total bill of $21.60. I can not take all of the credit for this low bill; the weather has been very mild. The solar space heater has been doing pretty well, but on the second cold day it is not enough to warm the house to a reasonable temperature. Part of that is that my house looses heat like a sieve through the walls, floor, and ceiling. Don't worry though, this will be addressed soon enough.
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