The MYTH of Expensive GREEN living

After my last post I received a lot of comments about how it was to expensive for panels or how it was to costly to set up solar cells, so I've come here today to debunk these MYTHS for some people.  While I understand this elaborate rouse of corporate brainwashing has been building for years at the hands of power companies, but it simply isn't true.  Some of you may ask why they DON'T want you to go green and the answer is simple.  If 20% of the United States switches to a self sustained solar living, then these companies will lose 20% of a $100 BILLION dollar plus industry. thats right, 20 BILLION dollars minimum that companies like DTE and ConnectivPower have a stake in, and don't want to lose.  Add to that the knowledge that federal mandates REQUIRE power companies to BUY BACK any non used power from you, and PAY you for it.  This means not only are you not paying them for your power, but they have to pay YOU.  This means their 20% loss, is closer to a 25-30% or a MINIMUM of 25-30 BILLION dollars they lose on a yearly basis.

Now Imagine what happens when 80% of the people in the US switch and become self sustaining.  not only would they lose 80%, but the average buy-back rate is about half, meaning a payout of  an additional 20 - 40 %.  Well if you can do simple math, that means that if just 80% of the US becomes self sustainable using GREEN Energy, then The Power industry stands to lose 100-120% of that $100 BILLION dollar industry, and that means no more power company.

So here are the myths perpetuated:

1) Solar panels are to expensive.

Solar panels are NOT expensive.  As proof, I've provided the following

50 WATT SOLAR PANEL ON EBAY

This unit right here is currently one of over 1,000 just like it being sold brand new on eBay.  It it currently marked at $0.99 with the reserve not met, however I know from experience that the reserve on these is usually between  60 to 80 dollars.

Now, some of you may be saying, thats a little pricey, but bare in mind this one panel is 50 watts.  This one panel, if hooked to a single deep cell battery, could power your refrigerator permanently. Now I know some of you are saying, "why my refrigerator?" and the answer is simple, its always running, and we need it that way.  If the power goes out, your food will stay fresh and not spoil, and if you have a gas stove, your in business still.

That's not the only thing though. If you contact one of these sellers on eBay, they generally are willing to do a  bulk order, cheaper!  I ordered mine at $40 a panel including shipping, because I ordered 10.  So yes, I spent 400 dollars, which did take some bite out of my wallet, but the fact I'm not producing enough electricity to power my refrigerator, my lights, my heater, and my computer, and my entertainment system. means I've cut more then 70% out of my electric bill!  I don't know about where you live, but here in Detroit, they tend to run about $300 a month for electricity.  Saving myself $210+ a month sure takes the sting out of it, especially since in 2 months minimum, I'm up a minimum of $20 and compared to last month, I'm smooth sailing.  If i spend the next two months putting the difference between my new electric bill and my old electric bill in a jar, I can double my panel array, and then the electric company pays me every month instead of me paying them.  How is it expensive to have a power company paying you, while eliminating your own bill?  Consider that the less energy you use, the more they have to buy (because your still creating the same amount monthly) so if you shut your house down, and go on vacation for a month, they practically pay for it!)

2) The Tech costs more in some places then others.

All hail the power of the internet, where if you don't like the prices locally, you can order it cheaper from elsewhere.  Right now, the bulk of solar panels come from China, Japan, and the United States.  When ordering in bulk packages, I have YET to meet a company that wont at least throw in shipping.  The biggest thing you pay for with Solar power is having it installed.  And this is why Myth  number 2 works for them.  They tell you its so hard to do, you need a specialized installer for everything. BULL$&!% You can install the panels yourself, its easy, and generally they come with mounting instructions and brackets!  Because its a niche market currently and not so mainstream, they have the ability to piggyback on the power companies "its expensive" claims by inflating their labor costs.

As an example, I use myself.  When I moved to Detroit in February, I called a few companies to get quotes on installing 10 panels, telling them i already had all the equipment.  They first hemmed and hauled because they prefer to use their own equipment (so they can pad the price there too), but in the end gave me a quote of almost $4000! I'm sure that would make ANYONE feel it was expensive!  Bare in mind, thats 4000 dollars for 6 hours of work that I did myself.  thats would take a crew of 2 people 2 hours to do if they did it on a regular basis (remember this is a solar energy company i called) meaning a price markup of 1,000 per hour per technician! no wonder they have everyone scared!

The point is people, it doesn't cost an arm and a leg, and its not hard to do.  If you own a drill, and a ladder you can put them up yourself, and if you shop around, its not expensive to buy, the tech is out there, you just have to look for it, and if spending an hour looking for solar panels at the best deal is to taxing on you, then have a buddy do it, or just follow the link under the picture of the panel above. There, cost effective.