In many parts of America (Texas for example) the math doesn't work.
It's far cheaper to pay your electric bill for the rest of your life than to do solar.

You are spot on. The numbers made no sense for me. Now, if rates triple [from $0.105/KWh] I may look at it again.

May seem a little vain, but my primary issue with solar panels in residential areas is they are just such an eye sore. However, I have seen some advancements in solar shingles that are quite stylish. I'm sure they are crazy expensive, but vastly superior in appearance to the traditional rectangle panels mounted above the roof.

Even so, I would still be extremely concerned where I live having any solar panels/shingles given all of the hailstorms we have. I built my house in 2007 and am on my fourth roof (last two have even been class 4 hail resistant). Probably not a concern for most, but we have multiple hail storms every year here and some are quite destructive.

You'd have to live in one of the cool cities like Austin, where you get a city rebate to install solar + your 26% Federal rebate.

Tesla says 12 year payback on systems installed in Austin

In many northern states, where electricity is more expensive, you have an 8 year payback.

10 cents, lol we are 4x that and beyond. I gotta get out of this place and move to LV.

Plus the -0- State income tax deal. I got away from Michigan's 4.25% rate. Yours is over double.....

Anything involving a timeline and Tesla needs to be taken with a grain of salt, or more realistically, all the salt in the Pacific.

Also any and all claims about "full self driving."

Elon Musk is the worst

Are we back to the “but electricity comes from burning coal” argument again?

All:
See page 1

Just for kicks.

Looks like currently in US about 60% of energy comes from fossil fuels.

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BTW, if the US would double our nuclear capacity (about an additional 100 plants) then we could completely replace burning coal. However, I don't think the population has the stomach for it. I bet if you survey 100 Americans, maybe 10 would know that we even use nuclear power.

I'm also a little intrigued how hydroelectric has remained constant. Not sure if this means we have tapped our full potential or if there are other mitigating circumstances that prevent us from increasing production.

Here's another helpful chart to understand where all of the emissions are coming from globally (might want to pay attention to the blue part).

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Actually, you are saving 1 / 284,000,000 * .4 = 0.0000000014% of the fossil fuels potentially consumed by automobiles in the US. Of course that assumes the averages for types of energy production hold true regarding where the power originates to charge your vehicle.

I’m actually more of a “stop wasting time and effort on symbolic gestures that make me feel good about myself and focus on addressing the real source of the issue where meaningful impact can be made” kind of guy.

Was out driving my Z yesterday to catch some of the airshow at the nearby airport, and while I was sitting at a traffic light a matte black Tesla Plaid pulled up next to me in the left turn lane. This was the first time I've seen one that close and I must admit the profile of the car is quite stylish (there is still a little work to be done to get the design to look worthy of its performance - e.g. get rid of two of the doors). Regardless, I was hoping the driver would take off and accelerate through the turn on the green arrow so I could watch while waiting for my light to turn green, but I guess he wasn't in the mood at the time.

My kingdom for a sporty 2 door EV. I hate 4 doors.

I've got two electric cars. In 2002 I traded a '69 convertible Mustang for my first EV, a four person GEM car. (that might have been a mistake). The Smart electric is awesome and the EV we all need, too bad it wasn't priced like the GEM. The Tesla is... well... the Tesla.

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Oh man. 60s Mustang convertibles are on my list of all-time favorites. If I were wealthy and had an airplane hanger to keep cars in, I'd definitely have at least one.

I've always thought that Smart cars looked like death traps given the size of all the other vehicles on the road. Did a little research, and indeed according to this Forbes article from 2017, sub-compact vehicles have the highest death rate at 4.5 cars per billion miles. Well, actually there is one class higher with 4.6 cars per billion miles - sports cars. I was a little surprised when I looked at the top list to find myself at #7. However, my assumption is that sub-compacts and sports cars are at the top for completely different reasons. In general, sub-compacts are at the mercy of other larger vehicles (also applies somewhat to smaller sports cars) while sports cars are at the mercy of their own drivers' aggressiveness.

Cars With The Most Fatal Crashes, 2013-2017 Model Years (average among all vehicles is 2.6 cars per billion miles)

1 - Mitsubishi Mirage: 10.2 cars per billion vehicle miles.
2 - Chevrolet Corvette: 9.8 cars per billion vehicle miles.
3 - Honda Fit: 7.7 cars per billion vehicle miles.
4 - Kia Forte: 7.4 cars per billion vehicle miles.
5 - Chevrolet Spark: 7.2 cars per billion vehicle miles.
6 - Subaru BRZ: 6.9 cars per billion vehicle miles.
7 - Nissan 370Z: 6.2 cars per billion vehicle miles.
8 - Nissan Versa: 6.1 cars per billion vehicle miles.
9 - Kia Rio: 5.9 cars per billion vehicle miles.
10 - Dodge Challenger: 5.8 cars per billion vehicle miles.
11 - Chevrolet Camaro: 5.5 cars per billion vehicle miles.
12 - Kia Soul: 5.3 cars per billion vehicle miles.
13 - Hyundai Veloster Turbo: 5.2 cars per billion vehicle miles.
14 - Nissan Versa Note: 5.2 cars per billion vehicle miles.

Even now EVs are a huge win for reduction of C02 emmissions, net, and just look at those trend-lines, renewables is hockey-sticking, and coal is disappearing.

The problem with nuclear is that it's actually far too expensive, simple as that, renewables + batteries will win every time.

Personally, I do think we should be developing some reasonable portion of baseline nuclear, long term, in the event that something like a large volcanic eruption, or limited nuclear exchange, or survivable asteroid strike occurs and results in massive short-term reductions in solar exposure, and even changes in wind patterns.

I love the stripes on the Tesla. I have a friend who owns a Smart Electric and he loves it. It's a surprisingly capable city car.

So I just returned home to NYC from Pinball Expo in Chicago with my Kona Electric. I shot a bunch of footage of the trip back, and I'm hoping to cut together a bit of a vlog about it.

I used to share that opinion, although the EV conversation being added to the mix makes it a break-even at this point for me (including rebates).

House batteries have shot through the roof right now - that's the only thing that's really holding me back from doing a full solar array on my roof with a house battery in the basement.

I'm already due for a service upgrade (only 100amp service in my house and the panel needs to be upgraded as well as my wiring.) As long as I'm rewiring the house I might as well upgrade to 200amp, send an 80amp circuit to the garage for EV charging, and outfit the roof with panels. I have a large lot with an 80 foot ranch home with a 4/12 pitch roof that faces east/west. Good candidate for solar. Easy to climb up, easy to maintain, low pitch means good sun angle.

But the Tesla PowerWall is killing me right now with their pricing.

You can easily get by with half that unless you are powering something else in the garage too. Most EV wall connectors max out at 30-40 amps anyway. Plus 40A gets you 9.6kW. That will charge most EVs, including Teslas, in 4-8 hrs max. Or just run 50A and put in a NEMA 14-50. Then you can run welders, RVs, EVs, etc.

Two Level 2 chargers plus headroom for a ceiling-mounted garage heater. Gets chilly 'round these parts in the winter

check out Generac's PWRCell

Wow, thanks for the heads up! I'll look into those.

If you have natural gas at your home, why not get a backup generator connected to that?

I've yet to have power blink since I moved to Vegas and we have high (30-50 mph) winds for 12-20 hours at a time at least once a month. I brought a gasoline powered unit that supplies 50 amps @240 volts so I can run most of the house if needed. Only one A/C unit though.

For me it's not about protecting against a power outage, rather to set up mostly "off-grid" operation and to charge EV's. I mean sure, you get protection from an outage by design, I guess.

Take your old 100a panel, and install it in your garage.

Just because today's EV only need a certain amperage, that does not mean there won't be faster charging vehicles in the future.

Think of your phone.

A 15w charger was huge a few years ago, but now all the good phones are 160w and charge to 100% in 15 minutes

Nah, a sub panel in the garage will be fine. The old panel is out dated and not coded to be reused.

Can ya fit a pin in a Kona?

Been to Idaho once few years ago, and that was just to say I did (needed to add another state to my son's travel sticker poster). We were in the midst of a Yellowstone vacation and took a day trip to the Tetons. Figured we were close enough, so we took the Teton Pass Hwy over to Idaho, drove a couple of miles, turned around, then came back. That was a tremendous vacation (everyone should go at least once in their life), and that entire area is beautiful country.

I don't know for sure, but I would guess not. The Kona doesn't have a whole lot of cargo space in general.

I figured out how to solve the range issue when towing using an EV pickup.

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That's a diesel generator in the bed for those of you who don't know what one looks like.

That sucks.

Around here, everyone has a 100a Square D panel that the builders originally installed.

The panel swap companies that advertise in the valpak put those in the garage, and put a 400a in it's place

Big enough for a good size welder, electric ovens and obviously a couple of EVs

Your electrician will calculate the breaker headroom, so if each vehicle actually draws 40a, a 50a breaker is of course required

(Older retired electricians who are not familiar with EVs won't know to put the charging ports near the garage door so you can charge in the driveway or inside the garage. Make sure you remind them exactly where you require the charging ports)

Here in New Hampshire we saw our electric bills go up 43% in August. Thankfully my solar + battery went live mid-Sept. First bill went from $230 to $39 with only half of it being with the solar turned on.

Unfortunately, I'll miss out on the tax incentive on the battery (has to be 2023) but do qualify for the panels.

In NH, we have the fifth highest electricity rates in the country since the state bet heavily on gas and now the era of cheap gas is over.

Interest in the local area to go solar is high after the shock of the last electric bills. My immediate neighbor just signed a contract. I met another neighbor down the road who came over to see my set up and look over her quote.

The panels have become so much more efficient and cheaper. Plus the incentives with the Inflation Reduction Act. Add a couple of high-efficiency heat pumps and its possible to greatly reduce one's fossil fuel usage.

The community I'm in is already ecologically minded - we've had a solar-powered clubhouse, activity center and sewage treatment plant for a number of years now.

We don't drive a lot (work from home) so green improvements to the house are more likely to make a difference. (Studies show that housing is the top carbon producer - more than transportation).

Why go to the trouble, just stick a windmill in the bed - free energy

Wind turbines are great, but they only work in areas with steady winds.

Although they are always becoming more efficient, you probably need winds of 15mph on a regular basis right now

Would it be wrong, if we are discussing all of the above, to require that nuclear plants built and run by private companies should be entirely funded by the private industry as well, including the cost of insurance?

Not against them as part of the equation, but it seems like that cost alone is why private companies don't build them.

Maybe. However, I'm thinking a short extension mounted to the hitch with a large magnet on it and an opposing magnet mounted on the tailgate of the truck would do the trick.

Troll physics is the best physics

truck creates it's own wind as it moves and generates more electricity with wind mill = free energy

This is so hilarious, you’re just a regular Pauly Shore

Do you consider "publicly traded" utility companies private or public?