EPA: Power tools that must be Solar by 2015

[dantye]

APRIL TOOL!

[124JOE]

haa you GOT ME

[dantye]

haa you GOT ME

Looks like another couple of dozen, too, but I guess it takes a Cheese Head to be willing to admit it!

[RRoller123]

I thought this reg was released just after the 2008 election? Isn't this old news?

[dantye]

I thought this reg was released just after the 2008 election? Isn't this old news?

Sounds right, but seriously:

NOAA announced about a month ago that they have discovered initial evidence that an increase in cloud cover seems to be developing world-wide, possibly as nature's regulatory mechanism for global warming. Of course, that news was immediately "back burnered" by the White House as politically untenable for the EPA and a certain former VP, since it would make solar a less viable choice, and global warming less of a threat.

Wind power is another matter, since so much of it will no doubt continue to blow out of Washington, whichever way the election goes.

So it seems a safe bet that 110V a.c., nicad and lithium ion will continue to be good power tool choices!

[124JOE]

yep it looks that way

[RRoller123]

As an Engineering student in 1976 I think it was, I worked for the D.O.E. /Northeast Solar Energy Center one summer, writing technical position papers on Solar and Wind energy. The problem back then with solar, and it remains today, that never gets talked about is the fact that so many different trades are required to install a residential system. You need plumbers, electricians, roof penetrations, carpenters, etc. and the costs just always got out of hand. Each trade needs a few grand to make it worthwhile, and the project costs go way up. Same reason renovating a wet bath costs so much.

[dantye]

As an Engineering student in 1976 I think it was, I worked for the D.O.E. /Northeast Solar Energy Center one summer, writing technical position papers on Solar and Wind energy. The problem back then with solar, and it remains today, that never gets talked about is the fact that so many different trades are required to install a residential system. You need plumbers, electricians, roof penetrations, carpenters, etc. and the costs just always got out of hand. Each trade needs a few grand to make it worthwhile, and the project costs go way up. Same reason renovating a wet bath costs so much.

So true - - We had this "liquid/mass" system Solar Heated house in Indiana. You can see a bit of the top of the huge collector panel array above the roof peak. It stored the heat from the collecting liquid in a 250 gal. water heater and a box of rocks about half the size of a one-car garage, located between the garage and the house. The builder had a terrible time selling it NEW, so he gave us a 7% 7 year contract when market Mtg. interest rates were about 14% in 1981. I'm sure he took a loss on it. When we moved to Wisconsin several years later It took us a year to sell, and we took a small loss on it, but we had VERY LOW heating bills during the years we were there. The next owners removed the solar system completely when the massive maintenance costs caught up with them, so your point is right on.

BTW - That's a Mercury Lynx - real sporty!

[Kent124]

BTW - That's a Mercury Lynx - real sporty!

I thought it was a "sporty" Ford Escort. Too good looking for a Chevette.

[RRoller123]

I ended up getting my Engineering degree in Solar Engineering from Boston University, but there were so few jobs I ended up going into computer manufacturing and it is a good thing too! Turned out well. I am still a big fan of small scale residential solar, but they need to be air based systems. Even though they are less efficient, the costs are far less to design and install, and an air leak isn't too big a deal <{:^) A fluid leak in a wet system is a nightmare if it starts in your attic! Especially if it is a system that uses dyed water/tube collectors, or a chemical working fluid. No thanks.

[donm]

My house has a solar hot water system that was installed by the original owner about 25 years ago. In theory it saves me money in the winter because it preheats the street water before it gets to my oil fired hot water heater, and shortly after moving here, I re-plumbed the system so that in the summer months I can turn some valves to bypass the burner altogether, meaning I don't burn any oil at all.

I say "in theory" because I once had to replace the electric back-up storage tank, about $600, and I've also had to go up on the roof to replace the glazing on the solar collectors when a tree branch fell on them. Oh, and I shouldn't forget that occasionally I have to change the water/AF mixture and reprime the whole system because even though it uses copper and silicone tubing, it still leaks out somehow. But I do love getting "free" hot water!