Hi Community,
I'm getting revved about how my husband and I can move towards zero carbon in the next few years. We are looking at heat pumps, solar panels, an electric stove/oven, and electric cars or plugin hybrids. We will need a new water heater in a few years, so perhaps we can switch that to electric too at some point. We like to watch our budget so it won't be done all at once. But the time is coming.:-)
We are lucky to live in a town that allows us to buy wind energy for all our electricity, but if they didn't have that option, solar is the way to go.
In this thread, I thought we could share our experiences, like the cars to buy, the rebates available, solar panel companies to hire.
Electric cars and plugin hybrids: I have an old Prius that just keeps going. It's 13 years old and 250,000 miles strong. It's an incredible little car. If I drive it mindfully, I still get 55 mpg. It has paid for itself by the way over what I would have spent in gas. But I wish it were electric and I didn't have to buy any gas.
The Hyndai Kona is an electric car with a 250 mile range but I've never had a Hyundai so it's scary to switch. I don't know how they hold up. A month ago, I received an email from a local sustainability group announcing you can get almost $10,000 in rebates off this car, bringing the price way down.
We have predictions that electric car purchases are going to soar in the next couple of years which is nice. The Senate passed a funding bill for increasing the number of charging stations across the country. Hoping the House will keep that part in their version.
Solar panels: There is a house across the way whose roof is covered with solar panels. It's a big roof and it faces south and so I actually walked up to their door, rang the bell, and asked them about it. They were happy to tell me. They told me that solar covers all their fuel needs and they have so much left over that they sell it. This is in cloudy and wintry New England too. :-)
@jeanne-mayell We got our Tesla Model 3 during the CA and Tesla rebate periods. Model Y is priced lower and on par with other brands.
The car itself is a wonderful maintenance free vehicle. A few things to consider:
1. Tesla body work is expensive and very few places will work on them. Our windshield cracked and no one would touch the car. We had to take it back to Tesla for ($1000) replacement windshield. Ouch.
2. Battery distance needs - Our 300 mile battery drains faster driving uphill requiring 2 extra charges to drive 250 miles north. The downhill recharge does not come close to the uphill usage.
3. Charging availability - We charge at home, but for long distance trips it helps that Tesla has planned well. Charging on the road is widely available and inexpensive.
The cost of electric cars needs to be more affordable for the masses. Let us know what your research finds.
@jeanne-mayell Exciting stuff! I love this thread. We have a neighbor down the block who has solar on his roof. Works out very well for them. They are trying to get other neighbors to go together to get discounts. Our lot has lots of trees (yay!) and shade (boo for solar), so it is not really a good option for us. But I am looking forward to watching the technology for solar and other resources moving forward to see how else we can move towards renewables.
@cc21 Thanks for posting. We also have a lot of trees which makes solar harder to pay off. I wouldn't want to remove the trees either.
Food choices are a big way, and buying used clothes and recycled furniture is excellent. I have a young friend who works at Friends of the Earth and you should hear her going on about food choices. We have an amazing recycled clothing store in town that has beautiful things in it for cheap. I'm not much of a clothes person but if I need something nice, I usually find what I like there. And some of it still has the labels on it.
How exciting that both of you are on the same page together.
My parents are exploring electric car options, they really want one. One draw back they have right now are charging stations and the distances they need to drive. They need a car that can go from AZ to L.A. (6.5 hours) and AZ to Colorado (12 hours). Some electric car makers need specific types of charging stations, others are a bit more generic I understand. The maker of the car they really desire doesn't not have many charging stations along those routes but plans more in the future.
I have suggested they consider an electric car for local L.A. driving and their hybrid for AZ/Colorado destinations until things change.
My hybrid is averaging 40 MPG right now which I am pleased with.
Regarding gas stoves, I have only had electric but my parents love their gas stove. I suggested they look into the toxic concerns linked to gas appliances. If I were to purchase a new home, I would not likely get gas appliances.
I hope solar becomes more affordable, I would love to go solar, or wind. We get a lot of both in AZ.
Hi Jeanne
I am adding some Australian sites which give some information on how to get started with solar, inverters, batteries etc which should still be relevant for America except for where to buy them of course. Hope it is useful.
Solar PV and batteries | energy.gov.au
How to buy the best solar panels for your home | CHOICE
How to get started with solar | CHOICE
Regards to all
PS down here it is north facing for installation but in the northern hemisphere would it be south facing?
@jeanne-mayell (and everyone).
I watched the movie Kiss the Ground recently on Netflix and I highly recommend it. I was left with a sense of hope and possibility.
The biggest takeaway for me is the power of the soil. By regenerating the soil on a large enough scale we can actually pull enough carbon out of the atmosphere to COOL THE PLANET IN 30 YEARS!
That is jaw dropping to me. And it's not that hard to do. The hardest part is getting buy in from big agriculture. But still, there are things we can do as individuals, like supporting biodynamic and regenerative farmers, growing native grasses (there is a story of one man in the movie who, with help of course, was able to restore 14,000 square miles of completely soil destroyed land. It's phenomenal!).
And here's a short National Geographic video for inspiration about how quickly things can be restored. It's inspiring.
50 Years Ago, This Was a Wasteland. He Changed Everything
We have solar on our house that supplies 98% of our electricity, I drive a hybrid for the little I actually do drive, we use ollas in our garden to save water and buy most of our food from regenerative farmers, so we really make an effort.
But that movie really lit a fire for me that there's possibly an even easier and more effective way we can make a difference in the climate, even if it's on just a small patch of land.
There's also a book - I haven't read it but it's on my list. It's called The Soil Will Save Us (forgot the author's name, my apologies).
@kateinpdx thank you for suggesting that movie. We will watch it! You are living low carbon and that gives me hope. I have a vision that keeps returning to me of a hundred years of transition to an earth-conscious form of living and awareness.