Found 2 blog entries tagged as electric.

When you are buying your new home, you are faced with a bewildering array of specs, guidelines, options, and pricing. Some builders take advantage of this, and put in something that LOOKS like what you've come to expect.  One of the substitutions COSTS the builder less, but COSTS you much more in the long run.  Hot water heaters:

 hot water heaters

 

Notice any differences?  Let's eliminate the tankless and the small units (more for offices), and show just 2 options:

They LOOK almost identical.  The biggest difference is one is ELECTRIC and the other is NATURAL GAS.  If you aren't paying attention, you won't notice the lack of exhaust or the missing gas line on the electric.

The electric one is cheaper to buy (Rheem 40 Gal electric is $448 @ Home…

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JayMan is the first major builder in Alberta that has fully endorsed solar. Kudos to them for taking a big step. And it's gotten lots of press coverage, along with all the sales people in the showhomes pushing it as a feature.

 

But is it worth it?  And, how do we measure what something is worth?

  1. Is it just financial returns
  2. Are you willing to buy for the environment alone (ignoring the disposal and manufacturing of the panels)
  3. Or is it the self sufficiency aspect of knowing that you are WHOLLY reliant on the grid / others?

In terms of the last point, the self sufficiency, I like being self sufficient.  But in Alberta, even the biggest installation that could fit on my roof is NOT going to enable me to go off-grid in December. …

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