Daytime sleepless in Seattle

Urban Hardwoods / Seattle's Largest Hardwood Tree from Ron Hansen on Vimeo.

Ht AllenS:

Don't know how much they pay the guy on the saw, but it isn't enough !!!

Seattle is going Solar... Solar Panels

"Seattle is one of the most overcast cities in America. It is infamous for how rainy it is," the software engineer said. Yet, he added, it is just as cloudy in Germany, which leads the world in the number of solar-powered homes. If it works there –- and it does –- it will work in Seattle. Palmer's neighbor has had a solar system on his home for several years."

Palmer's 6.48 kilowatt system cost $30,380 fully installed. The federal government will give him an income tax credit for 30 percent of that bill. As a resident of Washington with Washington-made equipment, he'll also receive .54 for every kilowatt-hour of solar energy his system produces up to $5,000 a year. What's more, the local utility will purchase his excess electricity at the retail rate, which in Seattle is currently .11 per kilowatt hour at peak demand.

With all of the incentives factored in, Palmer reckons it'll take ten years to pay off the home equity loan he used to pay for the solar system and about $40,000 for a new energy-efficient home heating system, insulation, and to seal leaky windows and doors.