Solar Panel Installation » General

Tesla Car Charging Illegally at DIA?

Dave — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:52:15 +0000

I found this car charging at the Denver International Airport in a somewhat hidden location in what appears to be doing so illegally.

My first thought was, “hey that is not fair” and that is why is costs so much to park at DIA. But I do love alternative energy and DIA has a huge solar array so I guess it is OK. However the solar array there only provides a small faction of the electrical use for the whole airport.

Then I started wondering if there was such a thing as a traffic ticket for this type of violation. Then I thought to myself with all the people that have camera phones I am not sure I would want to try this. But if you can afford a $110,000 Tesla I am sure they can afford the traffic ticket. How much could it be $100?

Yes you can read the plate number, and I know that DIA tracks all plate numbers that park anywhere at DIA. I am sure it would only take them seconds to find out who owns this car and send them a bill in the mail.

Another question I have is, let’s say someone from DIA sees this right after the Tesla is plugged in and disconnects it. The Tesla owner then comes back a few days later to find he has not enough battery to get him out of the parking garage, and someone is there to make sure he does plug in again when he returns. What does the owner do? If he gets a tow truck where does the tow truck take the car? The nearest gas station I am sure does want him stealing electricity either. So does he get towed all the way home?

Update: I was in Boulder the other day and noticed that there is a new Tesla dealership. I hear that DIA actually does have spots for electric cars to charge up for free.

They said it has been the #1 dealership in the country selling over 30 cars.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. Tesla Car Charging Illegally at DIA?

CFL’s Do Not Live Up To Their Warranty

Dave — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 22:19:15 +0000

Over the past 2 or 3 years I have replaced about 90% of my light bulbs with CFL’s from Home Depot.

They come with a great warranty (5 to 9 years) but I can tell you that they don’t last that long. In the beginning it was easy to get them replaced, all you had to do was call a number and give the product number and the UPS truck would deliver the replacement bulb in a few days.

Well now it is getting harder to get a replacement. On the last bulb that went out I gave up being on hold on the phone.

As you can see from the recycle bin at Home Depot that it is totally full, and every time I have gone to that recycle bin it is always full. To me that means that everyone else is having the same experience with short life span on their CFL’s.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. CFL’s Do Not Live Up To Their Warranty

Xcel Energy Makeover 2009 Contest

Dave — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:49:31 +0000

I got my Xcel bill today and I noticed a contest they are having that is ending in a few weeks.

They say it is easy to enter so I went to the two websites listed and couldn’t find anything about it on each home page. It was hidden away and I finally found it.

I think they need to build a landing page with a short URL and publish that in their newsletter. I think they would get a lot more people signing up which would help the sponsors of the contest.

Enter for the 2009 contest here.

The winning homes receive energy efficiency upgrades that decrease their energy use and increase their comfort. Homes are selected on a number of factors, including exceptionally high energy use. Past winners have saved anywhere from 30%-80% on their energy bills.

I entered, but I am sure I won’t win.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. Xcel Energy Makeover 2009 Contest

Pictures of Solar Installation in Colorado

Dave — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:31:26 +0000

I was out for a walk the other day and saw a couple of houses next to each other that had solar panels on them, so I took out my iPhone and took some pictures.

These installs are in Superior Colorado.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. Pictures of Solar Installation in Colorado

Solar Powered Lawn Mower Question

Dave — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:10:52 +0000

I recent got an email with the following question.

Dave, I have a lawn service in Littleton (CO) and am toying with using electric cordless mowers. These mowers last about 1- 1 1/2 hrs. on a charge, so I was thinking of using solar panels on top of the trailers to keep them charged up along with spare batteries. Do you know anyone I could get in contact with that has this type of expertise? Thanks, Grant.

That is an interesting question. When I was in college I used to cut lawns with a company that had about 8 guys and two trucks traveling around my old town of Redding CT. I remember the time to travel from one lawn to the other would only be about 10 minutes or so.

I am not an expert in solar but I would think that 10 minutes between lawns would not be enough to charge the battery in the lawn mower so it could last 8 hours of mowing lawns like I used to.

Perhaps others would like to join in if they know if this idea would be fesiable.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. Solar Powered Lawn Mower Question

Small Project Installs Like Solar Powered Fountain Pumps [Video]

The First Solar-Hydrogen House

Dave — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:39:48 +0000

I ran across these two videos last night and was really amazed by both of them.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. The First Solar-Hydrogen House

Does A New Net-Zero House Cost More? [Video]

SolarDave Traffic Increase Over 700 Percent

Dave — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:38:21 +0000

The graph below shows my site’s traffic over the past few months (from compete.com data). Looks like people are starting to read my blog on solar power. Cool!

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. SolarDave Traffic Increase Over 700 Percent

DIA Denver Airport Solar Panel System Pictures

Dave — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:55:31 +0000

I was coming home from a trip and noticed the new solar panel system going in at DIA and took some photos on a rainy day.

Looks like they are making them so the can tilt with the sun.

WorldWater & Solar Technologies Corp. is installing the solar panel system. 2 mega watt system.

The system was dedicated on Aug. 19th 08.

From this news article:

using more than 9,200 Sharp solar panels, the new ground-mounted photovoltaic solar arrays employ a single-axis tracking system that follows the sun during the day for greater efficiency and energy production.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. DIA Denver Airport Solar Panel System Pictures

Those That Can Afford Solar Have Big Houses?

Dave — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:28:34 +0000

The thought occurred to me that the people that can afford solar (not many people have $10k – $20K laying around) mostly likely have large houses with many electronics.

These large houses will need large solar arrays.

I guess ideally a solar panel system would work best in a much smaller house without many electronics.

I am sure that the average kilowatt stats for houses that have solar are way off because most of the ones installed are installed in large homes.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. Those That Can Afford Solar Have Big Houses?