ComEd launches pilot solar energy program for 100 customers in Chicago
By Laura June 
posted March 3rd 2010 5:47PM
posted March 3rd 2010 5:47PM
posted March 3rd 2010 5:47PM
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Another waste of resources, Nuclear power is the future.
@nastro I think you mean Nuculear
@nigra Or as Bush used to say, Nuculer.
@nastro
I much prefer the idea of Thorium as it's cleaner smaller waste is less doesn't stay toxic for as long and is just better then Nuculear.
@nastro
mighty tritium we praise thee.
wish I lived in Chi Town
@(Unverified) : Actually, Jimmie Carter popularized "nucular". And he was an engineer :-0
@Federaly
Thorium is still nuclear power, it is just a different radioactive element and sounds to be superior to Uranium.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium
wish they would do something like this here in SoCal...we have plenty of sun.
@aaronbustillos
yeah...chicago...not so much. More like six months of winter and S.A.D.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder
@oardietrying
Actually, Chicago gets like 80% of the sunshine that southern California gets.
@BAGAGT1 not this year :/
today is the first day it's been above 40 here in MONTHS, and one of only a handful of days in the last couple months that hasn't been overcast or snowing
@KeegdnaB Hey it normally only snows like 2 days in the year in the city I live in in Germany but this year it was almost snow everyday for 3 months and the temperature was below -15 grad on many days which is really not normal by itself. So with my hometown of Chicago we do have normally alot of sunny days but this global warming that the republicans and tea baggers don't seem to believe is kicking in Overdrive, this summer will be hot as hell I see it coming
pick me pick me lol
@Gompka
just hope that this winnie the pooh is cold enough to throw on some pants before he comes knocking on your door.
winnie the pooh looks cold.
@iroq d mullet
silly, winnie the pooh, that's no pot o' honey, that's a power meter!
sorry, i had too.
Whatever happened to nuclear power?
Oh just watch out ComEd. Apple is gonna sue you guys too for sunlight infringment.
"and give out hourly pricing information -- in fifty of those homes."
Wow, a low implementation rate of smart meters.
PSE of Washington State rolled out smart meters (reading every 2 minutes) to *all* of their 1 million customers over the past 3 years - and ComEd is touting a mighty 50?
*reads article*
"West Side"
BS *horrible gangsta voice* South Side Represent!
How do I sign up?
@brian515 Sounds like Com Ed sends out surveys to single family homeowners in the target area.
I still sent an email to the customer service drones on their website though I am not hopeful.
Does anyone else think the picture of that guy looks like he has bunny ears on his helmet?
why not do this in Cali?
@iPaul Because ComEd is in Chicago, not California.
@mattcoz
In califorina we just get bloom boxes.. =)
@mattcoz this is an observation. Why is it that California didn't do this first!
I would sign up for this if my local utility did it in a second. I agree nuclear is the way to go for most of the load but see no reason solar and wind can't be used also.
Smart meters would be nice too but since our utilty just finished installing remote readable but otherwise dumb meters we are stuck with them fir a decade or so according to the utility.
Interesting. It is about time they began implementation of "green energy".
How much does it cost to set a house up with a solar system?
@alsharifi
It depends on several factors. What kind of solar are you going to do? Solar power, or a solar thermal system? How much power do you want to generate? How much roof real estate can you spare? Any restrictions imposed by the neighborhood, or maybe city/town or county?
Also, tax rebates and utility incentives vary from place to place. In addition, the type of panels and the system that supports them may vary. But if you want a REALLY rough guess, I'd say you should be willing to spend at least $10k-$15k up front.
And you should have a good portion of that (>30%) in cash and ready to go, along with cash saved up for future payments in case you lose your job... enough to carry you over for at least 5-6 months with no trouble.
Here's what I think we should have by now:
1) Ability to monitor instantaneous and average total power consumption arranged by daily, weekly, monthly, and annually. Also by season, but that can be calculated from the existing data - not difficult to add.
2) Ability to monitor the above data with EACH individual outlet. Meaning, even down to the two separate outlets in each box.
3) Occupancy sensors everywhere, and high reliability, motorized vent covers. Not only can it shut down certain devices, lights, and fans when no one is around, but it could also conceivably shut off the vents periodically in unoccupied areas of the house. The living areas, for example, do not need to be heated by central heating when everyone is sleeping in their rooms. Perhaps have the vent covers closed 50% of the time. The thermostat should also be compatible with this - otherwise depending on where it is mounted, you may end up confusing it and end up with a lot of waste (and a really dry throat).
Anyway, I don't think this is difficult to implement given the technology we have today. Only thing is, I don't think there's a huge demand for it, other than by nerds like us I guess.
@paul34
That kind of stuff might be possible in a few years...But who would want it?
It would cost way more money then you would Ever get out of it.
You can't just start closing dampers (even partially) without compromising or possibly damaging conventional HVAC systems. The system needs to be designed to work that way (it's referred to as Zone Control) and requires a special by-pass damper, thermostats and "dump" zones for the bypassed air. By reducing the airflow over the heat exchanger or cooling coils you can dramatically affect the efficiency of the equipment and possibly damage it by over-heating or over-cooling.
This is totally unrelated to the news, but I thought this guy was a panda doing some meter reading when I was scrolling through the page :D
@horchata
i laughed even harder when i saw your name