…je vestirai. The state will refund 50% of your solar installation costs up to $25,000, and the Federal tax credit is 30%. I cannot easily gather $25,000 to pay up front to covert my electrical system to a solar one. This in my case might not eliminate all electrical bills, and solar panel technology is not at its peak. That is to say, now might be the time to BUILD a solar house, but it is not the time to convert.
It is, however, a good time to spend $8,000 on the conversion to solar water heating. The reduction in our natural gas bills will cause us to recuperate the cost of installation very quickly (a year and a half if you are several people or use a lot of water, longer for me). If we convert in 2008, we will be reimbursed $4,000 by the state in 2009, and get a $2,400 credit on our 2009 Federal income tax. The entire system would have a net cost of $1,600 and would start rescuing the planet and also saving money right away. The only thing I am not fully enough informed about is how long solar panels really last, and what happens to them in hurricanes.
We should do this, though, because a still beautiful earth with non-smoggy skies would be a hedonistic pleasure. The company I talked to about this is the one used by Brad Pitt. l learned about it through Your Right Hand Thief.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
I love madrigals. In fact, I love all the “impractical” blessings of civilization, such as the high arts, and would like some more of them.
Solar, si. Our photovoltaics are guaranteed for 20 years. A hurricane would trash them. But a hurricane would trash our house anyway. At our high electric rates, the payback is seven years.
Solar hot water is a great deal, because we have no cold weather and so don’t have to put in a heating system. We’re on our second set now, which paid off in three years. The first one was an inferior technology. This current set of two panels delivers all the hot water we need, including for the dishwasher. It has a backup which we have used a handful of times, such as at Christmas when all the kids were here.
Hattie, check out this version from Fuente Clara – it doesn’t drag as much as this Wesleyan choir’s one (which I otherwise like, and I like them). I am looking for the Nadia Boulanger one.
I spent my solar money on hurricane repairs but … next time. I am still very tempted to just give up hot water.
I was talking to my husband about the importance of celebrities getting into sustainable energy. People like us are not trend-setters; in fact, we are super non-trendy and would induce no one to do what we do because we’re so with it.
This is ravishing.
And now I have spent the afternoon watching clips of Orfeo. My god what a thrill!
That is exactly what I have been doing since I got your Monteverdi link. Monteverdi rules!!!