Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Running your electric meter backwards...

Slashdot linked to an article on residential solar power. We have the same setup: solar panels on the roof, no battery. If we generate more power than we consume (as is often the case), the excess power goes back into the grid and the electric company credits us for it. I think my highest electric bill was $8 last year. We ran the window AC unit nearly non stop; then again, we live in northern California, so it doesn't get too hot.

The little hacker in me loves the fact that I can connect to my solar system with a serial cable and monitor the throughput from my computer. I've been trying to come up with a cost effective way to do so wirelessly. I wonder if I can hook a serial cable to a WRT54G... so many projects, so little time.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

how many kw is your system? i've looked into it but illinois doesn't have a net metering law, yet. com ed is trying it out in the chicago area now... we are putting in a geothermal system in a few years.

josh

11:41 AM  
Blogger WhatIfWeAllCared? said...

Hi! I am glad to find your blog! Where did you get your meter? I asked ComEd in Joliet, but they have no idea (the poor guy didn't even know what it was!LOL!!!)

9:14 PM  

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