Top 10 solar countries

[Ban Hammer 13,400]

Sorry, Chuck, but that's not it. My folks don't pay more for utilities while living in a 3/2 house of comparable size to mine. It may be a bit smaller but not significantly. They have the same size side-by-side fridge as I do. Electric stove, gas heat. No a/c, true. But they have to heat that house from mid fall to mid spring which I do not have to worry about. The house there happens to be much better insulated, the appliances more energy efficient than your US average. And that, my friend, is how they don't pay higher utility bills. Not by giving up on comfort but by using energy efficient building materials and appliances. By the time you factor in phone, internet and TV cost for comparable service, they actually pay significantly less than your average US household on their monthly bills. It can be done. If you want to lead rather than be left behind. We opt for the latter, Germany opts for the former.

well there is that, better insulation. but overall, i'd say europeans are more energy conscious than americans - close the door to a room when leaving, specific heater for each room, wearing warmer clothes inside during the winter instead of shorts and a t-shirt, and so on.

btw, the water bill i had in germany was 12 marks a cubic meter - made great use of the flush and stop lever.

Edited December 10, 2011 by charles!

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

well there is that, better insulation. but overall, i'd say europeans are more energy conscious than americans - close the door to a room when leaving, specific heater for each room, wearing warmer clothes inside during the winter instead of shorts and a t-shirt, and so on.

btw, the water bill i had in germany was 12 marks a cubic meter - made great use of the flush and stop lever.

Well, yes. Pricing drives consumer choices. Conservation is key. It's why aside from better building materials and appliances, they have had fuel efficient cars in Europe for a very, very long time now. Even cars made by GM and Ford. Yet here, these same companies couldn't make them. Or so they told the American public. They have built an effective CNG network for cars already. You can save huge converting any car to a CNG powered vehicle. That all started with public transport and service vehicles some time ago. Subsidized, of course. They saw it through and have an infrastructure today that this here country doesn't even dare dream about - not even a decade from now. They're getting ahead and we're falling behind. That's sad.

[Ban Hammer 13,400]

Well, yes. Pricing drives consumer choices. Conservation is key. It's why aside from better building materials and appliances, they have had fuel efficient cars in Europe for a very, very long time now. Even cars made by GM and Ford. Yet here, these same companies couldn't make them. Or so they told the American public. They have built an effective CNG network for cars already. You can save huge converting any car to a CNG powered vehicle. That all started with public transport and service vehicles some time ago. Subsidized, of course. They saw it through and have an infrastructure today that this here country doesn't even dare dream about - not even a decade from now. They're getting ahead and we're falling behind. That's sad.

i really liked the dutch way of things - gas station with gas and oil premixed for the mopeds. yeah, i had one while there in the late 80's

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Sorry, Chuck, but that's not it. My folks don't pay more for utilities while living in a 3/2 house of comparable size to mine. It may be a bit smaller but not significantly. They have the same size side-by-side fridge as I do. Electric stove, gas heat. No a/c, true. But they have to heat that house from mid fall to mid spring which I do not have to worry about. The house there happens to be much better insulated, the appliances more energy efficient than your US average. And that, my friend, is how they don't pay higher utility bills. Not by giving up on comfort but by using energy efficient building materials and appliances. By the time you factor in phone, internet and TV cost for comparable service, they actually pay significantly less than your average US household on their monthly bills. It can be done. If you want to lead rather than be left behind. We opt for the latter, Germany opts for the former.

Do your parents use a gas or electric clothes dryer machine ?

[Ban Hammer 13,400]

Do your parents use a gas or electric clothes dryer machine ?

most germans i knew used a clothesline.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

most germans i knew used a clothesline.

They still do...but you killed it. I was waiting for Big Dog to explain the air powered clothesline vs the Maytag dryer we Americans are accustomed to.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Sorry, Chuck, but that's not it. My folks don't pay more for utilities while living in a 3/2 house of comparable size to mine. It may be a bit smaller but not significantly. They have the same size side-by-side fridge as I do. Electric stove, gas heat. No a/c, true. But they have to heat that house from mid fall to mid spring which I do not have to worry about. The house there happens to be much better insulated, the appliances more energy efficient than your US average. And that, my friend, is how they don't pay higher utility bills. Not by giving up on comfort but by using energy efficient building materials and appliances. By the time you factor in phone, internet and TV cost for comparable service, they actually pay significantly less than your average US household on their monthly bills. It can be done. If you want to lead rather than be left behind. We opt for the latter, Germany opts for the former.

meh.. depends in what part of the country you live.. My state uses a lot of Hydro power and we have some the lowest electrical rates in the nation (6.35 cents per Kilowatt hour for an average) but because of the the temperature fluctuations there is a fairly strict building code for residential homes... Makes for some very low bills Germany pays an average of 30.66 cents per Kilowatt hour (crazy!) - they invest more in insulation and energy savings because it provides a greater return.

I drove down to Salt Lake during thanksgiving and I was amazed at how many windmills have gone up in the last six months since I'd last done the drive (about 300 miles)... Hundreds and hundreds of them and more were under construction... Wind power becomes a viable alternative and *poof* it starts appearing in greater numbers and gets used.. Same will happen with Solar. Rolling it out in mass before it is viable is not leading, it is wasting money.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Do your parents use a gas or electric clothes dryer machine?

Depends on the weather - they have a dryer but use it only when the weather dictates it since Mom prefers to dry the clothes outside.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

i really liked the dutch way of things - gas station with gas and oil premixed for the mopeds. yeah, i had one while there in the late 80's

That mix wasn't just for the mopeds. My first car had a 2 cycle engine as well requiring the mix.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Germany pays an average of 30.66 cents per Kilowatt hour (crazy!) - they invest more in insulation and energy savings because it provides a greater return.

Also cuts down on energy consumption. Germans consume half the energy their US counterparts do.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Also cuts down on energy consumption. Germans consume half the energy their US counterparts do.

Imagine how awesome it would be if they doubled or quadrupled the price again.. they could live in caves around a fire and you could really brag them up.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Imagine how awesome it would be if they doubled or quadrupled the price again.. they could live in caves around a fire and you could really brag them up.

It's painfully obvious that you're missing the point. Germans live no less comfortably than Americans. They just continue to innovate and improve technologies and infrastructure to have comfort w/o wasting energy left, right and center. It's beginning here, too. However slowly. They're just a couple decades ahead of the game over there.

Edited December 11, 2011 by Mr. Big Dog