Going Electric: A new LEAF on life

Interesting read.

There's someone a block away from me that has solar panels on the roof and a Leaf in the garage. Livin' the dream!

 

It is an enclosed patio on the back, southside of the house. When it is going to be sunny I open a big sliding glass door and the heat just rolls in for 4-6 hours a day. In version 1.0 I put in a lot of mass (phase change panels) in the wall with fans and temperature control. It turns out this extra complexity, cost and energy use provided very little extra gain...a few years of testing and analysis proved this.

Then I moved to a house with a better sun angle and I built version 2.0. It is really just a greenhouse from a kit (see Four Seasons). There is a bit more to it, but that is about it.
I compare my NG usage via PG&E smart meter web site and I use about 30% as much NG as similar sized homes in my area. And I'm about 50% less than "efficient" homes (which I think are the 25% most efficient). My home is 2800 sq ft...so this small 100 sq ft addition brings in a lot of heat. It is so simple and cheap...but the downside is you have to open the door to the house and close it manually.

It isn't just that I don't happen to use much...10+ years ago I used 3x as much or more. I just decided to measure and quantify all my usage...and pick away at everything to lower my usage. Most things I've done are low cost. I look for low power replacements for things and when it is time to replace I put a high priority on power usage...not totally above everything else...I just pay attention.

Mike

 

I am not in Silicon valley, so I can only say the news reported differs from your account.

I read that positions for highly qualified engineers were going unfilled, and the Pres was petitioned to let the companies fill those jobs with foreign visas. The foreigners are not being paid less, so the issue is expertise.

 

EXACTLY. One more American gets it; about 300 million to go.

btw, I simply added windows to the living room. I guess that makes it a solarium
I don't have to open and close anything daily, but I did have to add an external shading mechanism for the non-winter. My wife was *so* skeptical that shading was going to be at least as cool as an R13 insulated frame wall, but she has seen the light.

 

Uh. Welcome to Silicon Valley politics?

Do you know how many high tech workers had been layoff since 2008 and not able to get similar jobs? Only to be replaced with someone with H1b Visa? By no means this is just an Obama thing. Bush was doing this. Clinton was doing this too. Wonder why these Presidents came and still coming to Silicon Valley on a monthly basis? To take orders from their true bosses. Only major difference between Obama and previous Presidents.... We have very high unemployment for the last 5 years, and this game is still being played.

Here is an example from last week's article that there are many qualified tech workers. And this is coming from a Pro Obama newspaper. In Silicon Valley, age can be a curse - SFGate

The article did not go any further, but when they meant younger workers willing to work crazy hours, H1b Visa workers are part of the story. Did you know that H1b Visa workers from India and China has a waiting list of 5-6 years to get their Green Card (which they desperately want) in California? Which also means that they are willing to work crazy hours for that long at lower wages to get that Green Card. And Silicon Valley employers know. And if they are not willing to work like that, their H1b Visa will be cancelled.

Here is another story from my friend, whom he is an H1b Visa worker himself. He has a friend whom came to America to work as an H1b Visa worker. His salary? $35/day with housing, transportation and food expenses paid for. He said his friend did not care for such low salary as he saw it as an one year vacation to America and is paid a lot for $35/day compared to being a high tech worker in India.

Would you be willing to take that salary? The fact is, his job would have been paid to the same American worker of at least $80k - $120k range to the employee, and not yet including bonus, health benefit, ESP, employee taxes, liability insurance policy, etc.

You say how is this possible with labor laws? Well, these employees are not employees to the company in the case of my friend's story. They are sub-contracted workers, where these workers are really Indian "guest" workers of a foreign company. Hence not having to follow American employment laws.

Welcome the new outsourcing of jobs TO AMERICA by foreigners. And it is Silicon Valley's dirty little secret. Hush hush.

If you want to know more, try Googling similar articles. Newspaper articles normally do not say exactly what I described. Must be scared of NSA (I kid). You should read the comments though. They all have similar high tech stories of H1b workers taking their jobs after they get layoff.