Submitted by K.Acome, Feb 28, 2007 19:33

I wouldn't be writing if Al Gore didn't make a movie. I would have never known the mansion's electrical usage in August 2006. Al Gore made the movie and I do know his electrical usage and I think his approach is don't do as I do, do as I say. Pratice what you preach, Al. Going solar by adding a few panels to your roof isn't going to help your household. I have no idea what the electricity is being used for but changing incadescent bulbs for compact fluorescent and adding a few solar panels to the roof of the mansion is not going to reduce nor produce 730 kW a day.
It is reported Al Gore is planning to add solar to his mansion. Sounds Good? Okay - Let's do the math
It is reported that Al Gore's house used 22,619 kilowatt-hours last August. Divide that number by 31 (days in August) and 730 kilowatt-hours used daily.
I looked around to find a picture and specs of a solar array that would come close to producing the energy that Al Gore's household reportedly used last August.
The link is to the Scottsdale Water Campus* - (shows pictures of entire array) APS and the City of Scottsdale joined to build a single axis tracking photovoltaic plant on top of the City's domestic water tanks. The system produces 300 kW of solar power. To generate 300 kW, 1,448 solar panels were used. The solar panels are mounted on a concrete pad 1 acre in size. If the August electrical usage was the monthly average, Al Gore's household would require 2.43 of these systems. That would be a total of 35,519 solar panels and require over 2 acres to mount the solar panels. If the estimated cost of 1 solar panel is $600. Then 35,519 solar panels would be $21,311,400. That does not include wiring, inverters, pole mounts, installation or up keep. It also doesn't include any rebates from the government.
Reducing energy consumption can be a painful or painless lifestyle change. The less energy consumed the easier the change. In Al Gore's household, I'd lean towards the painful side if any changes occur.
K.Acome

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