@Economister Nothing wrong with feeling good is there? I'd point out it is not always about the "payback." There are a number of ways people can use less electricity like using CFLs, replacing inefficient appliances, or installing solar panels. We need to consume less electricity. Remember rolling blackouts? Aging transmission lines? Power companies installing "peaker plants" to handle demand?
If I spend $8000 on a solar array, the first question on someone's tongue is "How long will it take to pay you back?" If I spend $8000 on a hot tub nobody is going to ask that question. Consuming MORE energy is never questioned. Isn't a hot tub also a "feel-good" purchase? I understand people would derive pleasure from it, but when I installed my 2.5KW array 5 years back I also derived pleasure knowing I was consuming far less energy from the grid, and at times putting some of that energy back out on the grid for other folks to use (distributed generation). Some people dread opening their mailbox to see what their electric bill is. I couldnt wait to see how small mine was. Its hard to explain how giddy I felt seeing my power meter spinning backwards at times.
Now the little system mentioned in the article wont make that big of a difference but the investment is much smaller as well. The point is, more people will be able to participate in lowering the need for the generation of power.
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