Catweazle

Sorry to hear you can't get backup at home. Mid winter low light and short days make folks crazy.

I don't suppose you could sell him instead?

Kidding of course.

Its really too bad people are like that. Got friends who are very smart but just think high energy use is part of living a "good" life. Complain about gas prices but drive the V8 4X4 to work every day they actually only need once a year to pull the camper.

Would you go have a look as soon as he is out side lock the doors .

He will learn real quick that even  a small amount of power and heat is better than none at all

A  bit drastic I know but a bit of tuff love just mite be what he needs to toughen  him up
Any way  it will be a real hoot to see the look on his face.

In my opinion that is not so good advice.

Why don't you ask him to help you, instead.
Admit that your efforts haven't done a perfect system yet. And together you might manage to do better.

What about your wind machine? Is it working at present? Any pictures could you post? Maybe he could help you with the pictures at least.

Are you trying to cut back on grid usage to lower your electric bill, and help "do your part",...

Or are you trying to reduce deep cycling an RE battery pack?

You can't quit. You helped inspire me. I bought my first HF panels after your post.

   I too am having a difficult time with the spouse on the implementation of RE and conservation in general, but...baby steps. And insist that he pays the power bill. That seems to be working in my favor so far. :)

 Merry Christams!

 David

We would all hate to see you give up something you love and appreciate.
Even though your husband don't appreciate RE, I sure he DOES appreciate television and sports. I would try a different approach myself. The following is just an IDEA!!

 I would print out the following OFFICIAL 'Executive report' from the United States Goverenment (set up by Donald Rumsfeld when in office) about the possibility of an Electromagnetic Pulse, and have him read it. (It is long though--- About 62 pages)

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/congress/2004_r/04-07-22emp.pdf

Or here's one of times the government talking about it at the House:

http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/security/has204000.000/has204000_0.HTM

Tell him if this were to happen (GOD forbid), that you could still have some electricity for lights, TV, vcr, dvd and other some other convenient things because of what you are learning and doing with RE. (However, its not so easy to shield all electronics though)

Who knows, if he reads it and actually believes it, he might just begin to appreciate what you are doing from a different angle.

Quitting is the easy way out for all of us. Carrying on is harder and requires much resolve. I'm into renewable energy for my daughter, and the children of everyone else that live on the planet.

Take a holiday and enjoy Christmas and the New Year then carry on where you left off.

I'm slowly making headway here.  Trying to convince everyone that the dishwasher doesn't need the full cycle, and that bloody pots (dishes) will dry if the door is just left open for a few hours!  ("would you use a hair drying on the stuff you've washed in the sink?").

For example,

 My wife nods her head and pretends to be as interested as I am on the topic of RE. But you will never get a more genuine response, until the day the power is knocked out by a storm. In my area, a hurricane can come thru and leave the power out for several days, even if the storm doesnt really do any damage.

 Trust me you will be the hero, if youve got some charged batterys around and an invertor. Just to be able to watch some DVD's, to pass the time, gives everyone comfort, when such a time arrives.

Generally after such an experience, everyone changes there thinking. Get rid of what you think you have to, but stay prepared for a black-out. If He's winning about light and cold now, just wait till the powers really out.

That seems to be the case with the wives
of my friends, who have got this RE sickness.
(I'm not married, so I cannot compare with
my own wife.)

I've got many friends with other kinds of
technology hobbies, especially motorcyclists.
Wind machines in general seem to generate
even more dependency and to be more time
consuming than even motorbikes...
And that is quite much.  

In most cases spouses are tolerant, if the hobby
doesn't go too far.

But the difficulty is to know, if and when the hobby has gone too far.

In my opinion the limit is somewhere there
that you shouldn't make your hobby
to be more important than things, which put
you together.

So it is not very wise to start
talking about 'saving the planet' with
wind machines and such stuff. It is too big words,
to describe such things, which are taking your
time to spend in a garage and time taken from your spouse?

Hopefully he comes to his senses and learns to give a little. That IS what marriage is, compromise...

  It is hard to see friends and loved ones turning a blind eye to the problems we will all face in the near future.  I deal with it every day!!  My brother makes good money and pays his eletric bill every month, on time, thus, he says he is entitled to its use, wasteful or not.  My Uncle says, "These problems won't affect me, I won't be alive to see it!!"  Mean while, his stepson is going to college and taking Environmental Science courses, not because he wants to, but because he knows he has to!!  Wise for his years!!

  If not for your husband, do it for your kids, and grandkids!  They may not see the effects of your efforts right away but at least they'll know you're in there fighting for their future, and maybe it will even inspire them to do the same!!

  "Your contribution, large or small, does make a difference in the air I breath, and the water I drink, and I do thank you for it!!!"

She is no dummy and talks the talk how she cares about energy conservation. Also seems to require at least 1 and up to 3 showers a day while sitting around working online. Our shower has a manual flow control inline with the shower head and we usually use a very small flow to get clean the kid has to crank it up to full flow every time. If I bring it up the wife thinks I am being overbearing. Wife does real well herself and is behind me on the plan just not our guest. With this all electric house [except heat] hot water is  a major resource hog. Maybe I will get the OK to institute wood burner preheating next year. Solar preheating proved very effective last summer.

So, I feel your frustration. But not with the spouse just guest[s].

I am somewhat stubborn when I get ahold of something so I won't be quitting just yet.

Cheers.

TomW

My partner is very understanding, and as long as I don't force her to sit in the dark and cold I think that she'll be fine.

But I do consider myself very lucky in this.

Not wanting to play marriage counselor (no rate low enough to match my skills!), is the RE antipathy actually an expression of some other issue?

Rgds

there is a common rule in most homes,

"if momma ain't happy, nobody is going to be happy"

and

"she who controls the #$@%& "IS" the boss"

perhaps things might get a bit colder than he likes until he is ready to
meet you on some middle ground?

i have no idea how things work in your house, but
perhaps his soup will be a bit watered down for a while, with the explanation being
the electric bill is so high you had to cut back somewhere. or even better than that!

tell him that your hobby has changed,, you want to start cooking different recipe's
and start cooking with alot of tofu, and other crap that he won't like...
as they say the path to a man's heart is thru his stomach,,, maybe the path to his brain follows the same trail?

i suspect that you are a sharp gal and can figure more than a few ways of getting this job done...

i just wish my luck with women was as good as your hubby,,,, most i have been involved with have had no problem getting their way, using whatever form of manipulation that was within their imaginations  :)

good luck,, don't give up
we are all pullin for ya!

I like the idea. If the power goes out, you might be ready to get some power to the house as well. You might need only a big cable ready to pull it from your inverter to the house? If you'll manage to do that you might get later a deal to build some system for the house, too.