pie-eater 207 Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Good ideas Tubby. Though, I think the space one might come back to haunt us if there were any baddies caught in a Phantom Zone, like General Zod in Superman II. When Supes pushed that nuclear bomb into space, it shattered the Phantom Zone and the baddies got out. And then came to wreak havoc upon the earth! I don't know if this "Phantom Zone" actually exists, but you never know with all the military secrets out there and we can never be be too sure. Link to post Share on other sites
7-11 2 Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 ....and we can never be be too sure. 想定外 ne! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 hmmm....yeah, those mirrors that trap bad guys inside can be a real pain for earth, well just as well we have 2 huge Freezers to store the hot goo in until we can find a way to avoid any bad-guys-in-mirrors that are floating through space Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Good ideas Tubby. Though, I think the space one might come back to haunt us if there were any baddies caught in a Phantom Zone, like General Zod in Superman II. When Supes pushed that nuclear bomb into space, it shattered the Phantom Zone and the baddies got out. And then came to wreak havoc upon the earth! I don't know if this "Phantom Zone" actually exists, but you never know with all the military secrets out there and we can never be be too sure. That chick Ursa in the black leather boots was immensely HOT! I was 13 or so at the time...and just a total horn dog. Now though I look at pics from the movie and both Ursa and Lois weren't in the least bit attractive.... Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Those hormones were good for just about anything! Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Those hormones were good for just about anything! Ya, It's amazing we didn't explode. Kids nowadays just don't have the adolescent angst we had. Link to post Share on other sites
sanjo 2 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 .....I noticed that lots of the vending machines that were turned off last summer to conserve electricity now seem to be back on "blindingly bright" setting. Same here. And the street lights that were previously turned off now seem to be back on. Link to post Share on other sites
merryJim 1 Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Get ready for people using their noisy washing machines after 11pm when they introduce the price hikes! Going to be some upset neighbours, I can see it. Link to post Share on other sites
klingon 10 Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 I'm not sure who is supposed to benefit from 11pm to 6am (?) being cheaper? It's not as if most of us have the facilities to "charge up" appliances etc. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 It's not as if most of us have the facilities to "charge up" appliances etc. I guess the idea is encourage people to install such facilities, similar to the Eco-Cute program that has been around for a long time. (E.g., install hot water tank and only heat water overnight.) Or use solar PV or solar hot water to cut consumption during the day. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 What's the outlay for something like that then? Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Don't know, but would guess that a tank water heater would run something like 100 man-yen, maybe similar for solar hot water? Solar panels would be 200-300 man-yen for a full-house system. (Maybe 100-150 man-yen for a minimal system that can just drive the aircon on a sunny day for the family pets?) Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Not cheap, certainly nothing that Mr & Mrs Average are going to be able to do....... Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 As far as I know, the time-of-day rate plan is optional at this stage. It requires a smart meter, which the electric company will provide for free, so is not the default (which is simply 10% up across the board). But yeah, I think the numbers mostly work for new builds, not retrofits. I know someone who went with an Eco-Cute system when he built his house, and his electric bills have been ridiculously low. Still, they have to discourage peak-time use somehow, and not sure I see a better way to do it. Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 We had an interview with a solar dude peddling his wares around our neighborhood last year. The incentives just weren't that attractive and it would take forever to make it pay for itself. I'll stick with regular denki... Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Not cheap that's for sure. And that peak time thing is optional. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 We've got an eco cute water heater. It cost more than an oil or gas boiler, but saved us having to put oil or gas in, which would have been another trade. We've not got them onsite.I bought the thing myself on rakuten, which was much cheaper than getting the plumber to buy one from an inaka supplier. Our electricity bill seems pretty reasonable and with water is the only bill we have. With solar panels, if you got in at the right time for the feed-in-tariff and live in a sunny part of Japan, the payback was only something like 10 to 12 years. As investments go in recent years, that's a massive return. Of course, the feed-in tariff is paid for by everyone else, so you end up with it being a subsidy to the middle classes who can afford to put them on their house. Power companies hate the feed-in tariffs and the irregular supply you get with solar panels, and basically want everyone with them to get batteries so they don't have to buy power from them. Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 We've got an eco cute water heater. It cost more than an oil or gas boiler, but saved us having to put oil or gas in, which would have been another trade. We've not got them onsite.I bought the thing myself on rakuten, which was much cheaper than getting the plumber to buy one from an inaka supplier. Our electricity bill seems pretty reasonable and with water is the only bill we have. With solar panels, if you got in at the right time for the feed-in-tariff and live in a sunny part of Japan, the payback was only something like 10 to 12 years. As investments go in recent years, that's a massive return. Of course, the feed-in tariff is paid for by everyone else, so you end up with it being a subsidy to the middle classes who can afford to put them on their house. Power companies hate the feed-in tariffs and the irregular supply you get with solar panels, and basically want everyone with them to get batteries so they don't have to buy power from them. If I would have heard that deal I might have thought about it. As it was we figured it out to being around 20 years to pay itself off. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 A streetlight was newly put in our road yesterday. We didn't ask for it and weren't consulted, but a bloke just turned up and started fiddling with a power pole. I noticed it was a light when I was sitting in the bath after it got dark. Our road winds up the bottom of a hill with us the second last house. The light was put in between us and the last house which is about 100 meters away at a dead end. There's no reason for anyone else to go past, especially not at night time. The whole thing is a complete waste of money. Link to post Share on other sites
snowbender 3 Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 That must be very annoying. I don't like road lights lighting up my house. Link to post Share on other sites
Criz 0 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Seems a very strange thing to be doing given the circumstances. Link to post Share on other sites
JellyBelly 1 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Wonder what the logic is there? Didn't anyone in the town office kind of think hmmmm maybe this could be put off or not done at all considering.... Link to post Share on other sites
cheeseman 1 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 We live on a similarly quiet road that hardly anyone other than the people living here use. There's lights that are really not necessary and actually since last year they have had them turned off. No-one is the worse for it. I hope they don't decide to put them back on because one light affects our living room and I much prefer it not being on. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts