[Z-man]

Re: Stationary bikes - why not harness the energy of all those health nuts at the gyms? We could probably light a city like New York with all the pedaling going on!

Re: Solar panel roofs - I believe you'll see this come into play more and more in the next couple of years. The biggest problem is that in many cases, like in the Norhteast, there isn't enough energy captured by a solar panel setup to offset the cost of installation. To install a solar panel system in a typical house runs somewhere from $30k to $40k, before government cuts and such.

Actually, the solar panel setup works quite well - during the day, when the homeowner isn't home, and electricity isn't being used, the homeowner's electric meter will actually spin backwards - since his solar panels are actually feeding the grid. At night, his meter will spin the correct way. If the homeowner is an efficient person, he will wind up paying close to $0.00 for electricity for a year. If I got such a system in my house, I figure it would take about 15 years before I'm have any net gain, which is typical. (But if you start looking into government grants, and private company funding, the initial cost will go down quite significantly.)

Yes, I've looked into the solar panel alternative.

-Z-man.