In article ,
" wrote:

On Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:15:20 -0700, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
" wrote:

No, you can't get on the "freeway" unless you're going faster than 60.
If you're going slower (or the same speed as you say,)
they're actively pushing you off.

I've chewed this over a bit, and I still don't like it, and here are my
reasons:

Again, physics doesn't care what you like and don't like. It is.

1: Voltage sources in parallel do not push *against* one another.

Well, I guess you could say that "currents" push against each other, but it
requires a difference in voltage to have a current. Think of the intersection
of two rivers.

2: If no voltage source can join the grid without being at a higher than
grid potential, then every contributing power station would have to be
at a higher potential than every other one, and that's impossible.

You assume wire has zero resistance. Bad assumption.

3: While voltage might *push*, it's the load that it said to *pull* the
current. If there's a demand, current will flow whether the supply
voltage is 119, 120 or 121.

That is "said" has little bearing on physics.

Where is my thinking flawed?

The biggest flaw is that resistance is not zero and you take what people "say"
too literally. Analogies are always flawed. That's why they're called
"analogies". ;-)

None of the things you just said mean anything. Saying it's "due to
physics" is meaningless. I know wire has resistance, so what? And I'm
sure you know that when I said "I don't like it" I meant "I don't agree
with it." And, uh, rivers don't fight against tributaries, last I
checked, but you shouldn't be using analogies if you don't think they
hold water. So to speak.

You are billed by how much current you draw. Let's say your normal
consumption is a steady 1 kw. Now you start generating 100 watts. So now
you're only drawing 900 watts from the rest of the grid, and that,
multiplied by hours, is what you get charged for.

OTOH, let's say you install some bigger panels, and you can generate
1500 watts. Now your net consumption is *minus* 500 watts, so you're
pumping 500 watts into the grid, and, hopefully, being compensated for
that by the power company. You're using 1 kw locally, and delivering the
rest where it's needed elsewhere.

I seriously fail to see where the resistance of the wire has anything to
do with it. Please don't tell me "that's just the way it is." If I'm
wrong, give me a reasonable and logical argument.