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Here is a blog that might be of some help 7 Energy Saving Tips for this Fall & Winter - We were thinking of making our house a lot more energy efficient too, especially with fall/winter coming up... Will look into some more sources as energy prices (and everything else) just seem to skyrocket and we still get paid the same :-(
Ok I have a 1250 sq ft home. Everything is all electric and has county water and it also has a well. There is septic system so no sewage bill. The home was built in the late 70's. I would like to be totally independent with the utilities. I don't mind hand pumping water inside the house would just need to run the pipes underground into the house and from the well...cap off the well on top to keep stuff and people out of it. The garbage we have to pay is 140 bucks a year and if you don't pay the bill whether you use their garbage system or not then you won't be able to get license plates on your vehicles. I would like to be energy independent in case of power outages from what ever reason so that it does not effect me at all. There are not streams nearby so I couldn't use current generators and wind is really not all that windy so the only other option besides going to bed with the chickens is solar. Like I said earlier there are no trees at all on the property and the house faces east/west. Living in the south would probably get 4-6 hours of sunlight most days at least. A wood burning stove would be fine to heat with instead of electric wall heaters and the house doesn't have central heat and air. My husband knows more about conversions than I do by far but I was wondering what size system I would need for busy 4 people, with all electric amenities?
I have seen these small solar panels in a hardware store and online. They cost about $200 each. They offer about 45-65 watts of power. They are often used for rvs and things like that.
I know I have a lot to learn about the electrical needs of a home but if your home electrical panel box is about 125-150 amps how many of these would you need to power a small home? . Could it be done with them ?
I have seen these small solar panels in a hardware store and online. They cost about $200 each. They offer about 45-65 watts of power. They are often used for rvs and things like that.
I know I have a lot to learn about the electrical needs of a home but if your home electrical panel box is about 125-150 amps how many of these would you need to power a small home? . Could it be done with them ?
A 100 amp service has 220volts, which means it can supply 22k watts/hour, or 528k watt/hours/day.
A 50watt solar panel, with 5 hours of usable day-light every day, can produce around 250 watt/hours per day.
It would take around 2,000 of those panels, to produce 500k watt/hours/day.
You lose 5% going through a Charge-Controller, and another 25% going into a battery-bank, so you would need around 30% more panels, to actually be able to store power in a battery and use the power at any time during the day.
I own a 1500SF house with a pool. The easiest place to start is on your electric company website. Sign in and look at your KWH used per month. If you want to live the same lifestyle you live now you need to produce more than your highest usage month. For me, living in an older not very efficient home, that means an 8KW PV system. And that's after all the usual 'fixes' of increasing the insulation and replacing windows/doors.
In my area, the solar companies want about 30K for that system. I would get some of that back as a credit on my taxes. The system I planned is not off grid. I planned to sell my excess production back to the utility and use their services at night. I would change to TOU(time of use) billing to get a cheaper rate because I would not be using their power during peak hours.
If I wanted to be totally independent of the energy companies the cost would skyrocket because I would need a LOT of batteries to store power for night time use. I live in an area with lots of sun so it could be done but the cost would be prohibitive. Plus ongoing costs would be increased because batteries have to be replaced regularly. And then you have to figure you lose energy whenever you convert DC to AC as well.
I needed to find a less expensive option that would open the door to solar. I decided to start by making the pool totally solar. It's an energy hog that uses about 30% of my power so it will make a difference in my bill. I am putting in a brushless DC pool pump with a heater that runs on the heat generated by the DC pump. The pool pump will run when the sun is out. I need enough panels to power the pump(probably 3), a controller, and most likely a deep cycle marine battery. I think that's it. I am currently in the planning stages and still figuring things out. This seems to be affordable and doable to me. My pool will be off grid. Plus I don't have to worry about all the regulations the utility company has for solar installations. The pool seems to be a perfect application and a good starting place.
Over time as solar becomes a more popular option I am thinking things like appliances will become available DC. Whenever I have to replace something I will look for options and try to replace with DC. It wouldn't bother me too much to only be able to run the the dishwasher or do laundry when the sun is out. Or maybe these things won't happen and I will have to be happy with just my pool solar. Either way, it works out.
A 100 amp service has 220volts, which means it can supply 22k watts/hour, or 528k watt/hours/day.
A 50watt solar panel, with 5 hours of usable day-light every day, can produce around 250 watt/hours per day.
It would take around 2,000 of those panels, to produce 500k watt/hours/day.
You lose 5% going through a Charge-Controller, and another 25% going into a battery-bank, so you would need around 30% more panels, to actually be able to store power in a battery and use the power at any time during the day.
Thank you for the information. It sounds like solar will not be viable until they have a way to store the energy to be used when needed .
Thank you for the information. It sounds like solar will not be viable until they have a way to store the energy to be used when needed .
Depends on what you consider viable.
Some people want 'pay-back'. There is a lot of debate, but, in most cases it will never happen. What some folks forget is that batteries die, and need to be replaced.
I want to go a month, with power every day, all day long, all month long. I have been in this house for 7 years. Is it too much to ask for one month with power every day all day long? In this region, that is asking too much from the utility companies. They can not deliver in a reliable manner. It is beyond their capability.
Most of my neighbors have generators, that kick on during outages. That their solution to getting viable and reliable power.
Many of the homes I looked at, when I was shopping here, are located in towns that do not have power lines. There is not grid in those towns. Around 52% of all towns in this state, have no power grid in those towns. If they want viable power, they must make it.
Here in my town, we have grid power, but it still is not available to every home in my town.
Some people want 'pay-back'. There is a lot of debate, but, in most cases it will never happen. What some folks forget is that batteries die, and need to be replaced.
You offered no proof of your argument, and in fact I don't believe you can. The technology has improved tremendously, including battery technology. 10 year battery life is no longer exceptional.
And yes, living in an area that gets a lot more sun than Maine does helps tremendously with the payback time.
I am part-way through the process of going off-grid with solar-power.
Forums I am on that deal exclusively with this topic, project between 7 years, 14 years and 21 years, to break-even, assuming your batteries last.
The problem with that scenario is that batteries do not last forever. there is no way to accurately predict how long your batteries will last. Once you begin replacing batteries, the break-even will be pushed back much further.
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