For over 20 years my wife and I have lived in a home that generally uses solar power to contribute our electricity. Having learned a few things along the way we concept that there might be man out there who might want to live off the grid but is contemplating the what ifs and needs some encouragement.
Is Living In A Solar electric Home distinct Than Living In A Home With Grid Power?
The Power Inverter
The simple reply is yes. When you are possibly exiguous by the whole of power that you have available, you come to be more aware of what power it takes to run determined appliances and lights. Our law uses solar electric panels to charge a bank of batteries. The electricity stored in the batteries is used to power an inverter which provides the same type of electricity that the grid fellowships supply. Knowing this possible limitation we do not leave anyone on that does not need to be on. We are not fanatics about it but have just industrialized a habit of turning things off. Even the computer is turned off instead of going to the standby mode. We have also learned what devices do not need to be on constantly. We could well have a much larger law with power to spare but have adjusted to what we need.
Instead of using an electric refrigerator we use a propane one. We heat water with the sun and propane. We also use solar vigor to contribute cooling in the summer by using a homemade solar cooler. If items like refrigerators, air conditioners and water heaters are not part of the electrical needs, solar electricity becomes more feasible.
A solar electric law does wish some maintenance such as cleaning and checking the batteries and replacing them when their lifespan is over.
What Is The Same?
With our law we can run most all the same appliances as in a grid powered home. We just do not run the big users at the same time. I can pop popcorn in the microwave but my wife cannot use the hair dryer at the same time. Other than that, everything is the same.
Our mean electrical usage for one month is around 100Kwh (Kilowatt Hours). Compared to other households, this is low. Even so, we do not find anyone lacking in how we live. If you entered our house and did not look to see if grid power lines were running to it, you would not know that it is a solar electric home. The light switches and wall plugs are all the same. The satellite Tv would be on and at night the lights would be lit.
What Happens When The Sun Does Not Shine?
We sit in the dark and wait! Just kidding. Our solar electric law is designed to contribute power for a few days when there is no direct sunlight. We also use a backup generator which connects to our inverter. The inverter also functions as a battery charger. The batteries can be expensed in a few hours and we have power until the sun does comes out.
Can everybody Live This Way?
We like to think so. Even if people are not able to go thoroughly off the grid, they may be able to sell out their electrical usage. We have all come to be accustomed to having all our gadgets such as computers, big screen Tvs, cell phones and mp3 players etc. They all need to be plugged in to work or be charged. Sometimes we can well forget how much non-renewable resources have to be burned to contribute that power. With a exiguous sell out and some smart planning we can well sell out our dependence on non-renewable vigor and maybe even take the plunge and use solar electricity. The only thing you may have to lose is the electric bill at the end of the month.
Living Off the Grid in a Solar electric Home - What is it Like, And Can everyone Live This Way?