05-09-2013, 12:11 PM
Solar is not so easy a solution.
I lived off grid for 7 years up N. Kulani/Mountain View area. While it was nice not having a helco bill, the actual utility costs I had was on par or sometimes even MORE than what I now pay for helco. Sunshine is not an infinite resource in east Hawaii. Almost all off-grid units must have some kind of back up power source such as a generator. In doing so, I had to spend money on gasoline. My house was pretty much all propane -- hot water, fridge, stove. So between my gas bill, my propane bill, and upkeep on batteries, cleaning, etc., I find it much more feasible to bring our "off grid practices" to the grid and enjoy a meager helco bill. To the tune of about 150-200 per month for a family of four. Now if we lived in kona or Ka'u, off grid living would take on a different meaning. Abundant sunshine and wind would surely assist an off gridder's checkbook.
I lived off grid for 7 years up N. Kulani/Mountain View area. While it was nice not having a helco bill, the actual utility costs I had was on par or sometimes even MORE than what I now pay for helco. Sunshine is not an infinite resource in east Hawaii. Almost all off-grid units must have some kind of back up power source such as a generator. In doing so, I had to spend money on gasoline. My house was pretty much all propane -- hot water, fridge, stove. So between my gas bill, my propane bill, and upkeep on batteries, cleaning, etc., I find it much more feasible to bring our "off grid practices" to the grid and enjoy a meager helco bill. To the tune of about 150-200 per month for a family of four. Now if we lived in kona or Ka'u, off grid living would take on a different meaning. Abundant sunshine and wind would surely assist an off gridder's checkbook.