05-19-2009, 05:24 AM
Our system has about $8K in equipment costs and runs the whole house with occasional generator assist. There are roughly eight 150watt panels on the roof so in full sunlight, they can generate 1,200 watts (per hour) which is 1.2KW or around 10 amps of power at 115 volts.
Watts is your basic measuring unit for power. My popcorn popper uses 1,475 watts (per hour) so when it is running it uses more power than the solar panels can produce. However, there is a bank of storage batteries (they look like 12 car batteries) which stores up the power for when the sun isn't shining or for when we want to use more than the panels can produce.
The basic differences between an alternate energy house and an on the grid house is an awareness of power usage. We have a propane stove and an on demand gas water heater but we have an electric refrigerator as well as an electric freezer. There is a "solar clothes dryer" very similar to what my grannie had but she called hers a "clothesline". Otherwise, a gas dryer works fine, too. The lights are all compact fluorescents or LED lights and there are very few electrical devices which make heat although electric blankets and small incubators for eggs don't use that much power. The electronics, especially those with "fast startup" or "hibernate" are all on electrical outlets with wall switches so the power can be entirely shut off to them since they have "ghost loads" and like to suck power even when they are switched "off".
We have a lot of non-electric things such as a French press to make coffee instead of an electric coffee maker. The water is heated up on the gas stove in a whistling teapot and then poured into the French press for coffee. I do have a lot of electric kitchen appliances, but they aren't the type that make heat. A Kitchen Aid mixer, Champion juicer, meat grinders, coffee grinders, etc. Once you get your house systems set up to not use much power you don't have to think about it much on a daily basis.
You get used to checking the power to see if it is a good time to run a load of laundry or to vacuum. The Roomba vacuuming robots use a LOT less power than the big drag around type of vacuums so now you will have a good excuse to get a robot vacuum. Not having carpets in your house is even better so the floor can be swept or mopped instead of vacuumed.
Our preference was for a stand alone electrical system not connected to the grid in any fashion. Frequently, folks who have the grid-tie don't have the battery bank so when the grid goes down, so does their power. We are, however, invested in Hawaiian Electric just so they can pay us dividends while we don't pay them anything at all. ;O
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
Watts is your basic measuring unit for power. My popcorn popper uses 1,475 watts (per hour) so when it is running it uses more power than the solar panels can produce. However, there is a bank of storage batteries (they look like 12 car batteries) which stores up the power for when the sun isn't shining or for when we want to use more than the panels can produce.
The basic differences between an alternate energy house and an on the grid house is an awareness of power usage. We have a propane stove and an on demand gas water heater but we have an electric refrigerator as well as an electric freezer. There is a "solar clothes dryer" very similar to what my grannie had but she called hers a "clothesline". Otherwise, a gas dryer works fine, too. The lights are all compact fluorescents or LED lights and there are very few electrical devices which make heat although electric blankets and small incubators for eggs don't use that much power. The electronics, especially those with "fast startup" or "hibernate" are all on electrical outlets with wall switches so the power can be entirely shut off to them since they have "ghost loads" and like to suck power even when they are switched "off".
We have a lot of non-electric things such as a French press to make coffee instead of an electric coffee maker. The water is heated up on the gas stove in a whistling teapot and then poured into the French press for coffee. I do have a lot of electric kitchen appliances, but they aren't the type that make heat. A Kitchen Aid mixer, Champion juicer, meat grinders, coffee grinders, etc. Once you get your house systems set up to not use much power you don't have to think about it much on a daily basis.
You get used to checking the power to see if it is a good time to run a load of laundry or to vacuum. The Roomba vacuuming robots use a LOT less power than the big drag around type of vacuums so now you will have a good excuse to get a robot vacuum. Not having carpets in your house is even better so the floor can be swept or mopped instead of vacuumed.
Our preference was for a stand alone electrical system not connected to the grid in any fashion. Frequently, folks who have the grid-tie don't have the battery bank so when the grid goes down, so does their power. We are, however, invested in Hawaiian Electric just so they can pay us dividends while we don't pay them anything at all. ;O
Kurt Wilson
Kurt Wilson