I’ve
been taking a break from writing novels for a bit. My wrist had been bothering
me a lot because of typing every day for over two and a half years. During that
time I’ve produced a lot of different books and short stories. Some of them you
might have even read. The present project that I’m working on is Inquiso and in
the story the main character lives for at least part of the story line in a
house with solar and wind power. One question has led to another and I’ve begun
to research renewable energy as a result. Right now I’m also working on the
energy efficiency of my house. This post is the result of some of the research
I’ve been doing and will be doing.
Maybe
this last winter your utility bills scared you just like they did me. Propane
can be really expensive to cook and heat your house. There are some things you
can do about it. So far I can definitely recommend LED light bulbs and
additional insulation is also a good thing along with water heater wraps. None
of them are really all that expensive to accomplish either.
Now
let’s just say you’ve decided you would like to get at least part of your power
from the sun. Even if you're going to be connected to the grid you can be
assured electric won't cost less in the future in most places. That's just one
good reason. Of course it’s beneficial to know you’ll be making the environment
cleaner. The cleaner environment doesn’t necessary directly affect your wallet
though which is what most people are interested in.
In
my research a 270 watt solar panel will pay for itself in about one year and
that's without rebates or subsidies. They cost about $280 each and each should
last for about 25-30 years.
It
took me a bit but I finally found the formula you need to figure out what size
system is necessary.
Array
size=annual kWh usage÷days per year÷solar hours÷day .75 derate
The
derate amount figures in for the loss when putting your current through an
inverter which takes the DC and turns it into AC. In our case I've already
figured out the daily average so here is the formula with numbers.
10.5
kWh ÷ 5.5 ÷ .75 = 2.55 kW
I'll
probably go for 50-75% of our total usage next year. I think that's what I'll
be able to afford. Getting the individual components is cheaper than buying a
whole package I’ll note. When I took twenty of the years into consideration
each 270 watt panel produces power at about 3.5 cents per kilowatt over the
life of the panel. That's a wow!
There
are a few things you need to make note of. Some utilities are not a fan of
paying their customers for the power being generated. They will fight you on
it. Others require you to get a special permit.
I've
also read articles more recently where the utilities were pushing a tax to be
placed on renewable energy sources. That’s kind of understandable as they are
trying to protect their own interests. Just a word of warning but before you
cover you entire roof with solar panels dreaming of the money you'll make you
need to check. However it shouldn't be too much of an issue if it's only part
of your power. Of course your other option would be to completely disconnect from
the grid. I’ll warn you that can be expensive though with all of the batteries,
etc.
One thing that found quite interesting recently. I guess all new
buildings in China have solar water heaters. The heater is a large black box
with tubes in it that water flows through and heats up. It gets collected in
some kind of tank for the use of those living in the building. I know part of
it is to save money. Just to heat water for showers it can be a quarter of your
energy costs easily.
Those solar water heater systems in China I'm going to research a
bit more. They do interest me. Many years ago when I lived in Las Vegas, Nevada
I used a solar water system I built. It was pretty simple. I made a black box
that I would fill up in the morning and I think it held about fifteen gallons. During
the day the water would heat up naturally on the top of the home built camper I
was living in. That night I would take a nice hot shower. I don't know how well
it would work where I am now though it would probably work well during the
summer.
Loving these posts.
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