Off the Grid, is it possible?
No, well at least not for us, not at first.
The problem is that we will be needing a reasonable amount of electricity.
Because we will work from home using computers, which means a constant usage of power.
So what is the problem you might say, through a couple of solar panels on the roof and you are done.
I wish it were that simple.
It depends on a lot of things:
Location
If you live in for example Spain, the sun will shine a lot more then in Belgium. During the summer we can make do with a couple of solar panels but during the winter it is a whole different story (in Januari only 1.6 hours and up to 6.8 in June, on average per day).
Solar Panel
It is the same with anything else in life, expensive solar panels have more revenue and there is a lot of choice. Finding the right solar panel is a challenge and the technology advances rapidly. The market for solar panels is one of the fast growing ones in the world so you can bet that they will improve immensely in the future.
Batteries
You need to store the electricity generated from the solar panels but wouldn’t it be great if you can store it for more then a few days, that way if there are a couple of overcast days you can still turn on the light. There is a lot of development in battery land. I just read that Panasonic is developing a battery that can store power for a week!
This al sounds fantastic but you still need enough solar panels to create enough kWh during winter time.
Then there are inverters, cables and more of those things to consider which will all determine how much power we will really have available.
So no, we wont go off the grid right away, we can’t afford it really, we more or less calculated we need about 16 solar panels installed to have enough energy during wintertime, that is at least 16.000 Euro and we won’t be able to afford it.
These 16 solar panels are calculated on the amount of electricity we use in our current (non energy efficient) house.
Of course we will use less energy in the new house, we will use energy saving appliances, LED lights, the whole deal. But let’s be honest here, I want to live comfortable, I don’t mind, that on cloudy winter days I will have to avoid using the washing machine as much as I can but I don’t want to spend my evenings reading a book by candle light because we are out of juice.
So what we are going to do is start On the Grid and buy a few solar panels and expand in time in the hope that Solar panels and battery’s will improve so we won’t have to cover the whole house in solar panels to be able to go Off the Grid.
Besides Solar panels there is Wind power.
But is it an alternative?
Next time I will tell you if it is for us.
Jan 21st 2010
“…that is at least 16.000 Euro…”
On the other hand, if you save €16’000 by buying a plot too far from the grid to economically connect then maybe it’s less silly. In general, you’re right: it’s really difficult to justify off-grid equipment if you’re close to the grid as then you’re effectively paying twice, once for the grid availability, reflected in the price of the plot, and once for the panels, batteries, etc.
Jan 22nd 2010
True Ed. Luckily, our plot doesn’t have any utilities. So, we didn’t have to pay for the connections when buying the land. Everything stops at our neighbours.., so it is within reach, and all we need is power.., no water. And there is nothing else (maybe telephone).