Home and Off-Grid Electrical Power

Have you ever thought of buying property “away from it all” and wondered how you would get electrical power to it?

Well, many remote site homeowners have found the answer – ‘hybrid sustainable energy systems’. So, what’s a ‘hybrid’? This is an electrical system that uses solar and wind and hydro and generator in any combination i.e. solar panels, wind generator and or back up fossil fuel generator. This type of a system offers the home owner power in all types of weather. The use of a back up generator is more a matter of system cost than anything else. You could totally eliminate this, if your budget will allow more solar panels, more batteries and more or larger wind generators.

Most often we are dictated or influenced (if you prefer) by our budgets – however if we would place the same emphasis on providing ourselves with clean, sustainable energy as we do our appliances upgrade, carpet and drape upgrade, hardwood floors and so on, then we could afford to be totally off the grid!

In some remote applications, the use of propane or gasoline is not possible, but you can still have all the renewable power you need just by upsizing your initial system. So, if your ideal home site is only accessible by horseback or on foot, you can have lights, fresh brewed coffee and microwave popcorn! However in more cases than not we can usually drive in and then we have some other choices such as propane.

Since budget is a very important part of our lives, we need to not only size our energy system for our needs as well as what we can afford. It is easy to sit down and say I use this amount of energy per day to live, but it becomes a challenge to marry that into what is affordable.

So let’s take a look at some systems that you can use. First we need a basic inverter, this unit takes D.C. power and transforms it into A.C. power (what your house needs). Then we need storage, a place where D.C. power is kept – a battery bank – then we may need 240V power instead of just 120V. Lots of well pumps use ¾ h.p.; 240V motors, so you can use a transformer or in cases where the well is very deep or you don’t have a solar friendly pump, you will need two (2) inverters. Each inverter will provide a single 120V output. The transformer option will take a single 120V output and double it to 240V output – but will reduce your amperage. I apologize if all of a sudden I went too “techy”. Some of you already know all this “stuff” and some may have been lost back at the “hybrid” stage. One thing is for sure, if you use a sustainable power system, you will learn a lot about it either by your choice or by circumstance. You see you are your own power company. Yes – you will know how much power a washing machine uses, a toaster, a microwave, etc. and your Dad will be proud of you, because you will turn off the lights and know why you do it!

Anyway, back to the basic system. The next thing you need is a power source or energy producer. A simple choice is a gas generator. This will provide electrical power to your batteries for storage that you can use later. A more attractive way is solar panels, at least 1KW in size. Keep in mind that you can start small and always increase – but not with batteries unless it’s in the first 6 months. The reason for this is that any new batteries added to an existing system will only be as good as the older ones – another “techy” thing. Next we can use a wind generator for electrical power or if you have a site analysis done you may be able to use a 3KW or larger unit instead of solar panels. Here is where cost is on your side – since it’s far more economical to use wind then sun. A wind generator turning with electrical windings produces more power per unit cost then solar panels i.e. one 167 watt panel lists for $849.00, one 400 watt wind generator lists for $649.00. But the truth of the matter is the sun shines 300+ days a year in Colorado, but the wind is a lot shier- except in South Park!!

Another power source is hydro, which works very well if you have access to a good flowing year round stream or water fall.

The next step is to apply any or all the above in sizing to your needs and or budget. There are trade offs, but the feeling of independence is great when you live on a system that you manage and is producing power from renewable energy and there are practically no places off limits for your dream home or vacation cabin.

About the Author
Larry LeDue has been designing, installing, and servicing solar systems since 1990. He is an active/certified member/installer with COSEIA; and lives with his wife in an active and passive solar home they built in South Park, Colorado.

This article is the property of Sustainable Solutions, Inc.
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