Has anyone calculated the alternatives

[CARS]

I was looking at wind generators and solar panels. I looked at the output of each unit and noticed they are in watts. My bill is in kilowatts. Hmmm.

Then I looked at my last few bills... I am averaging 1800 Kw a month!!!!

Clearly I need to take control of our family's power usage (as I sit here on my laptop with the t.v. and reading lamp on. The kids in their "rec room" with a t.v on, lights on, etc.) Anyway, that is a different subject.

So then I start looking at what it would take to produce almost 2 million watts. I will need my own small wind farm or a new roof of solar panels. Not in the cards.

Have any of you actually sat down and calculated what it would take to be off the grid? I have a big, old farm house. A barn, a couple out buildings, livestock, wife and 3 kids still at home (teenagers to boot). We are energy hogs for sure but the alternatives to produce our own energy is just way too expensive. I guess I am stuck with the grid.

Thank god summer is coming. I'm kicking everyone outside and locking them out until bedtime!!!

 

[andehens]

we did, we had a lady come and give us an estimates and various ways of doing solar panels, what a joke......... we can buy a lot of electricty for the 30--to 60-- grand, dependant on what plan we would have chosen. I suspect for new building, it might be more economical...

 

[Beekissed]

Have any of you actually sat down and calculated what it would take to be off the grid?

A heck of a lot less if you went without electricity at all! It can be done......

 

[andehens]

I have no doubt it can be done! The closest I've come to knowing anybody off the grid was a couple that lived out side of Flagstaff, AZ. Their solar panels charged their batteries which ran everything.
Or it could be like a permanent camping trip I suppose!
We put up a swamp cooler and replaced some appliances with newer energy effecient models, we cut our electric bill by 75 % when we were done.

 

[gettinaclue]

We looked very seriously at solar panels and then giggled at the price tags. They must think I'm crazy to pay those prices.

We then looked at hydropower. Not do-able for us.

We are now looking at wind power.

We were energy hogs as well. Last month our kilowatts were the lowest we have EVER used in this house. We have lived here since spring 04,2400 sq ft we used 1158 kph last month.

I unplug all appliances that I can (applianced that are left plugged in are also a major contributor to house fires), have become fanatical about the lights - I have become the electricity police. LOL

I had also looked up on the internet a couple years ago that you can hook up a stationary bike and generate enough electricity for your cell phone and/or battery for you lap top just by doing your morning workout.

I have not yet come across something that is finacially obtainable for us that will give us the results we want.

We have made a considerable dent when we installed an outdoor wood burning furnace. It heats all the hot wateer (we NEVER run out - not even when we had 8 people here) and heats the house (NO smokey smell-think radiant heat) and they now have an attachment that you can hook up you dryer and it will dry you clothes with no smoke smell- you only use the electricity to turn the drum. (I believe this attachment is only a couple hundred)

It was a big initial investment approximately 9500.00, but it will finish paying for itself by the end of this year.

That's the best info I can offer you unfortunately.

Hope this helps some.

 

[sylvie]

I had also looked up on the internet a couple years ago that you can hook up a stationary bike and generate enough electricity for your cell phone and/or battery for you lap top just by doing your morning workout.

I visited someone who has a regular bicycle in the living room that charges a battery that runs the laptop and led task lights. I got a schematic from them but I don't understand it yet. I want to implement this. What's funny is that when people visit they want to get on and try it, which adds to the battery.

I love the concept of led task lighting. A light on an adjustable cord that is pulled down to illuminate your work then raised and turned off when done. I don't know why we continue to light our homes like a mall parking lot!

 

[gettinaclue]

Sylvie,

I came across a website where you could down load the plans for that stationary bike (also how to convert a regular bike to stationary) and it was really interesting!

I have a hard time understanding the conversions from AC to DC power (or is it vise versa?).

If I could wrap my head around that I'd be a happy camper.

 

[sylvie]

Sylvie,

I came across a website where you could down load the plans for that stationary bike (also how to convert a regular bike to stationary) and it was really interesting!

I have a hard time understanding the conversions from AC to DC power (or is it vise versa?).

If I could wrap my head around that I'd be a happy camper.

Do you have a link or name of the website?

 

[patandchickens]

CARS, you will find that when people go off-grid it pretty much 'has' to be accompanied by conservation measures as well, to minimize demand. Such as paring down electricity-using things to the least possible, using them less, and making sure to get (if you don't already have) the most efficient versions possible (like a small and super-efficient fridge/freezer rather than a typical big household one).

1800 kWh seems like a LOT -- do you maybe have electric heat?

Have fun,

Pat

 

[gettinaclue]

Sylvie,

I'm sorry I can't find it, even after doing a search. I didn't think about book marking it since I didn't think I was efficient enough. For me,all that effort for just a couple of batteries didn't seem worth it.(This was when I first started down this road to SS a couple years ago and was timidly looking around)

I do remember that it entailed having a stationary bike (or converting to one by simply putting it on rollers or something similiar), replacing the front wheel with a fly wheel,and if I'm not mistaken hooking that up to a converter and then to a battery ( or vise versa - I can't remember). It also used a belt, not a chain.

That's a big help I know, sorry. But that's all I remember.