Poor Man
Survival
Self
Reliance tools for independent minded people…
ISSN
2161-5543
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
"Laissez-nous faire, laissez-nous
passer. Le monde va de lui meme."
"(Let us do, leave us alone. The world runs by itself.)"
-- French Saying
"(Let us do, leave us alone. The world runs by itself.)"
-- French Saying
More Affordable Solar Power
by Dan Chiras
If you’ve ever considered installing a home solar
electric system and generating your electricity with free, renewable energy,
now’s a great time to look at your options. In recent years, prices for solar
systems have plummeted thanks to increased demand, mass production and intense
competition among manufacturers. Generous government financial incentives for
solar power have reduced the cost for homeowners even further, making a home
solar electric system more affordable than it’s ever been.
Because the source of energy — sunlight — is free, the
cost of solar power equates to the cost of your solar electric system spread
over the lifetime of the system you buy — easily 30 years or more. As a rule,
solar incentives for homeowners reduce the system cost by 30 to 50 percent.
Incentives for businesses can lower the cost by 50 to 75 percent!
However, even without incentives, the lifetime cost of
solar electricity is now frequently cost-competitive with the cost of
electricity from your local utility. In some places with relatively high costs
for utility electricity unsubsidized solar is already cheaper than utility
rates.
When purchasing a solar electric system, most people
choose to contact a solar installer, who can help them decide which type of
system they need. To find a solar installer, check local listings or use
www.findsolar.com to search for local options within a national directory.
There are three basic types of solar electric systems.
Here are pros and cons of each.
Grid-Connected
Systems. The most common PV system is known as a grid-connected (or
utility-tied) system. In these systems, the utility grid becomes a means of
“storing” your excess electricity and acts as a backup, supplying electricity
any time your demand exceeds the output of your system.
Here’s how it works: Your solar system provides
electricity to your home anytime the sun is shining. If the system produces
more electricity than you’re using, the surplus flows onto the utility lines
that supply your home. When you need electricity, but aren’t producing any (at
night, for example) you can draw from the grid. The utility meter on your home
keeps track of any electricity you feed back onto the grid, as well as what you
use. How exactly this is calculated depends on net metering regulations where
you live. These vary by state, but currently all states have some form of net
metering except for Alabama, Mississippi, South Dakota and Tennessee.
Theoretically, it’s possible to produce enough
electricity that you get a credit from your utility company instead of a bill.
More often, homeowners choose to install a smaller, less expensive solar array
that only meets a portion of their electricity needs, and then buy the rest of
their electricity from the utility. This is one reason it can be much cheaper
to buy a grid-connected system: You don’t have to buy a system large enough to
produce the maximum amount of electricity you need. Instead, you can choose how
much of your power you want to generate.
The downside of grid-tied systems is that when the grid
goes down, your system shuts off. So, if a utility line goes down during an ice
storm, your solar electric system shuts down, too. Even if the sun is shining,
the system won’t operate. This is a built-in safety precaution that prevents your
system from back-feeding electricity onto a dead grid, which could be dangerous
to line workers or anyone who comes into contact with a downed electrical line.
Off-Grid Systems.
These are self-contained energy systems powered by the sun that operate independent
of the electrical grid. These systems must be equipped with a large battery
bank to store the electricity needed to power your home at night or during long
cloudy periods. Most people use a gasoline or diesel generator — or even a wind
power system — for backup power, should the batteries run low. An off-grid
system gives you the opportunity to experience true energy independence — you
are completely responsible for producing your own power. Plus, you’ll never see
another electric bill!
Although this is the most expensive type of solar
electric system, off-grid systems often are the single most economical way to
get electricity in remote locations. If your home is a mile away from an
electric line, you could pay from $10,000 to as much as $50,000 for the utility
company to install electric poles and run an electric line to your residence.
(The cost of line extension varies greatly depending on how rough the terrain
is.) Bear in mind that the cost of line extension doesn’t buy you a single
kilowatt-hour of electricity — it only gives you the privilege of buying
electricity from the utility company. In contrast, an off-grid system for an
energy-efficient home could be installed for $20,000 to $50,000 — and that
supplies a lifetime of low-cost electricity.
Grid-Connected
With Backup. This is a third option that can make sense if you want
reliability during a power outage but don’t care about being fully off the
grid. The idea is to purchase only a small battery bank so that during a grid
outage you can continue to operate your most critical electric devices — such
as your refrigerator and heater fan — while line workers repair the damage.
During such times, these systems automatically switch to battery operation. You
could also choose to purchase a generator rather than a battery bank. These
types of systems can make sense if you experience frequent power outages or
want to be prepared for an emergency, but they require more maintenance and are
more expensive than grid-connected systems.
Solar Energy Breakthroughs: How New Solar Power Alternatives+CDs
Excerpted from MOTHER EARTH NEWS, the Original Guide to
Living Wisely. To read more articles from MOTHER EARTH NEWS, please visit
www.MotherEarthNews.com or call (800) 234-3368 to subscribe. Copyright 2012 by
Ogden Publications Inc.
Additional useful gems for making life better..
Grandma used cast iron cookware and her food certainly tasted delicious. Yes, she was a fine cook, but there was something about that cast skillet that added to the flavor. Indeed, iron skillets have remained popular for generations for many good reasons. You should seriously consider adding iron skillets and pots to your kitchen
The Money Step: Skip It and Enjoy Life
All of us are familiar with the phrase "money can't buy happiness," but do we still subsconsciosly earn money and spend money to do just that? This week, the Ultimate Cheapskate teaches us about the 'money step' and how skipping it can make life more enjoyable. Just listen to find out the financial wisdom he gained from an axe and a basketball!
Find DIY and Homemade ideas here:
Yours in freedom,
Bruce ‘the Poor Man’
A Shallow Planet Production
