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- livingonsolar
- Northern California, United States
- We live in an all solar home. We heat, cool and power our home using the sun. We created this blog to provide a place where we can all share what we know or ask questions.
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I found your blog while looking for items to purchase from Home Depot. What is necessary to run a house completely on solar (and possibly wind too). I would imagine one tracker is not enough. Do I have to replace all of my appliances with solar power ready versions? I do not have a big budget so I am wondering if going solar is possible.
ReplyDeleteHi hasaru,
ReplyDeleteYou may want to look at my website http://www.livingonsolar.com There is a lot of info there that might answer some of your questions. What do you consider a big budget? Providing solar for a whole house can be expensive. I will be glad to answer your questions. There is a whole lot to consider in going solar on a large scale.
Jim
hey jim, nice design. i've been imagining this for some time, i call it the "analog tracker", but you pretty much nailed it. the only thing i added (in my mind) was a linear actuator or manual screw jack on your rear pipe that you could adjust, say monthly, to the vertical angle of the sun as it changes through the seasons. good job, and hello from alaska. incidentally, we get our strongest solar in april, when there is still snow and over 12 hours of sun. hard to beat the 20 hours of sun in june though for continuous production.
ReplyDeleteHi Roger, The linear actuator is a good idea. I have not allowed for any adjustment since I use mine for a short time. The linear actuator is also a good idea for controlling the movement of the solar panel. I have not figured how to control it using time.
ReplyDeleteI came across your youtube video about solar cooling . I live on the gulf coast with high humidity . Do you have a plan that can handle those conditions ?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I do not have any.
ReplyDeleteI just inherited some land without electricity and this is completely new to me. Do you have a electric refrigerator? I know their are a lot of appliances that can be run off of propane, do you also use propane? Is their a generator hooked up to your batteries for back up if you don't have sunny days? I live in Hawaii but in the wetter part of the state, I am worried about going from having electricity to having to cut out things from my everyday living. Do you think its possible to live the same lifestyle "off the grid"? Thanks for your time. Nikki
ReplyDeleteHi Nikki,
ReplyDeleteI do use a propane refrigerator. My solar electric system does use a backup generator. During the winter, there are consecutive days of no sunshine. The inverter that I use also is a battery charger. When I connect the generator, the batteries get charged and the AC power can be used while that is happening.
What island do you live on? I have been to your wonderful state several times and have been to several islands. I live the same lifestyle off the grid and have done it for 23 years. I do conduct my life different than others though. My idea of living a certain lifestyle may be different than others. I watch TV and use the microwave like most other people with such conveniences. I do not have conventional air conditioning or use electric water heaters or have electric freezers. If you eliminate the big users of electricity, you can pretty much live the same. Microwaves and hair dryers use a large amount of electricity but for just a short time.
If you live on the wetter side of the islands, solar may be a little more difficult. It will depend on how much sunshine you get between rain.
Hope this helps. If you have not been to my website, take a look at it and the videos there. It should give you a good idea how solar works for us.
Jim
Thanks for getting back to me. I have looked at your website and have talked to a few people here so I am trying to absorb all this info.
ReplyDeleteI live on the Big Island, we do get a lot of sun and I don't mind starting the generator every so often to charge the batteries if the weather isn't so nice.
The idea of living on solar is really growing on me and it just seems like the right choice being that it would cost upwards of $60K to get electricity. Is there any grants that you know of for going solar? We are still some months away from getting started on building but the more I know, the better I will feel.
There have been tax credits by the Federal Government for solar. I think they still exist. With a tax credit as opposed to a tax writeoff, you can actually reduce your taxes by an amount that you spent for solar. I believe it has a maximum of $2500 for personal credits. The State of Hawaii mught have some incentives. You can find out more about this at www.dsireusa.org. It has a lot of links to states as well as federal info. I have not checked it in awhile but I think it is still up to date.
ReplyDeleteDo you live on the Hilo side of the big Island? You can spend much less than 60K for a complete system. Solar panels have come down a lot in the last several years. You might look for a solar installer on the island. There might be one. They can certainly help with what you might need and what you can afford. You can also buy everything you need through the internet.
My property is located between Hilo and Kona near Honoka'a. So its not at wet as Hilo, but not as sunny as Kona. I do have a friend that just put solar on her home and a cousin that has solar so I need to sit with them and gather as much info as I can.
ReplyDeleteI will look at that website and apply for any free help out there.
You have been very helpful. Thanks again. Nikki