The Modern Homestead: Content / Homesteading Articles / I Get My Electricity From The Sun!

I Get My Electricity From The Sun!

on Monday 15 March 2010
by katlupe

I live in the middle of the state forest in upstate New York. All my neighbors are the wild kind - well, the close neighbors anyway. I just can't see my neighbors. Living out in a secluded area you might think could be a hardship, especially if you knew that my house is "off the grid".

Now I hope you know what that term means, since you are reading on a homesteader's forum. Just in case, I will tell you. It means that the power company does not have poles and wires strung to my house. I certainly like it that way!

You see, I have not had to pay a electric bill for over ten years now! Yes, that's great! The house I live in, has never had wires hooked up to it and the electrical grid is about a mile away. This house was built in the 1850s, and has never had any kind of wiring inside - not even the telephone. Until I put it in.

Most people think, to live "off the grid" you must have a big fancy solar system, that will cost so much money that it won't pay to unhook from the utility companies. If you wanted to, you could hook up with a small, add as you can afford it system, like I have. When we first moved here, our system consisted of two fork lift truck batteries (deep cell lead acid), one 50 watt solar panel, an automotive inverter, a small charge controller, and a old car we used to charge the system when there was no sun (Hey! I live in New York! You need twice the amount of panels that other places do.).

The batteries store the energy until you need or use it. The inverter converts the 12 volt DC (Direct Current) from the battery into 120 AC so you can plug in your normal household appliances. When the charge level is low, you can use a generator to recharge the batteries. A charge controller is a small unit that receives the power from the solar and controls the amount of power that goes into your batteries. To prevent the batteries from being overcharged, it automatically stops charging once your batteries are full. Meters are necessary to keep you aware of what is going in and going out at all times. Fuses or circuit breakers are a neccessary part of your system in the connections between the batteries and other power components (in my case, solar and the generator).

Setting up your system can take a few hours to a few days. It all depends on how much you know about it and how big of a system you are installing. A small system like this isn't too hard for someone who knows something about electrical power. You can also hire a certified installer to do it for you.

Now, our system has been enlarged since we started and we keep adding to it. We now have have 24 locomotive batteries, a meter, a better charge controller, a combiner box, four more solar panels, and a generator. The generator is made special for an off-the-grid system. It is DC only. The rule of your alternative energy system is to buy a really GOOD engine driven generator and then use it as a little as possible! We have recently purchased two more solar panels and are putting them on our barn roof. They will get sun for more hours all year long.

I have learned to use very little power. In fact, I run my online business using my laptop computer. Of course, you have to watch how much power is coming in or going out. And when you buy electrical appliances, you have to be sure they are not power hogs. Even buying a gas cooking range, I had to order one special, that has absolutely no electrical parts to it at all. If your power goes out and you have a glow bar in your oven, you can't use it. I was using a Servel gas refrigerator but we did away with that in 2006. We will be buying the SunDanzer Solar Refrigerator and the freezer as soon as we get the rest of the system in place. These are both chest types and are much more efficient than an upright model. They use way less electrical power, than even the newest energy efficient models on the market now.

One other point that I thought would be worth mentioning, is that many states now have rebates, grants and tax incentives for people who want to install alternative power systems. In New York state, I know that you have to be connected to the power grid system to get the rebate and you have to use a certified installer. I don't know about the other states, but it is worth looking into.

You can do all the things most other people do, such as watching movies or television, listening to music on a stereo, whatever you want. The only thing you do different is to keep an eye on the system and be aware of your power usage. But that's worth not having to pay that bill every month!

Another nice thing is that you never have power outages. Not even when the weather creates the outage. I had a tornado hit my home in 2000, over 300 trees down on my small piece of propterty and 6 on my house. Did not disturb our power at all. Of course, if a tree had come down on my panels or equipment that could have made a difference. But it did not.

So if you are thinking of changing over to solar, you could just add some equipment and hook up your lights or entertainment systems to start with. Learn as you go. Start small and study it and learn what it would take for you to be completely free from the power grid.

The AlteStore has really good prices on some panels 1-50 watts. The Kyocera KC50T 50W 12v Solar Panel with J-box runs $271.70 which is $5.66 per watt. Then buy a small charge controller. Our first one was smaller than a cell phone but had no name brand or anything on it for me to identify it to anyone. Worked great. An automotive inverter from a truck stop worked great. The batteries can be found locally if you just remember you need deep cycle ones. Two is good for a start. Ours lasted more than ten years and then we gave them to someone who is using them for a golf cart on their homestead.

You can use a generator or your vehicle to charge up when the sun is not out much. Uses more gas that way but in the beginning that is what we did. Our generator made life easier. We had one of those Coleman generators that is used for camping but we wore it out. We found this generator and it has been a dream!

We lived without the meter or the fancy charge controller for more than a few years. Our home is still pretty basic meaning that we do not have a water pump, microwaves, electrical gadgets, electric tools, tvs, etc. I can use my electric mixer and my husband can use an electric drill. We bought a brand new energy efficient washing machine and could have used it if we had running water.....too hard carrying water in by hand and pouring it into the washer. The washer is computer driven and would empty it out before we got the next bucket in. LOL Waiting on using that.

Right now my husband is working on putting our panel racks up on our barn so he can move them. I am updating this info on my blog at http://solarbaby.org so you can see my photos and new info as it becomes available.

Remember start small and get comfortable with each component as you add it.