Most of us worry about the environment even more. We want to do all we can to decrease our impact. These steps for making your homestead solar friendly will make a difference. You'll be amazed by the results!
The Step By Step Directions To Follow:
1 The Easy Way To Go Off Grid
The easiest way to take your home off grid is to call up a solar installation company and have them replace your utility power supply with a solar array.
The reason we don’t recommend this is because in the long run, this approach is actually extremely inefficient and can land up being very costly.
2 Water HeatingThe Water Heater / Geyser
Water heaters are an essential part of any household so you need to look at ways to make them more efficient rather than removing them altogether.
We know that in order to keep something hot, we have to keep replacing the energy that is being lost into the environment. We also have to keep on heating the cold water that is added to replace any of the hot water we have used.
The first is to make the current setup more efficient, add a blanket around your heater/geyser which insulates it further and prevents heat from escaping. You can also reduce the thermostat temperature as the higher the temperature difference between the water in the heater and the ambient air, the higher the losses. Reduce the temperature to the point where you do not need to mix cold water with it in order to have a hot shower.
The second option is to change your water heater or geyser to a solar one. This type of heater sits in a sunny spot on the roof and uses black vacuum tubes to harness the heat from the sun and use it to heat up your water and to keep it warm. These heaters often come with an element to boost the water temperature when there has not been enough sun.
The last option is to replace the water heater with an inline gas or electric model.These devices are fitted near the tap or shower and switch on automatically when water starts flowing to instantly heat up the water.
3 Air Conditioning and Heating
Consider replacing your air conditioner with an evaporative cooler. These box like systems look similar to an AC and can be mounted on a wall or on the roof. They rely on the evaporation of water in order to cool the air. In hot climates with a low humidity they are just as effective as air conditioning and use up to 80% less electricity. If an evaporative cooler won’t work in your environment due to a high humidity, switch to ordinary household fans, a fan also uses up to 95% less electricity.
For heating, consider switching to gas or to a solid fuel based central heater. Gas heating systems are the most efficient.
4 Kitchen Appliances
Stove & Oven
The stove and the oven are not going to make a huge difference to your energy savings in the long run, unless you cook a lot. Making changes to them will however significantly reduce your peak demand in the evening.
Gas stoves and gas ovens are the best solution to an off grid home and if you are changing your heating and water heating to gas solutions then it will be easy for you to install a single cylinder or pipe your gas line to multiple appliances.
Refrigerator
This one only really applies if you have a fridge which is older than 10 years.
5 Lighting
This is probably the best marketed energy saving tip for your home, changing your incandescent bulbs to LED bulbs can save you up to 90%. Now this is true as a 60 watt incandescent bulb is usually replaced by a 7 or 9 watt LED bulb however if you look at the contribution lighting makes to your monthly electricity bill, the savings are actually quite low.
Changing your household lighting to LEDs is a must if you are going off grid. The number of lights in your home quickly add up and if you do the maths on additional inverter size and additional batteries you require to run more power hungry CFL, fluorescent or incandescent lights, you will see that is is much cheaper to change all of your lights to LEDs.
If you are going to be changing all of your lighting , then it is worth considering replacing your 110VAC or 220VAC lights with a 12V lighting circuit. You will need to get an electrician to give you advice and make a few changes to your distribution board but it is usually quite a cheap conversion as the wiring can be preserved and you get 12V bulbs which fit into the existing AC sockets. The benefit of changing to 12V lies with the non need for an inverter. Your lighting can now be powered directly from your 12V batteries.
6 Change To Solar Panels
There is nothing complicated with a solar installation and it is an easy project to do yourself over a few weekends. You will need to get an electrician in to do the final connections to your distribution board, to check your installation and make sure that everything conforms to your local regulations.
As you can see, there are many ways to make your home more energy efficient. You have to consider alternatives for heating your water and for cooling and heating your whole house. You also have to look at how much energy your ovens and stoves use as well as your refrigerator. If you switch your lightening to LED bulbs, this can reduce your energy even more. After you have done all of this, you can change to solar panels to save even more energy and not have to rely on traditional energy and electricity any longer. This will make your home truly self-sufficient.
To learn more about making your home solar friendly, you can go to:
