This one is going to cost us. Even if we do it ourselves (which I believe we’ll need to do for it to be cost effective).
The only viable long-term option that I can see in this space right now is solar. We will also likely be paving the way for a generator or two in the nearer term.
Fuel cells are not made at a small enough / cost effective scale at this point so as to be viable for a single residence (right now, they’re being used by large companies and it looks like it’s going to be this way for a while yet). I’m also not sure what the math will look like if and when they do become an option for residential homeowners.
From what I’ve learned online, wind power also does not appear to be cost effective for a residential application at this point. There are also some pretty significant maintenance issues associated with wind turbines.
Back to solar. By the time we get around to addressing this, it looks as though the tax credits will be phased out (or just about phased out). So, unless costs come down, this may end up being pushed back in our timeline further than I would otherwise like.
From our current city life electric company, I’ve learned that our household of 3 used an average of 6,000 kWh of electricity per year for the past 2 years. This usage includes the computer, printer, and internet phone that I use for my work from home business as well as my son’s gaming computer usage and Ed and my personal tablet/computer usage. It also includes heavy dehumidifier usage in the summer.
My son has since gone away to college and our new property will not need a dehumidifier; much of our laundry will be done without the use of an appliance (or if an appliance is used, it will be a washer / ventless dryer combo unit which is said to use considerably less electricity); we will not have either a television nor a microwave nor a dishwasher as appliances, and our cooking will be done via a propane stove (or wood stove) vs our current electric stove / oven. All of this means that I would expect our electricity consumption to decrease at our new property - but I do not know by what amount.
In sizing a 5-6,000 kWh system in south central Wisconsin (location matters due to the intensity and consistency of the sun’s exposure), some of the biggest costs that we could eliminate if we immersed ourselves in the topic and did a DIY system would be installation costs and mounting costs. Instead of mounting to our roof, we’d mount the panels on the ground (and while you still need to mount the panels, I’ve seen cost effective ways to build the mounts yourself for a ground mounted system).
The inverter, charge controller, batteries (especially batteries!!) and cabling are the some of the other more significant items in addition to the panels themselves. We’d need a sufficient Lithium Ion battery bank to hold a night time’s worth of electricity at a minimum but more realistically about 1 week’s worth of electricity for those situations where the sun is low, etc. And that’s going to cost us! Right now, I’ve got my eye on Tesla’s Powerwall battery which now has an inverter built-in. One such battery would give us ample storage for our current needs (although, we’d have to get 2 such batteries if we decided to power an electric car).
Another consideration is whether to tie ourselves back onto the grid in order to sell energy back to the power company. I like the idea of this; but, I’d like to be able to flip a switch as necessary to turn off this connection in case the grid ever went down.
I’ve even gone so far as to purchase (but have yet to start reading) the following book from Amazon: Off Grid Solar: A handbook for Photovoltaics with Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion batteries by Joseph P. O’Connor.
Another more cost effective but fossil fuel dependent back-up that we’ll likely put in place within the next year is a generator. Our electrician said that to add the upgrade to our electrical panel would only cost us about $250. We’d then be on our own to purchase a generator. Based on what I’ve learned from the YouTube channels I watch, Honda generators are the way to go in terms of value, durability and sound (they're quieter than most).
Stay tuned on this one – it’s going to be an interesting journey!
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