Energy Independence: Solar Power

There are dozens of terrific articles about the virtues of solar electricity for off-grid (and on-grid) living. In order for me to include solar electricity into my own home I had to hit the books. Thankfully, it’s not all that daunting of an undertaking to learn about solar. If you’re gonna rusticate, here’s what you’ll need in order to produce and use your own electricity.

Solar panels.

I bought 4 and put them on my roof. They are each 275 watts each. That means I have 1100 watts worth of solar panels. Cost: $1000

Batteries.

I bought 4 and put them in the corner of my house. They are 6 volts each, combined to make a 24 volt system, which is a common voltage for a household battery bank. They weigh nearly a hundred pounds each because they are full of liquid and lead. Batteries are the costliest investment in a solar system. We got a deal on ours from Rolls Battery Company out of Springhill, Nova Scotia. Cost: $1500

Charge Controller.

This doohickey regulates the electricity produced by the solar panels and distributes electricity evenly to the battery bank. Cost: $250

Inverter.

Courtesy of the great Nikola Tesla, anything you plug into an outlet requires alternating current (AC power) to come alive. Solar panels produce direct current (DC power). So, to convert DC electricity to AC electricity, an inverter is used. I bought a no-name one off Ebay. To no one’s surprise, it didn’t perform as advertised, so we replaced it with a better quality inverter––a 2000 watt pure-sine wave inverter, which meets our needs rather well. Cost: $1000

DC Fuse Panel.

For accessories and appliances that run exclusively on DC power (e.g. USB devices, some solar appliances, lighting, all things that require a cigarette lighter plug-in), we use a special fuse panel. Well, it’s not exactly special. A DC panel is almost universally found on watercraft, automobiles, and RVs. Our well-pump and pressure tank use direct current, as does our refrigerator. It was only the other day that I connected some special DC lights in a friend’s cabin to his DC panel, so if his inverter fails, his family will still have lights that work. Cost: $50

Wiring & Accessories.

There’s definitely a hidden cost in this category. The price of wires and connectors can add up because solar requires thicker gauge wires to connect all of its components together. Cost: $200

Adjusting to a lifestyle where you actually need to monitor and conserve your electricity use is a sensible practice in contrast to the dominant paradigm of electricity use. There can be challenges, especially in the darker time of year when there’s less daylight to harvest, but this too is in accord with the limits of nature.

A Note on Wiring:
Basic electrical is simple once you get familiar enough with its fundamentals. Safety is paramount, so you’ll be relieved to know it’s much safer to work with 12 or 24 volts than it is to work with 120 or 240 volts, which is the standard voltage of a home that’s on the grid. I wired all the electrical throughout my house, but I wasn’t confident enough to connect all the expensive solar equipment together and I was on a deadline so I hired an electrician with solar experience to do it.

Final Thoughts.

Design your system well, and work within your budget. You’ll be as good as gold. Solar has never been more affordable and learning resources so abundant. There is a misconception in the solar industry that a consumer must spend thousands and thousands of dollars to assemble an outstanding household solar system. I designed ours for under $5000. It performs well year-round, satisfies our family’s energy needs, and still has some margin for expansion.