| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| vegetarian farmer |
Posted - Aug 14 2010 : 06:46:40 AM
The last step for us to get off the grid would be to provide ourselves with electric. We are very frugal with the usage and our yearly bill is only $1000-$1200 (thats running a farm). The estimates to have solar installed would be $33,000 plus tax (there would be a tax rebate off that but we would still pay that amount out of pocket and that is a grid fed system that only supplies 90% of our usage). That is insane. By the time we would cover the cost of the system, it would be obsolete. Wind power is even more. My husband is a contractor that works extensively with electric and I think we could do this ourselves. Has anyone else ever purchased the equipment and installed it themselves. If so any advice?
http://hardworkhomestead.blogspot.com/ |
| 13 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| vegetarian farmer |
Posted - Mar 28 2011 : 05:29:37 AM
Thanks everyone, we have actually taken the plunge and bought a solar/wind system that we installed ourselves. We are just weeks away from being off grid. A lot has happened since I started this post, and I have the whole process documented on my blog.
Nini, if you want to contact me, I would be happy to help you guys with any questions that you may have. You are not that far away from each other and we would be happy to share the things we learned along the way, or show you our system.
http://hardworkhomestead.blogspot.com/ |
| JojoNH |
Posted - Mar 28 2011 : 05:14:45 AM
 Hi Jane,
One place to check for the information is www.Lehmans.com or for those lucky enough at their store. They have tons of books for how to do things and supply the Amish with many of their needs as well. They have a few books on the solar and wind power just type " solar power " into the search box at the top. I am confident you could do it with your husband's knowledge and a good book, without the huge expense! 
Joanna #566
JojoNH
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| countrygirl10 |
Posted - Mar 27 2011 : 11:43:27 PM
Hi Nini -
I'm far from being an expert in this, but I love being on solar, so I'll just let you know what we did. My husband (He passed away in 2003) installed and set up the system that I'm still using. It is really awesome. In 1998 we put in our system and it cost us around $10,000 when we put it in. We are totally off grid. It would have cost us approx $50,000 at the time to bring electricity up to our place. So it paid for itself as soon as we got it. We also have been very conservative with our usage, but I have to tell you not paying for electricity is very freeing. If you are only paying $1000-$1200/year you are really conservative also. We don't pay a monthly bill or have to worry about them coming on our property at all. My husband installed a switch in each room that turned all our plugins off so that there is not any phantom loads at night or when we are gone and we can turn everything off when we aren't using it. My husband did all the work, so we just paid for the materials. I have 8 panels, 8 trojan batteries, an inverter and a propane generator for during the winter if needed. I hope to improve on my panels and batteries this year. You said something about the system becoming obsolete. I have had mine since 1998 (13 years ago) and even though I would like to upgrade it I wouldn't totally change it I would just add to it. I do have to replace the batteries every 8 years, but even that's getting changed. We all have to make a decision for our particular circumstances, but living in No Calif I am very pleased with it. Some references would be Backwoods Home magazine, Alternative Energy, Mother Earth Magazine and there are lots of books out there on Solar and Alternative Energy. Good luck and if I can answer any specific questions, please let me know.
Ellen |
| Ninibini |
Posted - Mar 27 2011 : 7:45:50 PM
Jane -
My husband and I were just discussing how we might try to do this ourselves, and I told him I thought I had seen a post about it on the Farmgirl Connection. I'm just wondering how you made out with all of this and what was the best resource to help you along the way. BTW - we live out near Pittsburgh/Greensburg, so if there are any places out here you can recommend, I'd really really appreciate it!
Girls - thank you for all this information you have supplied as well. I'm going to check everything out, too. :)
- Nini
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
Farmgirl Sister #1974 |
| countrygirl10 |
Posted - Sep 16 2010 : 12:05:02 PM
Hi Jane -
Good luck at the Solar Festival! I'm going to SolFest here in Ukiah on the 26th. I haven't been in a few years and it's gotten so big they had to move it to the Fairgrounds there from Real Goods in Hopland!
Yes, I am pretty conservative, we put the panels in in 1998 so they aren't as much voltage as they have out now. I've been wanting to upgrade and I'm working toward that. I'm also looking at getting a wind turbine for the winter since I live on a ridge.
Just let me know if you have questions or just want to yak!!
Ellen
|
| vegetarian farmer |
Posted - Sep 16 2010 : 04:44:56 AM
Thanks so much Ellen. We are actually headed to a solar energy fair this weekend. I may contact you as there are still some questions. I though we were conservative with the electricity but if you are operating on 8 panels you are beyond conservative. Thanks
http://hardworkhomestead.blogspot.com/ |
| countrygirl10 |
Posted - Sep 15 2010 : 8:53:07 PM
Jane -
I live in No. Calif and have been to Real Goods and subscribe to Backwoods Home. They are both great resources for what new is happening. We built our house in 1998 and my husband put our solar in at that time. He was not a contractor or anything, but when he liked something he studied it and our system works great! Unfortunately he passed away in 2003 but I still have everything off grid. The system originally cost us about $10,000 with my husband doing the work, but the power co would have charged us $50,000 to bring the lines up here so we started out ahead of the game.
There are a lot of things involved. We have a 24 volt system with 8 trojan batteries and 8 panels. I do have a propane generator that is hooked into the system that I added last year for the wintertime, but otherwise my solar covers everything. Of course we had always been conservative with our use prior to putting this in also. I think you have to have a different mindset. You don't keep all the lights on or use a lot of power.
I still am learning things every day, but if you have any questions, please contact me. I'll try to answer what I can.
Ellen |
| Mama Jewel |
Posted - Sep 02 2010 : 1:26:08 PM
Jane, http://www.realgoodssolar.com will give free quotes & their whole business is in non-electric/solar-powered items (kind of like Lehman's). Maybe they could offer a better quote?
Farm Girl Sister #1683 Living Simply & Naturally on our lil Sweet Peas Farmette
"Do Everything in Love." 1 Cor 14
http://www.piecemama.etsy.com |
| momdrinkstea |
Posted - Sep 01 2010 : 9:53:41 PM
My uncle put in his own solar, and they use a heat-exchange
system too. It helps to have handy friends! I would try
chatting with locals who've already installed, and get their
tips before starting. Good luck!
"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." -Albert Einstein |
| vegetarian farmer |
Posted - Aug 18 2010 : 10:57:01 AM
Thanks Lisa, I am on the case. I question the $2600 amount but it is a great place to start. Thanks again.
http://hardworkhomestead.blogspot.com/ |
| nubidane |
Posted - Aug 17 2010 : 1:04:18 PM
Jane, here is a portion of the original email they sent us:
" Our catalog/planning guide is specifically for the needs of folks living or building where utility lines are not available but we do offer products that allow connection to the grid. We started out 2 miles from the closest power lines 25 years ago, and $25,000 was the price the utility asked to extend lines to our land. Instead, we have been delighted with running our home and shop and business on our own power for less than $25,000. Most of our customers spend from $7500 to $18,000 for a remote home power system, though you can get something started for as little as $2600 or spend over $40,000 for the largest of systems" |
| nubidane |
Posted - Aug 17 2010 : 12:59:09 PM
We are looking into solar & wind if we build in IN.(we just inherited some acreage that is gorgeous, but RAW)
I spoke to the Amish here, & they have done wind & solar for far less the cost you quote. He has a huge steel building that I swear is over 10,000 sf & he told me that he did it for about $2,000. I find that hard to believe. He told me they use a combo of both, & if neither is charged they have a propane back up.
THis is the company he highly recommended. I have corresponded with them, & they are very informative, & quick to respond. They also mailed us a catalog. www.backwoodssolar.com
They are not affiliated with Backwoods Home mag, I don't think, but Kyria is right, that magazine & chat board are great resources for living off grid. |
| Kyria |
Posted - Aug 16 2010 : 5:13:49 PM
I do not know the answer, but Backwoods Home magazine can probably tell you all that. They have a lot of free articles online. www.backwoodshome.com Hope that helps!
Kyria
www.crossyr.blogspot.com
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