PV Gap

Hazel Said:

Have you gone "off the grid" and retrofitted your home to become energy independent? Are you considering it?

We Answered:

I own a windmill it produces 2-3 times the electricity that I need and so the rest is sold back to the power company. I will not go off grid because to me that is a waste of energy; power is lost when it needs to be "pushed" into batteries to be stored and when the batteries are fully charged the turbine would need to be shut down. So by not using batteries and staying on the grid I am supplying clean energy to 1 or 2 of my neighbors. So the way I see it I am twice as green as people who live off the grid.

Jack Said:

Generating Your Own Solar Energy, Is it worth the effort?

We Answered:

Solar hot water almost always pays back in about 4 years, if displacing electric hot water, if you live in a warm climate.

For solar electric, whether you will really save money varies widely by area.

The usual computation is to take the cost of the solar electric system (including panels, mounts, inverter, labor, tax, and fees - but minus tax breaks and incentives) and assume that the cost will be spread over 25 years. So if your system ends up costing you $25,000 net, that would be $1000 per year. You would compare that with your electric bills for a year, and see if it's cheaper.

I've left some things out, such as the cost of money over time, the possible rising price of electricity relative to inflation, and the maintenance cost of replacing the inverter once during the system's lifetime, but the above is the general idea.

The best way to get an idea is to call several professional installers for free quotes. They will generally run the analysis, and inform you as to how much you could save. You can compare their answers with each other, and with common sense, and judge for yourself. Don't rush into anything.

Gina Said:

What's the simplest way to hook up a small generator to a home's power grid?

We Answered:

you can put power into a plug, just be sure to shut your main breaker off first. and shut off breakers for high draw appliances like AC oven microwave waterheater etc.. When my power goes out I unplug my dryer and plug in a whip that I made that plugs into my generator. If you want to power the whole house you will need to use a 240v recept like for an electric dryer, if you use a standard 120v recept you will only power up one bus bar / half your house.

yes 12v with an inverter will work, yes you can put an inverter on your car battery and power your house with your running car I suggest getting a deep cycle gel type battery in your vehicle if you want to do that, you should also upgrade to a 200a alternator if you're going with an inverter larger than 2500watts, a car won't be near as fuel efficient as a standard generator though, and it won't put out near the wattage. but like I said before, if it's only a 120v inverter you're only going to power up half the house