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Electricity Humor
Submitted by fyl on Fri, 2009/06/26 - 09:34.
I went to Estelí a couple of days ago to:
- Catch up on email, NL and such
- Bring the solar panels I had there up to CT to run the VSAT
I got a few NL things done and a bit of email. Then I went to run errands. The power went off. Well, it was off all the rest of the time I was in Esteli--apparently a big grid upgrade. So, nothing.
I am not standing in the VSAT shack at CT catching up. I should have a link to my house but clearly the radios dont like the wet trees in the path.
I just like the fact that you have to go off-grid to get reliable power.
Electricity for...
I'm trying to imagine off-grid living with minimal total energy use (electricity and gas). So...what would I need electricty for? Let's assume I'm living somewhere with moderate temperatures, so no heating or A/C required. What else?
- Lights. I'm willing to shift my schedule to a large degree to live with the sun, minimizing the need for lighting.
- Computer (for work and entertainment). I would need a laptop, wireless router, and satellite modem. That would also take care of basic phone (VOIP) phone service. Personally I don't need a TV. The laptop can play DVD's as needed. Cell phones and small batteries (such as for a flashlight) can be charged from a USB port on the computer.
- Refrigeration. Tough one to give up, but as Phil points out in his book, it really is optional. Maybe go with a low-voltage electric fridge. A more radical option would be a solar-powered Crosley IcyBall fridge.
- Cooking. Unfortunately, convenient microwaves consume a lot of electricity. I'm interested in exploring solar ovens for big cooking projects. For the rest, gas is probably the best option for now, and eventually switching to ethanol.
- Hot water. Again, from Phil's book: Throw some black hose on the roof, and avoid early-morning showers.
- Water pumping. My first choice would be to use mechanical power rather than electricity. It could be powered by a stream, a low-tech windmill, a parabolic solar steam system, or perhaps animals.
- Laundry. The traditional human-powered approach to washing seems to work well enough. Sun and wind for drying.
Am I forgetting anything?
Putting energy use in perspective
I have been working on a book about off-grid living. Or, more accurately, about how to make the right choices and get to off-grid living. Here are some comments based on what I know/have learned.
Lighting is pretty much a non-issue these days. You can get a 12V LED that consumes about 1 watt that is a prefectly good "illuminate the room" light. The same light, mounted close to your work, is fine as a reading light.
LED flashlights that take one AA battery are great for utility use. Use rechargables.
The real issue are the things that need to run all the time. Even a laptop, running 12 hours/day is a lot more power than making a pot of coffee in an electric coffee maker. This brings up two issues:
Thus, a microwave at say 1000 watts used for 15 minutes/day is only 250 watt hours. A TV at say 150 watts on for even two hours a day is more power than that microwave. Same goes for a well pump. Mine draws about 300 watts but only runs for a few minutes every few days. (I have a 12V RV-style pump for water pressue.
If you want refrigeration, look for a 12/24V chest-type fridge. I got one. Amazing how little energy they use compared to a traditional upright.
All that said, I have been living off-grid for a couple of months. My energy consumption has varied from about 2000 to 6000 watt hours in a day. In every case, the batteries were back to full within a day. Now, the surprising part for at least me is that this power level has included:
I started using the hotplate just because I had more capacity than I was using and figured it was free. I then had a fight with the water heater (not finding the larger gas fittings I needed to hook it up) so decided to give the electric one a try. The reality is that 1500 watts for 10 minutes is only 250 watt hours. It the watter was warmer I would probably want to take a longer shower so this may be good.
The biggest part of this exercise is making yourself aware of where power is getting used and how much. For example, I just discovered that my soldering station consumes electricity even when it is switched off. Get your self a Watts Up? or other plug-in power monitor and do your research. You may be amazed how much power is just being wasted by your assortment of wall warts (plug-in transformers), instant-on TVs and such.
Without batteries
Thanks for the great information. I will definitely want to read your book when it comes out.
I was contemplating being off-grid without relying on batteries. Or, more accurately, being in a position to keep living comfortably after the batteries no longer work. Ideally this would be using a micro hydro turbine, but wind might work. Solar might get by except for the fridge.
So my focus at the moment is peak wattage--the maximum usage by all devices at any moment in time. I think the number could be under 1000 watts, but haven't done serious research yet.
Good luck with no batteries
Ok, if you have hydro it is possible but with anything else you will probably become frustrated really fast. You can pump water when the wind blows, for example and you can just run the fridge when the sun is out, but depending on wind for a computer—even a laptop with a bettery—won't be fun.
1000 watts maximum is reasonable. I have a 3600 watt inverter and lots of stuff runs off the batteries, not the inverter, but that is to handle things like a table saw and electric drill. It is way cool to be able to use these things without a generator running.
If you have a hydro site but not enough flow, pumping water up hill (with wind, for example) is actually a faily efficient energy storage method.
We have been developing a
We have been developing a mini finca on 5 manzanas out on the Old Leon Highway,(I think NASA rents the road for lunar driving excercise) and yes we are crying over the loss of MCC and our new road. Anyway we are totally off the grid here.
We have gone from cow pasture to a beautifully landscaped and farmed property. We have a very modern and nice home, two ranchos and a guest house. It has been two years. And while we do face many challenges with the "green" system I will agree that it is the only way to have reliable power. For the first year our neighbors couldn't understand why we always had lights.
We run with a Whisper 500 windmill and several (not enough) solar panels, with a generator backup. We store what we can in a bank of 16(not enough) deep cycle 6 volt batteries.
We must constantly monitor our power consumption. Our kids 9,6,1.5 years old are so well trained that they shut lights off at everyones house. We only run the water pump while the generator is running to avoid draining the batteries. We have a gas fired instant water heater on the guest house. and use LED whenever possible.
The truth is during the rainy months when there is no wind to speak of we use about $400 dollars a month in fuel to run the generator. With the size of our property that is just a little more than I expect we would be paying good ol' Union Fenosa. However, during the dry months, with lots of sun and lots of wind we may pay $50 bucks a month. So I figure we are breaking even and the lights don't go out.
The ugly truth is that the equiptment wears out, and our windmill has been hit twice with lightning, which fries the invertor, $2,000 replacement. It will also be hard to grow much more here with the limiting storage capacity. We have discovered that going "green" is a rich mans luxury.
"We have discovered that going "green" is a rich mans luxury."
"We have discovered that going "green" is a rich mans luxury."
Somebody tell that to Team Obama and the cap-and-trade green crowd. A lot of Americans may be about to learn the same lesson you did.
Rich mans luxury today
I agree but I see it as an investment I can afford today. It isn't clear what the future options will be.
The hard part is trying to explain to a "here and now" Nicaraguan that buying batteries, solar panels, ... is a good thing when their arithmetic shows different short-term options. You can, for example, buy a lot of candles with the money necessary to have electricity.
Solar Requirements
I think it it doesn't have to be a rich man's option, but like anything, it can be kept affordable if one is willing to live within the capacity of what one can afford, not just one's requirement for wattage. I will try two 600 watt wind generators that allow additional hook up of 150 watts of solar panels. For me that means 1500 watts. I think I can live well with that, but that is me.
In America green is the new consumer buying push targeted to an affluent America that has long passed it's industrial stage and now wants and is willing to pay for cleaner living. It will cost Americans dearly. but think of all the new jobs it will create, as one is forced to follow or else.