Why can’t we use solar energy or a large rechargable battery to power certain household items?
Question by chrisandniki: Why can’t we use solar energy or a large rechargable battery to power certain household items?
I’ve been thinking about the huge cost of electricty just for our appliances. Is it possible (and cost effective) to use some solar (or other alternative power) to run just some items like our clothes drawer, water heater, oven, dishwasher, refridgerator, and AC unit?
I don’t need something that will power my whole house . . . rather just run some of these items so I can get off the grid.
Let me know your thoughts.
Add your own answer in the comments!
9 Responses to Why can’t we use solar energy or a large rechargable battery to power certain household items?
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Most appliances are available on the market which run off DC electricity, everything from TV’s, washing machines and refrigerators. They are generally used by campers/caravaners, but can also be used in the house. In my last house, I lived totally off the grid, supplying all of my own power by a combination of 2 small wind turbines and 10 solar PV panels. Check out caravan supply stores as all the products they have can run off batteries (12 volt). Also anything that you can charge in your car, such as a mobile phone or laptop, can also be powered from 12V electric. Alternatively, you could disconnect your lighting from the grid and wire it up to a solar or wind set up, though you would need to change the bulbs to a 12V type. Special energy saver bulbs and my favorite, LED’s can both run off a battery. It also helps if you are prepared to sacrifice a little bit, such as a laptop uses less power than a PC and there is no need to own a TV if you have a laptop, as you can watch TV programs on your laptop. It also saves the need for a DVD and CD player, so more money is saved not just by not buying new goods, but in having multiple uses for the goods that you have. Besides, using a laptop to it’s full potential, also saves repair costs as it’s easier to guarantee and repair one item than it is to do the same for a multitude of them. The sacrifice is that your screen is probably smaller than what you may be used to – not much to save money and the environment is it? Going green is in part about smart thinking…
a different kind of Angel
September 26, 2013 at 2:28 pm
These are all good thoughts but these things use so much power that you would need a constant flow of power, solar power charges a “battery” but batteries only have so much capacity And since solar is long term to charge You will probably use up the “battery” before you finish using your Appliance. i’m sure as time goes on they will find ways to make things that can last long. that’s why if you notice even though Solar power is big it takes many solar panels to power one device.
twistoffate2099
September 26, 2013 at 3:04 pm
You can but it costs a lot for solar panels and things but yea if you have the money now it would save you money in the long run.
mkz
September 26, 2013 at 3:47 pm
To me, getting off the grid means powering your whole house. But I’m guessing you just want to see if you can save money by using some alternative energy.
Solar does not always save money. When it does, typically there is a large up-front investment, like $ 10,000 – $ 30,000, and over a period of 10 – 15 years, the energy savings pays back that amount. Long-term thinking is required.
If you want to see what we did, please send me an email through my profile.
roderick_young
September 26, 2013 at 4:03 pm
You’re on the right path. When you install solar on your house, you don’t have to generate 100% of what you use. You can install a grid-tied system that is still connected to the electric company. This is the most common and cost effective installation. Any power you generate is used, and if you need more, you buy it from the electric company, same as always. If you happen to generate more than you use, the electric company buys it back from you.
The beauty of this is that you don’t need the expense of batteries, you either use the power or sell it, no need to store it. If you need more power, you buy it, just less than you bought before.
However, the best use of your money is to use it on energy conservation first. For every dollar you spend saving electricity, that’s about $ 4 less in solar you need to buy. There’s a better bang for the buck to buy a fridge that uses less electricity than to generate enough to power the old one. It’s a lot cheaper to replace your incandescent lightbulbs to cut your lighting bill by 75% than to buy solar panels to generate all that extra power.
Once you’ve done all you can to conserve, then you should look into solar. Solar water heating. Up to 30% of your energy bill is for heating water. If you install a solar water heater, you can provide up to 75% of your water heating with the sun. On days without sun, your backup heater kicks in, so you are never without hot water. Solar water heating is 85% efficient, as opposed to solar electricity’s less than 20%. Much better bang for the buck. THEN, you can look at solar electricity.
Amy
September 26, 2013 at 5:02 pm
Why dont you just use a pedal generator? Same idea, and its a great work out.
Heres an answer… You can do it. You just have to work out the specs and set up the wiring yourself so that it would work.
Plus Solar panels and rechargable batteries are a little costly so it may take a couple years or even a decade to recoup the money spent.
Bob
September 26, 2013 at 5:08 pm
what difference does it make, they are all connected. everytime you charge a battery you lose electricity, its stupid to charge batteries unless you need portability.
Nata T
September 26, 2013 at 5:29 pm
Well there’s no need to only power selected appliances. It’s all a matter of accounting and that’s why the recent trend is towards grid tied systems. The idea is that the photovoltaic system isn’t big enough to meet peak demand but it produces electricity whenever the sun is shining so when you need the power, you buy it from the utility, when you don’t you sell the little that you make to the utilities. The idea is that hopefully during the long periods when you aren’t using any power, that you would be selling enough to offset the short bursts when you do use the power.
Most homes have fittings for gas dryers. The gas dryers cost slightly more than an electric but quickly pays for itself plus they dry so much faster. In my opinion, it’s foolish to buy an electric dryer if you have the option of a gas dryer.
Disconnecting completely from the grid requires a rather expensive battery bank. That and the fact that lead acid charge cycles are only 50% efficient and suddenly you’re talking about a substantial sized photovoltaic array. If you really want to be off the grid, focus on not using electricity at all, thermal solar collectors can easily provide for heating and hot water. If you have the money, thermal solar can also provide air conditioning and cooling through absorption cycle units but such units tend to be on the large size so a residential sized unit would be very expensive. There are RV sized absoption cycle refrigerators designed for use with propane that could be adapted to work with thermal solar but they tend to be small for a household.
Currently, if you want electricity from solar panels, the best bet is to remain on the grid and go with a grid tied system and just let the magic of accounting make up for the lack of a battery array.
John W
September 26, 2013 at 6:06 pm
Hey criss thanks for the question.
Being that your appliances are part of the electric circuit that feeds your whole house it makes it difficult to isolate them electrically from the rest of the house. However we can isolate them mathematically to see what your best financial options are.
The appliances you listed are responsible for about 80% of your electric bill. What we need to consider here is how much energy do we want to conserve ( by switching to energy star appliances) and how much energy do we want to generate from a PV(solar) system. Rule of thumb is its cheaper to conserve energy than it is to generate it.
Below I have listed what you could save on energy every year (based on national averages) if you switched to energy star appliances.
clothes washer 130.00
dishwasher 40.00
refrigerator 100.00
tank less water heater 115.00
lighting 30.00
ON top of the savings, the Feds will give you a 1,500.00 tax credit on years end. To boil it all down your net cost at years end is 1,600.00. You end up with shiney new appliances that will pay for them selves in under 4 yrs based on energy reduction. and your savings over thier life will be in the thousands or higher.
Next lets tackle a solar system.
The biggest bang for your buck ( quickest return of investment ) will be to knock off the higher tiered rates of your power bill.For example, if 60% of your energy dollars were spent on upper tier rates, then you would want to size your solar system to generate 60% of your energy needs. By eliminating the higher more expensive electric rates, you greatly accelerate your return of solar investment. Typically a professionally installed system can give you a return in about 7yrs. A DIY system in about 4. The combination of conservation and solar generation coule easily reduce your bill to50,40 30, 20, dollars or less per month.Your savings over the life of the system can easily reach 40k or more. If you do choose the DIY option, stay away from DIY your own panels (lts what they don’t tell you that can cause problems). Be sure to search out grid tied options.
Hope this helps, If I can be of further assistance, fell free to post your question at http;//www.solarmandan.com
As you can see usually its a mix of conservation and generation
Solarmandan
September 26, 2013 at 6:31 pm