Is it worth my while investing in natural energy for my home?
Question by Mr X: Is it worth my while investing in natural energy for my home?
I was thinking about investing in some Solar Panels and a small Wind Turbine to power my home.
I live alone and do not consume lots of electricity.
From what I hear I am looking at waiting at least 10 years before I see them pay for themselves.
Is this true? Are they really more trouble than they are worth?
Because if the cost-benefit ratio is too unbalanced, I might as well just stick to nuclear power.
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4 Responses to Is it worth my while investing in natural energy for my home?
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Hydro power is in my opinion the best. Even if you live near a small stream that moves really slowly, you can still build a cheap rig that puts out a fair amount of power.
Ben
June 12, 2013 at 10:14 am
Hey X, what you’ve been reading is basically correct, you are looking at probably 10 + years for your financial payback. If that is what you are after, probably better to spend a few dollars making your living space a bit more efficient, which will cut down on your current electric bill, and put the rest in long term bonds. You’ll get your money back faster with the investment.
We live in a home that is completely powered by the wind and sun. It still has the utility company connected, which I now use as my storage battery for excess power, and then I can draw on them if I need extra down the road. There is a small fee for that too. The original reason we got involved is because at the time, our power was always going out at inconvenient times, and later for environmental reasons. If, as you say, the cost benefit ratio is too unbalanced, you might as well stick to nuclear, then I’m guessing environmental benefits are not of interest to you. Lots of people grow tomatoes in their garden even though it’s easier and cheaper to buy them at the store, or the farmers market if you want fresh. For them it’s therapuetic to make something of their own, and provide at least a sustainable patch of green grass in a world of commercial vegetable fields. The only difference between them and us is we just grow electrons in our garden, even though it is probalby cheaper to buy them commercially, from the nuclear plant, or someplace else. There is also the fact that our home has not been without power for even a minute the last 13 years now, but it’s hard to put a price tag on something like that.
If you really think you might want to get involved a little without having to bet the farm, try starting small like we did 13 years ago. A couple of golf cart batteries, one 70 or so watt panel and a few miscellaneous parts and we were lighting our kitchen and bath and running a few small electronics, like a radio, cell phone charger and so on. And within months when the next power outage came, those items continued to function, free of charge or gasoline. Home Power Magazine liked our small starter idea so much years ago they ran a small article on it. If you subscribe, you can use their online archive search engine and look for an article called, “Small System First.” If you’re handy with stuff around the house, it might be a good project for you. Check out the magazine and some other sources below. Good luck X, and take care, Rudydoo
Rudydoo
June 12, 2013 at 10:51 am
You should consider a solar geyser/water heater. They use solar energy to heat the water directly and can switch to grid electricity during cloudy days.
Rudi
June 12, 2013 at 11:31 am
Tree huggers tout the green energy all the time but the truth is the energy we have today is as cheap as it is going to get .I knew a guy out in arizona that set up a windmill generator and a storage battery set up with a inverter and he lived alone and had all the energy he needed . Now he did build that out of old truck and airplane parts with his own two hands and it was worth doing and if you can do that you could see some savings that wouldn’t take ten years to see but hey Obama penalizes coal fired power plants and won’t allow any more nukes so here we sit with our chosen one and the epa and tree huggers telling us what we need while they rake in the big money from it ..
Larry G
June 12, 2013 at 11:48 am