Monday, April 04, 2005
The Most Important Step
So far, I've forgotten to mention the MOST important step in any renewable energy project--reducing your power usage. I did a lot of this in 2004, cutting my electricity usage from about 17 kilowatt-hours per day in 2003 to about 7 kw-h per day in 2004. My improvements weren't quite that dramatic, actually--my gas furnace conked out in March of 2003, and I didn't fix it right away, figuring warmer weather was right around the corner. Unfortunately, the warmer weather didn't show up until June, so I ran electric space heaters a lot that spring. Also, the 2004 reductions reflect to a small degree the impact of the two solar panels I bought, which I used to run 12-volt fans and the TV from time to time.
Still, most of the savings came from reducing my usage--replacing most of my incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, turning lights off more diligently, and putting "phantom loads" on switchable power strips. "Phantom loads" are electical devices which are on even when they're off, like a clock on a microwave or VCR, or anything with a remote. These thing frequently draw three to five watts each, which adds up to a lot of electricity over the course of a month. Putting them on power strips allows you to easily shut them all the way off.
There are several other easy steps that can be taken to save power, and almost all of them are cheaper than buying more solar panels and batteries.
Once I get my PV system up and running, I'm going to go back and look for more ways to cut my energy use. A new furnace is probably the most obvious choice--the new high-efficiency gas furnaces will save me both gas AND electricity, since the generally have higher-efficiency blower motors than does the 1988 dinosaur in my basement. However, I may investigate something more elaborate, like solar-assisted radiant heating, or maybe incorporating a wood stove or through-the-wall solar, or a ground-source heat pump.
Still, most of the savings came from reducing my usage--replacing most of my incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, turning lights off more diligently, and putting "phantom loads" on switchable power strips. "Phantom loads" are electical devices which are on even when they're off, like a clock on a microwave or VCR, or anything with a remote. These thing frequently draw three to five watts each, which adds up to a lot of electricity over the course of a month. Putting them on power strips allows you to easily shut them all the way off.
There are several other easy steps that can be taken to save power, and almost all of them are cheaper than buying more solar panels and batteries.
Once I get my PV system up and running, I'm going to go back and look for more ways to cut my energy use. A new furnace is probably the most obvious choice--the new high-efficiency gas furnaces will save me both gas AND electricity, since the generally have higher-efficiency blower motors than does the 1988 dinosaur in my basement. However, I may investigate something more elaborate, like solar-assisted radiant heating, or maybe incorporating a wood stove or through-the-wall solar, or a ground-source heat pump.
