Solar Panels: Can You Afford To Go Off Grid?
If you self-build solar panels on your home, can you go “off grid” and never have to deal with the electric company again? Not having to depend on the energy company for your power is an attractive proposition. No more power bills coming to your mailbox. No further dealings with the power company for any reason. Can you make this happen for your family? Should you? It depends on where you live, and the costs that you’re prepared to spend on maintaining your own power system.
Discover How Much Simpler Going Off-Grid Can Be!
First First of all|Firstly], consider your location. Is the dominant weather in your area sunny or rainy and overcast? Solar panels can only produce power when sunlight is hitting them. That means you need batteries to preserve electricity in order for it to be available at night and during overcast days.
This is where expenses start adding up. You’ll have to purchase and maintain the amount of large DC (direct current) batteries necessary to store a couple of days worth of electricity for cloudy days. You’ll need plenty of storage space for all of those batteries, and you’ll have to plan for the expense of getting new ones every so often.
Build Your Own Off-Grid Energy
It’s also a good idea to have a backup generator in the event that you have an extended period of overcast weather that lasts beyond your battery storage capacity. The generator requires fuel and you’ll have to store that also. Usually generators use gas or diesel fuel. But these types of fuels are inconsistent with a green lifestyle, so you’ll likely want to use biodiesel. So while it is certainly possible to go “off grid,” the undertaking is not simple or cheap.
For most people, it’s more practical to check into “net metering”. Determine whether it’s offered by your local electric utility company. Net metering is a practical way to cut down on your electricity costs, and still have power available at night and during extended periods of overcast days. Net metering allows you to get credits back from the power company for excess electricity that your solar panels generate during the day. Then, at night or on days when there is not enough sunlight, you simply use electricity supplied by your local power company. And you wouldn’t have to find somewhere to store stacks of batteries. You won’t be totally “off grid”, but you can save significant amounts of money on your monthly electric bills. Some months you may even have a zero balance.
Spiralling Energy Costs Taking Homeowners Off-Grid
So if you live on a large parcel of land and have an extra barn or outbuilding to store your DC batteries in, going “off grid” could be feasible for you. But if you’re part of the world gets little sun and you have no large storage space, “net metering” would be more practical.
