Introduction
There are unquestionably three main alternative sources for electricity: 1) The Sun, 2) The wind 3) Running water. Of policy there are others but these are the ones you will most ordinarily find solutions for on auction sites such as eBay. This guide shows what you have to look for when development your buying decisions.
More Volts Is Better
The first and most leading thing to remember is that the lower the voltage of the theory you buy, the thicker wires you'll be needing for it. The speculate for this is based on a very uncomplicated piece of math called Ohm's law which states that voltage equals current times resistance. Therefore if you have a regular mains wire at 120 volts and capable of handling 60 amps of current - if you then pick to run a 12 volt power source straight through this wire you will only be able to carry 6 amps. To get the same amount of electricity straight through a wire at 12 volts you would have to have a wire capable of supporting 600 amps. Because of Ohm's law if you decrease the voltage 10 times you must multiply the current 10 times to get the same electrical throughput.
Even if you skipped straight through that petite explanation, the results of it are simple, you unquestionably should try to buy the top voltage theory you can. If you can get 24 volt panels instead of 12 volt you will halve the size of wire required - or if you can get a 48 wind turbine, the wire you will need will only be 1/4 the size it would have to be for 12 volts. This will save you a lot of money on wire.
The only downside is this. Lower voltage panels and equipment are ordinarily economy as they were designed to run on accepted car batteries. The higher voltage equipment you buy, the less you will find and the more it will cost. Therefore, when seeing at what is available you should weigh up the separate costs of equipment and wiring. This means get a good estimation for how much wire you will be needing first and find out the prices you can buy it for.
Batteries Or Grid Tied Or Both?
If you are not linked to the power grid you have only one selection - you must buy batteries to store the power you create so you have it available for when the sun is out or at night or when there's no wind etc. The best batteries to buy economically are golf cart batteries. They are designed to allow many deep discharges and recharges. regular car batteries plainly will not do - the lead in them will be used up and the batteries killed in no time at all. Even maritime batteries are still not as good as golf cart batteries (although they are a lot good than car batteries). Most golf cart batteries are 6 volts so you will have to create strings of them in series to make up the voltage of your system.
Alternatively, if you have grid power you can unquestionably use the grid as your battery. When your alternate power source is providing excess power you can sell it to the grid by spinning your meter backwards. However, this can cost some thousand dollars to get the right equipment as required by your power company. But then again, buying enough batteries to keep you going can cost about 2/3 of that - and you will have to replace them every 5-7 years or so. So make your choice. Some people have a smaller battery bank and also tie to the grid - this provides electricity to your house when there is a grid power outage. However, it is the most high-priced of all three options.
Generally, even though it may cost more, unless you are experienced and inescapable with charging dozens of batteries safely (ensuring the hydrogen gas released by them does not get ignited and is safely ventilated), and prepared to enounce the electrolyte and distilled water levels, it would be recommended to go for the grid tie theory if you can - it will be plug-in and forget.
What Else Is Needed?
So, when you have made your decision, if you are going the battery route you need to quest for deep cycle batteries and power inverters that will invert from your theory voltage up to 120 volts. If you are doing this yourself you will have some idea of the power consumption of your house. If it is about 3Kw then you need a 3Kw inverter with 6Kw peak (to deal with high short loads such as motors in fridges starting etc). Many fellowships make inverters.
There are two main types: True sine wave inverters and modified quadrilateral wave. Sine wave are the best and the most high-priced - but they are as good or good than the grid power supply, so all your equipment will run smoothly. Modified quadrilateral wave inverters are a lot economy but can make some hifis or Tvs crackle. They can also make some galvanic motors such as fan motors hum. If this annoys you, you can get suppressor devices for many household items - or you may have to replace some of your items for ones that deal with noisy power supplies better. The saving you will make getting a economy modified quadrilateral wave inverter could more than fund replacing some of your less tolerant appliances.
If you are going for grid tie then plainly look for grid tie systems. They will be true sine wave to ensure you give the grid as good a furnish as it already carries.
Solar, Wind Or Hydro
If you have south facing rooftops and at least 5 hours of sunshine per day, solar should work well for you. Alternatively you can buy mounts that attach to a pole and track the sun for you, in which case only your median daily sunshine will be important. If you have wind above the national median then wind turbines are also something to consider. Beware though, some can be quite noisy. Also, for best results you need to mount them high up and may need planning permission etc. If you are lucky enough to have a stream or river running straight through your land you may well be able (subject to any planning requirements or restrictions) to setup the easiest power generation equipment of all. A hydroelectric turbine is very easy to install, requires minimal maintenance, is less field to high wind problems and can create a lot of power, depending on the water flow.
Get A expert To Install
Having read all the above you should have a basic idea of what you can do to save on your electricity. But you unquestionably must consult a powerful electrician skilled in low voltage work. They will save you a fortune on mistakes you will likely make - plus they may well save you from electrocuting yourself. In conjunction with your electrician you should be able to draw up the specifications for an prudent theory that will pay for itself inside 5 years.
Until You Consult Your Electrician
Do you want to save a lot of electricity now - and also have less of a draw on your alternative theory when it's installed? Then quest for low energy bulbs and replace every particular incandescent bulb in your house. They will use 5-7 times less power and also last about 10 times longer. In fact there are now Led bulbs that use 10-15 times less power (though you may need a few of them as the technology is still young and they are not as spellbinding as they will be). Even so - Led bulbs use so petite power they will hardly spin your meter at all.
Also, get any by hand thermostats in your house supplanted with programmable ones. Then you can get your heating and Ac to turn on and off when you pick and at temperatures you choose. You'll save much, much more than the cost of replacing your thermostats in just the first year. And if you can stand it - do not heat your house above 68 degrees and do not cool it bellow 82 degrees (Use ceiling fans to cool the extra few degrees down from there - fans use 10% of the power that an Ac theory does). Apparently every 1 degree of heat or cooling you save reduces your power bill by 7%. So a full 10 degrees most of the year will cut your bill by 70%.
Oh, and did you fill all the cracks nearby you home where there's a draft? That'll save you huge amounts of money for just the cost of a few tubes of caulk.
And, last but not least. When it's dry and windy unplug your clothes drier and hang your washing on the line. For the amount of power one hour of drying in a 6Kw drier uses you could run a low energy 7 watt bulb giving off 40 watts of power for 857 hours. Or more than a month. Put an additional one way, you could run 35 of these bulbs all day and night for 24 hours for the same amount of power used in that one hour spin drier. But on a mildly windy day your clothes will dry inside one hour on a washing line.
See how much free power mom nature gives you? Take it - it's yours!
Getting Your Electricity For Free
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