Solar Primer continued...

Electricity is so expensive - Is independent power for me?

If you feel that hydro rates are outrageously expensive, you might consider renewable energy as an economical alternative. We would be pleased to offer you an independent power system to replace your utility; however, there are some important facts regarding cost and energy consumption that you should consider:

Independent power systems will run lights, water pumps, TV’s, VCR’s, satellite receivers, stereos, vacuums, washers, refrigerators, freezers (energy efficient designs), microwaves, kitchen appliances, computers, printers, faxes, power tools, irons, blow dryers, curling irons and much more.

Independent power systems will not run any major heat producing appliances. These energy gluttons include electric heat, hot water, electric ranges and clothes dryers. They use outrageous amounts of power; thousands of watts every minute that they run.

By switching these to natural gas or propane and by purchasing energy efficient appliances, you can easily reduce your energy consumption to a fraction of what you usually purchase from the utility. Independently powered homes must be set up like this before an affordable wind or solar system can be installed. This is most easily done when setting up a new home and making those appliance decisions for the first time. When building a new home, there are many ways of making the jump to a renewable energy system that is easier and cheaper. Feel free to contact us before you build to discuss your renewable energy system if you’re serious about being off-grid.

If your energy bill is too high, you are using too much electricity. In most cases, utility companies don’t even come close to covering their costs when they charge you the amount indicated on your bill. If they charged what it cost them to produce electricity, alternate energy sources could be more economical in most situations. Canadian electrical rates are the least expensive in the world.
Renewable energy systems will be more expensive, per kilowatt, than the energy billed to you from your local utility.

Independent power systems are designed with energy conservation in mind. Typical power production is in the range of 30 to 200 kilowatt-hours a month. The average Canadian home uses between 750 and 1500 kilowatt hours per period. Efficiency is the secret, therefore, conservation is essential.

Reduction of energy requirements is an essential prerequisite to producing your own electricity. It costs much less to change appliances to models that use just a fraction of the power. This will save hundreds of kilowatt hours each month.

Once all the above steps have been taken, your power bill will be much more manageable, perhaps 60-500 kilowatt hours. At this point it would be possible and practical to generate your own power, or a portion of your own power from renewable energy sources. If your goal is to lower your utility bill, you can achieve this by reducing energy requirements first and then starting to think about renewable energy systems.

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