This picture was taken last summer in July when the system was actually installed. It took 9 month for state of NJ to get us inspector for whole 20 min and actually get approval - insanely frustrating. But all bureaucracy aside - we are live and powering at 115% and minimizing our carbon footprint and it feels fantastic!. As I said many times, my wish is to be self-sufficient as much as possible and hopefully be off the grid completely. We're using our well-watter and now added solar so if only we could stop using oil for heat that would really make us truly green. But one step at the time.
Going Really "Green"
With all the expansion and frost and seedlings and everything else that been making me run around like a crazy bunny I completely forgot to post about one of the really "green" part of our life - we're now completely on SOLAR power!
This picture was taken last summer in July when the system was actually installed. It took 9 month for state of NJ to get us inspector for whole 20 min and actually get approval - insanely frustrating. But all bureaucracy aside - we are live and powering at 115% and minimizing our carbon footprint and it feels fantastic!. As I said many times, my wish is to be self-sufficient as much as possible and hopefully be off the grid completely. We're using our well-watter and now added solar so if only we could stop using oil for heat that would really make us truly green. But one step at the time.
This picture was taken last summer in July when the system was actually installed. It took 9 month for state of NJ to get us inspector for whole 20 min and actually get approval - insanely frustrating. But all bureaucracy aside - we are live and powering at 115% and minimizing our carbon footprint and it feels fantastic!. As I said many times, my wish is to be self-sufficient as much as possible and hopefully be off the grid completely. We're using our well-watter and now added solar so if only we could stop using oil for heat that would really make us truly green. But one step at the time.
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Congratulations. Our neighbors did that recently and though we have a great roof for it it's not cost effective for us in the long term. We are passive solar in the way our house is sited in relation to the sun and we have a lot of green aspects to it when it was built. But enjoy being off the grid.
ReplyDeleteThank you, it is expensive to install but we'll break even in 5 years and then based on federal refunds we'll earn about 5K for next 15 years so it's worth it.
DeleteJenny this is awesome! Congrats! This is a goal for hubby and I, hopefully sooner than later. Where did you buy your panels? How do you store your surplus or are you capable of storing? I have tons of questions. lol
ReplyDeleteAnother goal (maybe I should call them dreams for obvious reasons) is to get a well drilled.
Thank you Lisa, we got all supplies and installation done with local company - my hubby did all research, calculations etc. The surplus currently going back to the main grid but we can store it in a generator if we want to (which is something I want to do).
DeleteI've passed a blog award onto you. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteLove it! I wish we could do this but our house doesn't have enough surface area on the roof, that points in the right direction. A friend of mine just had a geothermal system installed which heats and cools the house by using the heat underground. I'm thinking looking into that, I'd love to be off the grid. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThank you :) We were also looking at it and hopefully one day it will be installed, but solar took priority this time around. Our goal is to be completely off the grid and self-suficient.
DeleteThat is pretty awesome you are completely solar and don't have a power bill. I have always wondered how hard it was to do.
ReplyDeleteDid I understand correctly what you said in your comment, You will get 5K back on your taxes every year for 15 years? That would be a total or 75k. Is that correct? If so, that is pretty awesome and seems it would pay for itself.
Kris - I'm not very good at these details but from what I did understand we get one time federal rebate that covers 30% of the installatiion - as part of our tax refund which we'll get next spring. And then we get something called solar credits for energy generated which we sell back to the state and we can get those for 15 yrs. I believe estimate for first year was 5K but will have to wait to see real numbers as everything changes.
DeleteThat is cool Jenny. I have tried really hard to make my little ranch house as energy efficient as possible. It was built in 1972 and I have touched every square inch of it. I have replaced all the windows and doors, replaced all my bulbs with CFLs, replaced my heating and air with a more efficient unit, weather stripping, caulking, etc. I have done all the work myself and I have noticed a difference in my energy bill with each upgrade. I wouldn't call myself a super "green" person, but I do like to do things myself and save money whenever possible.
DeleteKris - that's what my hubby has been doing since we moved in to the house as well - upgrading, insulating and improving to cut down costs. One step at the time :)
DeleteBoy you are ambitious! I am totally jealous of your solar setup, as I have been planning on doing this in a few years, just need to get around to it.
ReplyDeleteI am curious, is your only setup on that one side of the house? If so, that's amazing you can generate all that power. How many watts do you generate?
I don't see it as ambitious - it's more of being self-reliant and looking to the future. As in planet is already severely overpopulated and resources are getting tighter every day, so I think there will be near future where basic food prices will go through the roof, and basics like clean water and electricity will be in more demand than available supplies so not depending on anyone for these resources will help us in a long run. having our own electric power and growing our own food helps. It's just basic self preservations and instincts.
DeleteAs for the actual set up we generate up to 4.1kilowatt per hour max on perfectly sunny day.
If only we could afford to do it! Congratulations.
ReplyDelete