After deciding on replacing our energy hog of a heat pump, it has made me take a deeper look at what I can do (within my means) to make our home as energy efficient as possible.
I have been teaching myself about many “green” technologies. The big ones, solar and wind turbine mainly.
Right now I am looking at the major energy users in our home, I have 2 in particular picked out. Our attic fan and water heater.
I have found a great solution to ease the electrical drain of our attic fan, a solar replacement!
Many new homes have passive solutions for attic ventilation (just vents on the ridge of the roof). This may seem ok, but isn’t reliable. Ours, like many older homes have an active solution, a fan. It runs constantly in the summer, as the heat builds up inside the attic. It has a good sized motor, even though I am unsure of it’s exact energy use, I’m sure it’s not small. Our current fan is in good shape, so we are not going to replace it immediately. It’s days are numbered.
Typical “tank style” water heaters are just a waste of space and energy. Why must we constantly heat water that we might not use for hours? I understand the reasoning behind them, it’s in their simplicity. New “tankless” or “on demand” water heaters are great, but there are no electric options with these. They are all gas powered, and even though I like the prospects, I’ll just pass on the gas.
There are other options though. Ever heard of solar water heating? I hadn’t until a few days ago. It’s quite interesting, but still mysterious to me. There are many ways to set it up, and it seems very complex at this time.
If I can find a way to set up a solar system to power a hot water heater I would be on board in a minute.
So on with the research. From what I currently know, to accomplish the results I desire I will need: 1 PV (photovoltaic) panel, a battery array, an inverter and then a way to feed the power into the circuit that feeds the water heater. It can be accomplished, and at a decent price.
I have seen way too many articles lately about how the United States is falling way behind when it comes to energy use statstics. I read one the other day stating that we haven’t even kept up with some standards WE created 10 years ago.
Never being a statstic, I would like to eventually live off the grid, but I cannot afford the initial 20k or so investment. With baby steps we might eventually be able to.
Yep, baby steps, dear. We can’t do this all at once, and we have put off a lot of other projects. I understand your desires, but right now isn’t the right time to do them.