Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Energy Efficient Appliances

I've been working on sizing our solar array.   Right now, I have it down to 52 245 watt panels if our furnace doesn't have a fan.  I need 20 more panels for that.

We use about 900 kilowatt hours a month on Drift Away.  I'm guessing close to 1,500 with a 1,000 square foot house.

Pam doesn't need a large refrigerator.  She says 10 cubic feet is fine, but she wants it frost free.  New refrigerators are much more energy efficient than they used to be, but still consume a lot of electricity.

So I'm now on a hunt for energy efficient appliances.  I know they must be out there somewhere.  I even posted on "Our Energy Independence Community".  If their forums are anything like the sailing forums I sometimes frequent, I should find some in depth answers there from people who have already researched this to death.

As I'm writing this, Bleecker New York is getting pasted by a snowstorm.  Between 12" and 18" is forecast.  With that much snow, tree branches come down taking power lines with them.  I'm more determined now than ever to keep our place off grid.

Oh, and now snow storms have names, by the way.   The Weather Channel decided so.  This one is named Euclid. That's not much fun.  I think they should name them after movie villains   Imagine getting hit by the Terminator Blizzard?  The Hannibal Lecter snow storm?  Now that would be memorable.

3 comments:

  1. Some thoughts on this.

    It's a lot cheaper to buy an excellent DC (Sunfrost) refrigerator and a DC (Sundanzer) freezer than to buy and operate conventional AC appliances. You waste a lot of sunpower when you transform it from DC to AC. I can vouch for those two brands -- very QUIET and will save you having to buy a lot of extra modules.

    November into December holds many lessons for off-grid homes. That's when your choice of appliances can kick you in the butt. Do you really want to buy 52 modules? There is a different way of thinking that comes from living off-grid; just like living aboard a boat. The trick is to figure them out before you go with what you assume you'll want/need.

    Budget it a good generator, and I believe you'll want to bury your propane tank. Grundfos is an excellent water pump, btw.


    ReplyDelete
  2. Dave, It's difficult reading your text. Try swapping -- make your title grey and your text white.
    Bob

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really? I see black text on a white background. What device are you using to read it?

      Delete