Strawbale House

 Yesterday, Rosalba and I, met Shayne from Alternative Energy Solutions to start the process of working out the size of our solar power system. Shayne performed an energy audit with us by going through every room on our plan and working out what electrical appliances we’ll be using.

Based on our responses Shayne reckons that on average we’ll be using up to 8.5 kWh per day with an average usage of about 7.8 kWh. Apparently this is at the high end of the modest range of daily energy demand.

Shayne has told us about a similar system he installed recently which was priced at $52,000 (Australian) before any potential rebates we might be eligible. That’s about what we expect to invest into our solar system, so that didn’t come as a huge shock.

To generate enough electricity for our use Shayne has calculated that we need to install 12 solar panels of 165 W each and that we need a battery bank of 1300 Ah at 48V.

Shayne also explained that some appliances use an extraordinary amount of electricity and we should stay clear of them if we can. Appliances such as hair dryers, irons, electric toasters, and bread makers use large amounts of electricity which make the solar system more expensive than it is if you can do without them.

For example, if you keep your bread maker you basically end up spending an additional $12,000 on your solar system to be able to run it.

According to Shayne  a lot of parts for a solar system will get more expensive with the introduction of an emissions trading scheme as demand for alternative energy solutions will increase dramatically.