Thursday, June 21, 2012

Future Plans

It's taken some time but Sweetie has finally been convinced that solar is the way to go. We live in Florida, for God's sake. Land of sunshine and frequent power outages.

Funds are tight as always but we'll take it step by step.

And entire system to power our place won't happen overnight but if we can accumulate the basics & run even the well and/or AC off solar, we'll be better off: water available and the ability to keep cook in this climate count for a lot.

Probably won't buy any components until this fall but at least he sees the widsom in it.

Today his heart rate increased despite no activity & the AC was turned on to give him some relief. Heavy rains/winds due here Tuesday & Wednesday & probably a power outage too.

The way I look at things, better to spend money on solar components than a generator.

Like always, time will tell how soon all this comes together but we're moving forward.

6 comments:

Sixbears said...

A tiny 30 watt panel kept my little sailboat powered up in FL. I sleep with a C-pap, so that was important. Charged a battery and ran a 200 watt inverter.

Also keep radios, lights, and even my netbook computer running.

treesong said...

We'll take small steps. Right now I'm feeling foggy & keep having blurred vision so not much research will happen either. If my son comes to visit yet this year he's offered to design what we need/want/can handle financially. ANY solar addition will be helpful.

Mike Yukon said...

Good for you! I've had my system for 4 1/2 years with no problems and love it. It's a small system @ 45 watts that I purchased from Harbor Freight. It runs my small kitchen TV a couple hours per day and the radio in the garage everyday with planty of reserve power. I did in the beginning order a 20 amp controller as I wanted to be ready to add panels when I can afford them. Today you should be able to purchase the same system I use for about $350.

Rhino said...

I'm afraid that you will have to spend a considerable amount of money to run a a/c & well pump,even if you only run them one at a time. a cheaper system will run all your light ,small appliances and maybe a small chest freezer.Shop around & do some research so it won't be disappointing when you spend your money.Good Luck.

treesong said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
treesong said...

Rhino: Did further digging now that I have some clear vision/mind.

NO WAY can we afford solar for the AC only. It'll cost more than we paid for this place.

So, guess it will be some other combination to lower our dependency.

One thing we really need is awnings & sunscreen in the windows. Neighbors have both & it makes a huge difference. We have ONE tree that gives very little shade so we're solar exposed.