Living on sunshine
GardGate111512A
ARCADIAN PHOTO BY AL SMOKE
A tower attached to one corner of our house supports the array of photovoltaic panels (left), a solar hot water heater and a 100 gal. water storage tank that provides our gravity fed water system. This photo illustrates the number one rule of choosing a solar location: remember trees growtowers dont!
GardGate111512B
ARCADIAN PHOTO BY AL SMOKE
Four large deep cycle batteries store the electricity the PV panels produce during the day. At night we draw power from the batteries. Our house uses 12 volt direct currentthe same as an automobile. Most solar electric systems today also have an inverter that changes the electricity to 110 or 220 alternating current just like what the electric company delivers.
By Karen Smoke
Some of our readers may know we rely on sunshine for more than just our garden. The electricity our home uses is 100 percent solar power. We haven’t had an electric bill in 28 years.
Before you turn green with envy — it’s not all that easy, and along with no electric bill there are other things we don’t have, such as air conditioning. And, solar doesn’t supply all the energy our home requires. For cooking and refrigeration we use liquid propane gas. We have two solar hot water heaters, but we also have a small back-up heater that uses LP gas also.
