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 The goal is to become less dependent and more
self-sufficient. This quest for energy self-sufficiency has been
going on for decades, and the question to be asked today: Is this
the time to venture off the grid?
There are four modern systems that can be considered valuable and
available to most homeowners to reduce their energy dependency:
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Solar powered water heating
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Solar power cells for generating electricity
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Windmills and wind turbines for generating electricity
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Geothermal assist systems for heating and cooling your house
All these systems have gone through decades of
evolution and development so that now, in 2017, they are at their
highest point of technology, at their highest efficiency, and at
their lowest cost. Many Logan County citizens have invested in these
systems to reduce their reliance on energy companies. With state and
federal granting, as well as utility system granting and special
loans from financial institutions, the cost and ease of purchase
makes alternative energy systems worth investigating today.
In the 1980’s and 90’s several companies swept through Logan County
selling and installing solar hot-water systems. You can still see
the remnants of these systems on roofs through town (and some of
them may still be operating). For the most part, these were low-tech
solutions which provided limited results that were exciting enough
40 years ago. The solar water heating systems sold and installed
today are state of the art and provide a much higher level of energy
assist than those previous primitive systems. In this YouTube video
the guys from “This Old House” explain how the system works and show
how it is installed:
How to Install
a Solar-Powered Water Heater - This Old House
Another system to help with your energy withdrawal is
to use geothermal assist system to help provide heating and cooling
for your home. These systems use a series of drilled wells to
extract 55 degree water from the earth and circulate that water
through coils in your furnace much like air conditioning coils. The
benefit is that this earth water assists with heating and cooling
your home.
This YouTube video shows how the system works:
Geothermal
Energy These systems should be installed
by heating and cooling professionals such as Quick Comfort Heating
and Cooling. The guys from “This Old House” show how the system is
installed in this YouTube video:
How a
Geothermal Heat Pump Works - This Old House
One thing we have a lot of here in Logan County is
wind, which is exemplified by the large commercial wind farms that
have been developed here in the county. The same wind that powers
the 500-foot tall commercial wind turbines can be used to power wind
turbines that power your private home. Wind generators have come a
long way in both reliability and efficiency since the early days
when they were deployed in California and in homes along Lake
Michigan. The following video makes the case for deploying wind
power today:
The Case For
Home Wind Power Installing wind power
has several steps. The first step is to measure whether your
property is a good candidate for wind power. Next, a sufficient
structure such as a 120-foot tower is installed. Then the turbine is
installed on top of the tower, and power lines are run to the house.
The Illinois legislature has decreed that Illinois is a net metering
state, which means that energy companies like Ameren must now offer
customers credits on their electric bills for electricity generated
by renewable energy systems. So, wind power is an energy replacement
system that can also earn you credits on your electric bill for
those times that wind power is not utilized in your home. In this
YouTube video the guys from “This Old House” show how a home wind
power system is installed:
How to Install
a Home Wind Turbine
[to top of second column] |
 Probably the biggest advances in alternative
energy have been made in solar energy. In addition to traditional
solar power systems that utilize solar panels in arrays on the
ground or on roofs, there are now systems available from companies
like Tesla Solar that actually make solar energy shingles and
battery-walls.
The three recent advances in solar power are in energy efficiency,
system dependability, form factor, and lowered total cost. The
following YouTube video discusses the lowered costs of a solar
energy system:
How much does
solar REALLY cost? Does it have to be expensive in the real world?
The early solar systems would generate some solar
power, but today’s expectation is that solar systems should generate
all the power that a household needs (perhaps with an assist from
wind-power). So systems have had to become much more efficient. This
YouTube video discusses the advances in solar powered efficiency:
Most Efficient Solar Panel Solar-power
systems are best installed by energy professionals. These next two
videos show how solar powered systems are installed:
How to Install
Solar Panels - This Old House
A look at my
solar panel installation Tesla, an
alternative power company produces interesting products, such as
several models of electric automobiles. In their quest to produce
the ideal electric car, Tesla engineered the most innovative
batteries on the market today. This innovation allowed them to move
into the home alternative energy field, and their answer to the
quest for home-alternative-energy is the Tesla solar roof and the
battery wall. This YouTube video shows their product development and
launch:
Tesla Unveils
Powerwall 2 & Solar Roof This new
innovation in solar design replaces traditional shingles with glass
solar tiles which are guaranteed for the life of your home, or
infinity, whichever comes first. The Tesla solar roof costs about
twice as much as a traditional solar panel system as seen here in
this YouTube video:
Tesla Solar
Roof: Cost Estimate with Powerwall 2 and Electricity Costs
The benefit of a solar power system is that it allows
you to generate your own electric power and break free from the
local energy company. With the use of batteries, this can be a 24
hour a day, 365 day a year proposition. The following YouTube video
shows the benefits of installing a solar power system:
Tax Benefits
of Owning and Using Home Solar Power In
the story of Don Quixote, servant Sancho Panza brings reality to
Quixote’s quest by revealing the truth. In your quest for energy
self sufficiency, the truth is that now is a good time to
investigate alternative energies. And looking toward the horizon,
future innovations will continue to improve both the efficiency and
costs of these systems.
So, dream
THE IMPOSSIBLE
DREAM!
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