If you are thinking about a solar energy system to largely replace the energy supplied by your utility or if you are going completely off-grid then you need to think about conservation as the first step in planning your solar power system.
It doesn’t make sense to pay for the capability of generating power to only turn around and waste that power. But that’s exactly what you’ll do if you don’t take a close look at how you’re using energy before hand.
Replace Incandescent Lighting
Incandescent lights are essentially unchanged from day Thomas Edison invented them. However, these are some of the biggest energy wasters in your home. Incandescents work by heating a filament until it glows white hot. The light generated is diffused by a powder coating inside the bulb. The primary product of incandescent lights is heat, which does nothing to improve your ability to see. The light produced by incandescents is only a secondary effect or by-product of the main heat generation.
Compact Fluorescent Light by EJP Photo via flickr
Fluorescent lighting works by exciting mercury vapor enclosed in a glass tube. The mercury vapor emits UV radiation which, in turn, causes the phosphor coating of the bulb to give off visible light. Fluorescents run very cool and much more of the electrical energy is converted to light. Little is lost as heat.
Modern fluorescent lights are nothing like the cold, harsh linear tubes of the last century. Modern units are compact fluorescent lights, also known as CFLs, and are manufactured to fit standard size light fixtures. CFLs light is whiter than incandescents but very pleasant, it doesn’t have that bluish color we often associate with fluorescent lighting. A 23 watt CFL gives off as much light as a 100 Watt incandescent bulb.
Also, since they run cooler, CFLs can potentially last much longer than incandescents. Although, harsh conditions like outdoors, or an improperly vented, moisture heavy bathroom space can cause problems with the ballast electronics inside the base of the bulb. Such conditions will lead to premature failure of the CFL and should be avoided.
Eliminate “Phantom” Loads
Phantom loads are devices that are on, even when they’re off. They steal power from you. A watt here, a few watts there, your power just disappears like a phantom.
Anything with a remote control will be a phantom load because even when it’s off it needs some electricity to power the remote control receiver and be able to turn the appliance on then you hit the button on the remote.
Your microwave oven is a classic example of the phantom load. The little clock, that’s not even set half the time, just sits there wasting energy when it’s hardly even looked at. When you’re paying to generate your own electricity you don’t need a microwave oven to tell the time.
I have an early release DTV converter box and was not surprised to see the unit draws 12 Watts when operating. What was shocking was the fact that even when the converter was turned “off” it continued to draw 6 Watts! Half of it’s “on” power was still consumed when the thing was “off.”
The best way to eliminate phantom loads is to plug them into switched outlets. Since most homes don’t have an overabundance of switched outlets the next best thing is to plug the “always on” devices into switchable power strips.
Cook and Heat with Gas
Putting an electric stove or electric space heating on your list of loads you need to meet with your solar power system will quickly make the system unaffordable, and wasteful.
If possible switch to gas for cooking and heating.
Hang Your Clothes Out to Dry
If you have a back yard hang some of your clothes out to dry rather than heating a spinning a dryer. This is direct application of solar power!
Conserve Energy by Drying in the Sun - photo by Ian Anderson
Conservation as Investment
For every dollar spent on conservation, three dollars worth of solar power does not need to be generated. The term for this is “avoided generation.”
Do the conservation steps first, before you do your load analysis. Chances are your cumulative load will be much smaller after factoring out electricity you don’t have to generate.
Products to Help with Conservation
Click on our stores page for a list of online sellers that offer CFLs, LED lighting, and other products that can help with your conservation effort. And, as always, be sure to let us know if you have any questions.