Planning a Home Renewable Energy System

If you currently rely solely on the power grid, then you could have two distinct problems coming up. The first of these is the obvious one – if the grid goes down, you are left without power. Seeing as it is no longer the 1970s and blackouts are not terribly common these days, this is something most people are quite happy to live with, and there is a certain charm to getting out the candles anyway, seeing as it happens so rarely. The second problem is one which many people (and increasingly with time) are fast becoming interested in. This is the imperative to do our bit for the environment.

What a shame then that people are often daunted by the many considerations involved in the question, “how do I create a renewable home energy system?” And if they can start moving a little towards considering the options, then the many misconceptions soon become evident: “It’s far too expensive”, “I would need certain weather conditions”, “I’ll hardly ever see any use out of it”, and so on. Most of these are false, and the reason they are false is that there are many different home renewable options to choose from. This means there is a solution for nearly every situation. The amount of choice though also means that getting the right renewable energy system for your home will require careful planning.

Planning for The Cost

The very first thing to do before installing any renewable energy system (such as solar panels, battery power, etc.) is to weigh up the costs. Do not assume that you will not be able to afford all types of renewable energy; there are smaller scale options that you can always turn to.

Nevertheless, you can expect weighing up the costs to be a little more complicated than simply browsing the prices of certain installations. This is because there are many situations where investing in renewable energy can actually save you money. To take one example, you could save money on peak mains rates by switching to battery-stored power at peak times. Another example is a renewable energy system could seriously boost the value of a home when you sell it – more than you paid for the upgrade. All of this should be considered.

The other thing you should do is to seriously analyze your energy use. This will give you an idea of how much of this usage could realistically be picked up by the renewables.

Some Options

And when it comes to picking the system, there are several options:

Solar

This is by far the most common renewable energy home installation. The price of solar panels has really come down into the budgetary range of most consumers, and you can go as large or as small as you want.

Batteries

Battery energy is incredibly diverse – and isn’t just one thing. Technically, using USB rechargeable AA lithium batteries instead of traditional household batteries counts as instilling some degree of household renewable, but then so too is a complete battery reserve power source. Pale Blue Earth, manufacturers of household battery products, say that the number of household battery energy solutions is only set to grow.

Hybrid Systems

We could have listed wind power, but we are including it here as it is as part of the solar-wind hybrid systems within which wind power most often appears. These systems can be scaled as you please, and they offer a better solution in more weather-variable locations.

So, there are many things to consider when installing a home renewable energy system. You should not be put off, but it certainly requires planning.