The OFF GRID experience so far...

Off grid solar has come a long way since we started experimenting with it back in 2008. Back then 360 watts of panels cost us nearly $2700. Earlier this year, I picked up 1045 watts for $600!

The original system comprised of 2 x 12v batteries and a small 600w Modified Sine Wave inverter which we soon realised was hopelessly inadequate! One advantage of such a meagre supply of power was that we really had to consider every aspect of our energy usage and developed habits that have allowed us to become very frugal. This has translated into extremely low power bills at our grid connected house in Melbourne where we use an average of around 3kWh per day (the average is 18kWh!)

Back in 2008, it was very hard to get any information on setting up a Stand Alone power system and even after scouring YouTube and the Internet, I was still a little bit baffled as how to go about it. These days there are any number of companies supplying all manner of SAPS systems to suit every requirement and budget. 

Our system has gone from the tiny 3 x 120 watt panels to an array of 6 panels with a total capacity of 780 watts. The addition of the wind turbine adds potentially another 300 watts in really good wind which brings the total capacity to just over 1kW, still much less than the average rooftop array on houses in Melbourne.

How this affects our day to day lifestyle up here is very minimal. The only things we can't really run off the system are the toaster, microwave oven, vacuum cleaner or the air compressor. These loads are usually run off the Genset if we need them. The electric oven was traded in for an LPG unit and we use the griller to cook the toast. We also installed a gas fridge and boiling water and cooking etc is done on the gas cooktop.

What about when the sun doesn't shine and the wind don't blow you ask? Well, this does happen from time to time but with the 660Ah battery bank and careful usage, we can usually survive 2-3 days before we need to start the generator.

The best part about all this is that we never need to worry about power black outs and we'll never receive a power bill...ever!

Any questions, email me at: threedamsestate@gmail.com

Spring garden update by Wends

This time of year in the garden holds so much promise! The last of the winter crops are finishing but the fruit trees are literally abuzz with the bees pollinating the flowers of the summer fruits and vegetables. Our nectarine is set for another abundant crop and the newly cut back raspberries are looking verdant. A new pear tree and almond tree have been added to the orchard for next year's harvest. These new plantings have brought the total of fruit trees to fourteen. It is amazing to leave the garden for a couple of days and to return to such luscious foliage growth. The soil is warming and the last downpour has given the ground that spring smell.

 

The olive grove has also been rejuvenated with the moving of 10 of the 30 trees to a more suitable location. Although in the ground for six years many of them are still saplings and the hope is that the new environment will enable the strugglers to be more productive.

 

The deck has been enlivened by the salvaging of some old cumquat trees. A couple of poor old root-bound, neglected trees languishing around the side of the house in some dusty but lovely pots have been lovingly pruned back and given a feed. Looking forward to their growth over the next few months!

 

A new project for this year's planting is the straw bale garden bed system. Such a simple system which can work for any garden whether you have 20 acres to work with or 20 square metres! Straw bales, cut end up, with lots of water and they are a fertile plot for planting. We will be watering in the fertiliser over the next few days before planting the seedlings that are warming in the greenhouse in Melbourne.

Monkeying around with DIY solar.

SOPRAY exhibitor Gina


Ever since setting up the off grid solar system at Three Dams Estate, I've been pretty obsessed with the potential of solar PV to create free energy from the sun. Earlier this year being the renewable nerd that I am, I attended a Solar and Renewable Energy trade show here in Melbourne and was able to acquire some solar panels from the Chinese Sopray exhibitor. Gina on the stand said it was too expensive to ship the panels back to China and offered to sell me the 4 panels (250, 260, 295, 140 watt) for 0.60c per watt ($600).

I didn't have an intended purpose for the new panels but had seen those cheap "plug and play" grid tie inverters on EBay and wondered if I could try and set up a small PV set up on the house we rent here in Melbourne. In researching the feasibility of this, there was some doubt if theses small inverters would actually work with the new digital smart meters we have here in Melbourne now and whether in fact the power generated by the panels would actually be measured as a "load" and subsequently billed as "usage". I decided to give it a try and purchased 2 x 350 watt inverters on EBay for about $80 each.

The next step was to construct a simple array frame to secure the panels to the rear patio roof and run the cabling in through the laundry window and connected to the back of the inverters. I needed up using a separator inverter for each panel as the panels were different (polychrystalline and monochrystalline) and of different power ratings. With identical panels one 600watt inverter would have done the trick.

The panels have been up for 2 months now and as we are coming through Spring with more decent sunlight, the results so far are very encouraging. On a good sunny day between the hours of  about 9am and 4pm the panels generate enough power to put our power consumption at neutral (see graph below). I'd highly recommend this time of basic install to anyone with a bit of DIY nouse. The whole set up cost no more than around $600. Feel free to contact me if you have any queries.

Frugality is the key!

The great thing about having a part time off grid house is that it teaches you a lot about energy conservation. When you have a finite supply of daily power that is dependent on the sun shining and the wind blowing, you learn to be pretty frugal with your energy usage. It's easy to waste energy when you're connected to the gridpower supply is infinite. Learning to live off the grid is pretty easy once you get the hang of it and anyone who has spent time up here in Heathcote knows that we don't really do anything that differently here than we do at our place in Melbourne.
In the 6yrs that we've been off grid here, we've discovered a lot of tricks to conserve power and put them into practice in our Melbourne home and have managed to bring our monthly consumption down to about 3.5 kWh per day (the average is 18-20 kWh).

Here are a few ideas that will help bring your energy bills down.

1. Lighting.
Replacing old globes with LED globes is the first step. These can be sourced as cheap as chips on EBay. I recently replaced 12 50 watt halogen down lights at my Mum's house with 12 watt LED globes. Instant power reduction from 600 watts down to 144 watts. It goes without saying that turn off lights in rooms that aren't being used. Porch lights don't need to on unless you're expecting someone to call.

2. Heating.
Only heat the areas you are using. Consider closing the openings to rooms without doors by hanging heavy curtains to contain the heat. Put on a jumper. For gas heating, close (and cover) vents in rooms that aren't being used.

3. Put a timer on your chest freezer.
The chest freezer does not need to come run throughout the night. Consider putting a cheap $10 timer on the power plug that switches off the power to it from say 9pm until 6am. During the winter months this is a great energy saving trick as a freezer will retain its temperature throughout the night if it's unopened.

4. Check you seals

While we're on freezers, make sure the door seal in the fridge and freezer is in good nick and seals well. A damaged seal will mean the fridge will come on more often and for longer as valuable coldness is escaping.

5. Use a thermos.
If you're a big tea drinker, consider boiling the kettle ONCE and fill a thermos to use throughout the day rather than boil the kettle each time.

6. Switch off!

All unused appliances switched on at the wall draw small amounts of power.
This includes phone chargers and anything with a transformer power pack. Standby power usage can add up over the course of a year.

7. Standby mode.
Despite what they tell you, LED TV's are power hungry. The bigger the TV, the hungrier they are. If you're not watching it, TURN IT OFF!

8. Use your electricity to boil water rather than the gas.

With the price of gas about to explode, it's often cheaper (and quicker) to boil water for cooking using the kettle first and then transfer it into the saucepan on the gas stove.

Here comes the Spring!

Arrived here for the first time in a month to a perfectly still, serene Spring afternoon. Very excited to see that after 4 yrs, the Silver Princess in the turnaround has finally flowered! The fruit trees are also flowering so the weather has definitely turned although 2 deg expected overnight so Tarkyn got onto getting the fire going (It's funny how you can always record the first fire of the season but you never know when the last will be!)

Things to do this weekend:

Solar array upgrade to add another 140watt panel facing West. 

Espalier the apple tree. 

Prepare vege beds for spring planting. 

Relax on the deck with pizzas and wine.

Will be time to get back in the pool in a few weeks!

Here comes the winter!

It's hard to believe that only 2 months ago we couldn't stay in the pool long enough to try and beat the heat. After surviving another scorching summer and some severe brushfire conditions, here I am again splitting firewood! A lot of April rain has filled the dams and tank and has greened everything up. Strangely the tomatoes are still producing fruit despite the cold conditions. 

It's also that time again to adjust the PV array angle for maximum winter solar gain. The next job is to start preparing the vineyard site. This year it will happen!

Ducted heating!

While the relentless rain today forced me indoors, it didn't stop me from getting in the roof and installing some ducted heating for the winter. I basically put together a simple heat transfer system which draws hot air from the wood heated lounge room and sends it to the 2 bedrooms via a small (35 watt) inline fan and a bit of salvaged 150mm ducting. Just needs to get cold enough now to light a fire and try it out!

April 2014

Well the rain is here! After a pretty dry start to the year and a struggling vegie garden, things are finally greening up here as we approach the autumn/ winter months. The school holidays came and went with many hot days spent in the pool and on the deck.

Finally installed the new (old) double doors we bought on EBay 3 years ago! 

Almost time to adjust the solar array angle again for Winter.

Summer Update

Well here we are in Jan 2014! So far a very mild start to the year with temperatures well below average for Jan. At least this allowed for the completion of the re weatherboarding on the west wall of the house. Earthwool batts and Silversark wrap created an R3 rating which has made a noticeable difference to the inside temperature of the house. 

Let's see how it performs next week during the 3 days of 40+ degree days that are forecast!

At least the pool is sparkling clean!