Living off the Grid, Part II: Northern Exposure

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At that time I hadn't the faintest idea what kind of costs are involved in a utility grid extension, so when the local utility examined the site and quoted me a price of $15,000 to run in electricity, I had to rethink everything. I was confronted with the possibility of not being able to build on a beautiful site simply because I couldn't afford to service it. I just wasn't operating with a budget that would even begin to allow that extra expense. I needed some options.

So I grabbed as much information as I could on alternative energy and attended a few seminars in the area, where I eventually met Richard [Gottlieb, president of Sunnyside Solar in Brattleboro, Vermont]. After a few conversations with him, photovoltaics looked like a plausible idea, not just from a "living lightly on the Earth" standpoint-not having to have as many nuclear power plants, etc.- but simply because it let us keep some money in our pocketbooks.

MOTHER:Did the utility offer the possibility of spreading payments over time?

KT: Sure. But what's the good in going broke slowly? In fact, by the time I included the costs of burying the power lines underground to keep utility poles out of sight, it was going to be around $18,000. I couldn't afford it then or sixty years from now. But more importantly, it was just galling. Paying through the nose for the privilege of then paying monthly for my electricity. Forget it.

The photovoltaic system you're now looking at cost $9,200. I'm no electrician, but I was able to piece most of the system together myself in a couple of days. And as far as I'm concerned, it paid for itself immediately because it allowed me to build my home where I wanted to build it.

So up it went, and as soon as I get the insulated exterior walls in place, I'll be able to heat and cook with the wood stove while getting electricity from the panels.

You're right about the weather though. It can be pretty nasty. But even this October and November, which have been lousy for solar—a lot of rain and whatever—haven't troubled the system very much. After a few cloudy days in a row the battery banks do start to run a little low, so I run the gasoline generator for a little while to recharge. That doesn't happen very often though. As long as you design the solar system with weather conditions in mind and size it accordingly, there won't be any problems.

MOTHER:How did you size the system? How did you determine the number of solar panels in the first place?

KT: First, I took a workshop on photovoltaics. Part of the program was a basic introduction to sizing. In essence, sizing is no more than looking at the appliances you're likely to have, their consumption per hour in watts (which is usually listed right on the appliance), and the number of hours you're likely to use them in a day.

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