The Energy Collective Group
This group brings together the best thinkers on energy and climate. Join us for smart, insightful posts and conversations about where the energy industry is and where it is going.
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Energy Independence at Home
Immodestly, let me suggest our northwest Washington home as a model for energy independence. The building on the left is the shop I built in 2003, with a 9 kilowatt solar array I installed the next year. To the right is our all-electric home constructed by professionals 4 yrs ago — superinsulated, with heating + cooling provided by a ground source heat pump. The more central portion is the main house, furthest to the right is our guesthouse; notice both have dedicated photovoltaic arrays. We share our electricity back + forth with Puget Sound Electric's grid, + have batteries instead of a generator for grid outages. The sharing takes place with inverters for the main + guest house. I drive a BEV or battery electric car, + my wife a PHEV or plug-in hybrid EV, with her first hour of driving purely by battery on almost all days. Our lawn tools are electric, too, including the mower + chain saw, with the exception of the pressure washer. The major caveat is the V-8 panel van which I use about every 5 wks, + put half a tank of gas in maybe 3 times a yr. We generate more electricity than we use on an annualized basis. There is an irreducible $7.49 monthly charge for connection fees with PSE. The upshot? Aside from the truck, I don't use fuel mined from the tar sands of Alberta or pumped from underneath the sands of Saudi Arabia. Everything we do at home + everywhere I drive my car [except charging along the highway outside of state], sets us back $90 a yr. That's right, ninety bucks a year. Our wifi cost more than that every month. #climatechange#electrification #electricvehicles
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