Winter Solar Energy Challenges
Written by: Dr. Frannie Koe, MD
Edited by: Breanne Hughes
While I want to encourage people to try alternative energy, I also think it is important to let people know realistically what it means to live the way we do on our farm. I wrote previously about the work involved in keeping our solar panels clean and pollen-free during the springtime so that we can maintain uninterrupted power. I also wanted to share the challenges we face during the winter time, particularly because of the way we set up our system.
We have had solar power for over 12 years, but we didn’t start with our current setup. We had a small system and used Trojan golf cart batteries in the beginning, because it was all I could afford. As we have progressed, we have bought higher quality batteries. Tim and I have had one set of the batteries we use now for about 8 1/2 years.
When I bought my tiny house about four years ago, we had to use heat tape to keep the water pipes and hot water heater from freezing. We have an instant hot water heater on the outside of the house. This type of heat tape can put a serious strain on the batteries! Unfortunately, during the winter, we have issues because the batteries struggle to keep up with the amount of power being used. The freezing weather causes us to use a lot of the stored power overnight to keep our water pipes from breaking!
We have friends with solar power who have had batteries for 15 to 20 years, but we have now learned they did not put nearly as much strain on their system as we have done here. I am not sure how much longer our batteries will last, and the expense of new batteries is an important aspect of solar energy to consider.
There is a learning curve to living off grid and living with solar. We are completely responsible for our own power, which can be challenging. Calling someone to come in and fix our system when there are issues is almost impossible! I am so lucky to have Tim, who works hard to keep the batteries in good shape and keep our living conditions comfortable and close to what you’d expect with regular electricity, even with solar.
If you have questions about or experiences with living with solar electricity, we would love to hear from you!
