Energy from sun eliminates family's power bills

A Wanganui family is using the sun to generate the electricity needed to run its house.
Raymond Cameron bought a $10,500 solar generation system and his family went off the national grid three years ago. They also disconnected their gas supply.
They now use $4 worth of bottled LPG for cooking every month, burn wood offcuts to heat rooms and water and their four solar panels collect 300 watts of electricity an hour on sunny days.
If they could do it, then the rest of the country could cut its use of fossil fuels like coal and oil, Mr Cameron said. He was appalled that New Zealand was considering re-activating a coal-fired power station near Whangarei to meet the nation's increasing demand for electricity.
"My firm belief now is that we have enough resources in this country to get all our power from hydro, wind and solar."
Mr Cameron said that on sunny days the family's four solar panels collected three kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity. An energy-greedy household used six or seven kWh a day. The Camerons' central city household had found ways to cut down consumption.
Their energy-efficient light bulbs used one-eighth the energy of a bright incandescent bulb. Their well insulated Scandinavian fridge-freezer used up only 1.1 kWh a day. A pot belly stove burned timber offcuts, heated water, warmed the house and dried clothes. It also did slow cooking, with a gas stove doing the rest.
In the future he would also like to install a solar water heater for use during the summer months.
The electricity from the solar panels was enough to light the house, run the vacuum cleaner, stereo and fridge freezer and stretch to three hours' Tv watching a night.
A small petrol generator, usually run for about an hour a week, made up for any shortages, but Mr Cameron hoped to get another two to four solar panels, which would make it unnecessary.
The solar panels were in the backyard, and were hooked up to storage batteries in a shed and to an inverter that converted the electricity to 240 volts AC. The batteries held enough electricity to last the household through three sunless days.
Mr Cameron said he had considered selling electricity back to the national grid but found he would then have to pay line charges and the electricity would be paid for at wholesale rates.
Getting off the grid was a good investment for a household, especially pre-retirement. He said it was similar to buying your own house rather than renting one all your life.
People wanting to know more can ring him on 021 1535 402.