Day 52 Assignment

1. Review your power bills for the last 12 months. They should tell you how many kilowatts of power you used last year and tell you how much you are paying for your power. Assuming power prices will stay constant (they won’t, they will increase), estimate how much you would save over the coming 10 to 20 years by installing a solar power system.
2. Find out if there are any grants or tax rebates in your area for putting in a solar power system in your home.
3. Estimate how much power you could save through power conservation measures at home (turning off lights, installing energy-saving light bulbs, not using an electrical pool heater, buying an energy-efficient fridge, getting power outlets with off switches, etc.).
4. Get a quote from a solar contractor for a system that could power your home. (Remember, if you live on-grid, you might not need to buy a backup generator, and maybe not even batteries for your system.)
5. Buy cheap solar cells online and make a small solar panel to see if you could realistically manufacture your own solar panels.
6. Make or buy inexpensive outdoor solar lights for your garden; these can reduce your power use at home without a large investment in inverters and charge controllers.

Happy homesteading,

Con Murphy
Your Total Independence Coach, Live and Invest Overseas