The Energy-Intelligent House
The key affordable solar power is energy efficiency. If the electrical and heating loads are small, then the amount of heat and electricity is small. Hence, the solar energy systems are small.
Insulate well. R28 in walls and R38 in roof. R28 in 6 inch walls can be accomplished by using high density fiberglass insulation or spray-on foam insulation. The more insulation you have, the less your pump or fan (for heating) will have to run. Always get thermal windows, at least double-pane. Check to see if the two panes of glass are separated by non-heat conducting spacers at the edges. Get low-E coatings unless you want to maximize solar gain (as in south-facing windows for passive solar heating). Consider insulated shades for large windows.
Use a low power well pump. Slower pumps (such as the Solar SlowPump) will use much less electricity (often 10 times less!). To compensate for the slow flow rate, get a larger pressurized storage tank. Well drillers don't know much about this yet, so we can work with them. Be aware that some well drillers are representatives for certain pump companies and might not want to deal with anything different. Try a different well driller if you can't get cooperation.
Energy efficient refrigerator. Your refrigerator may account for as much as 1/2 of your electric usage! Get a refrigerator with the Energy Star label. There is a variety of brands and models which are rated as Energy Star. These generally use about 1.5 kWh per day.
What Wilderness?
Use compact or tube fluorescent lights. There are now fluorescent lights for almost any fixture. The Philips Earthlight is akin to incandescents in its color. For tube fluorescent lights, you can get dimmers and full spectrum bulbs. There are many more available than can be found in home improvement stores. (We sell all styles via mail order).
Use day-lighting. Use of skylights, sun-tubes and south windows makes for a more pleasant interior. It also saves on lighting costs. This is especially important if you use your house a lot during the day (staying home with kids or having a home office). People often say that there are leak problems associated with skylights. Modern skylights have metal skirting (flashing) and good seals. If properly installed, they should never leak. The secret to no leaks is an experienced installer who can read the directions! Another means of day-lighting is via heliostats or celestories. These are fancier, but can be the best way for certain style buildings. For example, in a walkout basement, even large windows don't dispel the shadows in the back of the room. A heliostat (sun-tracking mirror system) could be used to bring light in. Clerestories can provide indirect day-lighting which can be distributed over more of the interior and prevents fading of furniture and rugs.
Use passive solar heating. This can be as simple as more windows on the south wall and fewer elsewhere. You can store heat in the floor under the windows, or even heat a half-high wall filled with water or wax (when cooling, this gives off heat to the room). Another alternative is solar-wall facade on the exterior south wall. These types of facades have an air space behind them. The sun heats the air which is then circulated with a fan to the interior. There are two types now (both made in New York). One looks like vinyl siding (but it is metal) and the other is glass cover absorber plate (looks like dark colored glass facade).
Avoid high-wattage appliances with electric resistance heating elements such as electric hot water heaters or electric dryers. Small ones like toasters and hair dryers are NO problem.
What Grandma could have told you
Use microwave oven instead of electric burners. Even heating coffee water in microwave saves energy! Solar electric systems can easily power microwave ovens (which take between 500 and 1000 watts).
Train your kids to turn off showers, lights and other appliances that use energy. If there are problem spots, install timers or sensor switches.
Resist the urge to build a mansion. The bigger the house, the more energy it will need. If you must have a large house, spend the extra money on top-of-the-line windows and extra insulation.
Every one dollar spent on efficiency saves about twenty dollars on solar panels needed to power the load.
Keep that electrical load under 6 kWh per day and 400 sq.ft. of solar electric shingles will power your whole house.
Often, people want a really large refrigerator (they are planning for an asteroid hit maybe?). This is generally a big waste of energy. Even a family living in a remote home is probably not more than a few miles from the nearest grocery. So let the grocery store keep food cool and fresh. Shop once per week and the VestFrost will be more than big enough. And you won't lose as many leftovers in the back. If I want to have a bunch of soda for guests I put it outside in the winter and in a cooler in the summer.
We are so enamored of clothes dryers. Perhaps if you have 5 kids you might need one of these, although my mother-in-law (who has 7 kids) got along without one. Clothes dryers are energy hogs, especially electric ones. A typical electric dryer uses 6 kilowatts (kW). For my house this means that if I run the dryer for one hour, I double my daily electricity usage. That's because the lights and appliances used all day long only take up 6 kWh. In addition to being energy hogs, dryers expel moist air from the house. Now in the summer, the best way to dry clothes is on a line outside. But in the winter, dry them on racks inside. Drying inside in the winter keeps valuable moisture in the house. This reduces or eliminates the need to run a humidifier. Since humidifiers also take electricity (and they are a pain to keep clean), there's still more savings by rack-drying the clothes! I know some people like the fluffy feel of clothes done in a dryer. Clothes dried outside usually have this same feel. Clothes dried inside can be fluffed for a short time in the dryer before they are completely dry on the drying racks. The other complaint is where to put racks. How about in the bedrooms where the moisture is needed the most? And who's going to be visiting your bedroom (other than really good friends and family)?