Is Solar Energy For Everyone?

Solar power is the ultimate goal of most people I talk to. Simple to install, they say, and practically free.

Wind power has gained a lot of publicity lately, with huge wind turbine farms being installed in many places, but lots of complaints about the noise they create have emerged.

Electric power has been embraced by many, but it, too, has its drawbacks.

Only solar power seems, after the cost of installation, to be completely free for the taking—but is it really?

My husband and I love to camp. Several years ago, we bought a single solar panel to supplement the battery power our fifth-wheel used for lights, and for running the fan for our propane-powered heater. We love it. Where we formerly went to bed early to conserve power, we can now read late into the night. No more waking up cold because the fan circulating warm air had run out of battery power.

The solar panel proved quite easy to use. It is free standing, and can be set up anywhere around the campsite where there is some sun shining on it. If it gets too shady in one spot, we just pick up the panel and move it to a better location.

Last year, my husband splurged and purchased a Mongoose electric bicycle for riding the 11-mile bike trail around central Oregon's Diamond Lake where we usually camp. Because of the solar panel, he was able to plug the bicycle in for re-charging a couple of hours each evening to be ready for another ride with the grandkids the next morning.

My portable electric sewing machine accompanied us this year, and this Grandma enjoyed teaching an eight-year-old the basics of making a simple quilt for her doll.

All of this, on one small solar panel measuring about 28 inches by 14 inches, and costing under $20, set us to wondering about the possibilities of using solar power at home. Of course we aren't expecting it to replace our current electric power, but merely to reduce our electric bill a bit.

Our first step toward this goal, has been an attempt to educate ourselves a bit on the subject. We know it will be quite a jump from one small solar panel to a system large enough to do any good at home, and neither of us claim to be technologically gifted, but Amazon.com has a greatly simplified book that looks as though it might be just the thing for us. Solar Power Your Home For Dummies. Some of the comments by others who have purchased the book describe it as being written in simple language that anyone can understand. Believe me, that is exactly what we are going to need.

If any of you have alread read the book, or have set up a simple and inexpensive solar energy system in your home, comments or advice would be welcome. Otherwise, we will just have to bumble our way through the book (and probably several others) and see how it turns out. If we have any success, I will post another blog entry on the subject in hopes it might help someone else.

(If, instead, we fall on our faces — which is quite likely, I will avoid the subject like the plague, and hope no one ever asks me how our great experiment turned out.)