are they flooded? or sealed? whats their amp hours?
who makes them?

if you'll post a link to their website, i'll look them
up for you

don't even look at inverters yet, you've got other work
to do first

you need to really start with your loading, write down every appliance you use, and for how long

most of your appliances will have the watt usage on the cord, or on the appliance itself, also, dont forget all your lightbulbs, of course, compact flouresence will be better watt users than traditional incandescent bulbs, try to switch out the ones you use the most first. if money is tight, dont pressure yourself to go and buy a whole house
full of new bulbs, just change the ones you use the most, than every payday or so, you can buy a few more.

post when you've gotten some work done on "loading" and
we'll move on to the next step

i know PV panels are expensive, but don't get discouraged
yet, lets take things one step at a time, and work thru
all the variables, then we can try and find panels that
are affordable to you, or if wind would be a better option

oh, and before i sign off, dont forget your phantom loads

anything with a wee light is gonna draw watts, consider putting your tv and such on a power strip

good luck! looking forward to helping

tesa

But I dont give up easy.
Thanks Tesa and Gary and any one else who offers suggestions

you really need to see your loading, if you see it
on paper, it will help you decide what you need to
work on

loading is writing down all your electrical usage
watts per day, or watts per hour, i did it one step
at a time, i started out with watts, then i took notes
for a few day, and got an average of watts per day usage

then i was able to see where the most usage was, and
how/when i could modify it

for instance, i noticed the bathroom light was on for about
4 hours a day, so i decided to go with a CF light in there

also, the kitchen/dining room light was on for quite a bit
so i changed that one too

you need to really look at usage first, when you see it on paper, you'll be better able to modify things

i'll poke around and have a look see at the trojan batteries

so european appliances are 220 volts?? are you in europe??

do you know if solar would be better than wind??

your location makes a big differance!!

some places are better for wind, some for solar

home power zine is fantastic! if you can afford it, get
it!

we use our automobiles to charge our cell phones, no
a/c type chargers its a small load, but if you keep it
plugged in all night, it can turn into a big load

here in texas, south east texas, we have very mild winters,
so i'm mostly interested in cooling, but if you have hard
winters, you might want to look at heating, as your main
concern, if you will

tesa

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/

tesa

Im freezing( really just cold) even though its 50's outside. It was sunny but now overcast here in Ky. Im ticked off I have gas furnace thermostat set at 54 degrees. I burn wood in my zeroclearance fireplace. Im cold natured with cold hands, feet and legs and unfortunately a senior (oooooo, yuk).
To save on energy I sleep under many blankets, with pillows on top of me even. With a cap on my head. even.
I am miserable cant wait for warmer but not hot temperature.
I guess I will go out in neighborhood and scrounge some more wood. I heard a chain saw. I have lots of firewood now but its not fully seasoned.
Im just telling you all where Im coming from> Im not the typical wasteful American. Im thankful for all my blessings.
Remember you all I so appreciate your help
Take care all
Jean

have you been working on your loading??

those 220 appliances are gonna be hard, 'cause your
gonna have to have a different inverter, i think

do you have anything on dc power at all?

is your entire load ac? 120 and 220?

if your still serious about trying to use solar
you need to give some loading info so we can get
a realistic idea of how many panels you'd need,
and see if those batteries are even gonna be enough

those batteries are just gonna sit and not do you
anygood

and you can't let those things sit too long, they need
to be in use, sittin' around isn't good for them

you might be able to get enough power from a small PV
array to power lights and a small radion, and things,
but big load appliances, thats gonna be hard

your last post stated your gas/electric bill was 100 bucks?

thats not too bad, you might consider stuff that would cut
that, like a propane water heater, for a few hundred bucks
you might be able to get a used propane fridge, they are
small, but work just fine, my family hasn't suffered one
bit from having a smaller fridge, and the darn thing
runs off propane

tesa

If your refrigerator and chest freezer have any age on them at all, they are probably serious consumers of electricity and hinder your ability to be off grid. But studying conservation techniques would do a great deal to lower your energy bills and perhaps be more realistic in your situation. It sounds like you are already doing alot. Congratulations on your conscientious effort to consume less energy.

Also, Jean, if hubby isn't interested in this project, you'll have a hard time accomplishing what you want to do. I'm sure you're already aware of this. You know, you need to put a trickle charge on your little battery bank to keep them topped up. Maybe you and your hubby could buy a small solar panel suited to that purpose and that would give the two of you an opportunity to experiment. Solargary, do you know what size she would need to keep a trickle charge on those Trojans? Jean, does the off-grid person who sold you the batteries live close by? Perhaps he would be willing to help you out. Good luck with your efforts.

RW

The downside is, I can not use an electric clothes dryer so I bought a 115 volt - propane dryer and it works perfectly. In the 10 years I've been using my system, I had to go to town to find out when the power went off because it never goes off here.

I hope this helps anyone who might need the information.

RW