Dear Editor:
RE: Expensive frauds?, July 8.
I installed a solar system with battery storage on my own dime, and I do not sell power to the grid, although I am still connected.
The solar panels use about one-sixth of the roof area of my home and the Tesla Powerwall battery is compact, covering a space of 30” by 45” by 6” thick, where it’s attached to the wall of the laundry room.
The system provides nearly all the electrical energy needs of my home, including lighting, stove, fridge, dehumidifier, water heater, water pump, electrical part of the gas furnace and charging the plug-in hybrid that I drive.
Excess energy from the solar panels goes to charge the battery. So, when the sun doesn’t shine or there’s a power outage, the battery powers my home. The neighbours can’t tell if there is a power outage because my lights are on.
Another advantage of the battery is that in the winter or on cloudy days, I can charge the battery from the grid during off-peak hours, and then use that stored energy to power the house the rest of the time.
The total usage from the grid last year was 1,600 kWh, and since most of that was off-peak, it cost about $160. Hydro’s extra charges for being connected to the grid, etc. raised the bill to $560.
As anyone who reads the news knows, we have to get off fossil fuels. I want to do as much as I can to leave a liveable world for my grandkids, so my next project is to replace the gas furnace by a heat pump, because as Mr. Hall says, electrical energy in Ontario has a very small carbon footprint.
Also, I’ll get most of the energy I need from the sun!
Ron Moore,
Hillsburgh