The above system cost me Rs 90,000; its capacity is a bit more than what is now required and therefore will serve the near term and is scalable to twice the size. It can run a computer, modestly powered tools and run a water pump. Plus charge an electric two wheeler, if I bought one.

The one limitation of this system is that the batteries will be charged only when the sun shines. A way to overcome this is to fit a small wind driven electric charger. The product I short listed is a nifty 400 watts machine made in the USA and deemed so simple to set up that it is sold even via Amazon. It is robust, not too expensive and reputedly trouble free. Here is more information on the product. An attractive feature about this machine is that it comes with a built in charge controller; which means it needs nothing more to buy before it can be plugged into my existing system.

The reasons I decided against it for now may be valid for you too. Solar panels are passive and wind chargers have some moving parts and therefore somewhat more vulnerable; so local service is very essential. They also make some noise that can be distracting when the ambient noise levels are low as they are at pointReturn. The most important reason of course is that current needs don’t call for one. It represents a scaling opportunity though, for a later date.

A final thought on pointReturn specific power system design. Insofar as I believe in distributed power system for the world at large, I must practice the same at pointReturn too. Over the coming years several cob cottages may come up there. I wouldn’t be wiring out power from this premium plant to the cottages. The plant described will serve central services: the cook and bath houses, a WiFi system for Internet access and the workbench. Cottages will have power for just lighting and maybe a small fan. They can be served by even rechargeable lanterns brought over to the central plant for charging.

Self-sufficiency is for those willing to embrace some inconveniences. Paraphrasing a line from a recent New Yorker article, inconvenient truths must provoke inconvenient changes.

Pages: 1 2 3