I’ve not had the energy to post much lately.
Yes, feeling a bit the dim bulb these days as I look for a light at the end of the tunnel, unlike a dear friend who is an energy-making machine!
Aside from her inborn facility to generate no end of sunshine exuding ion after ion of positivity, she is not only a powerhouse … she is now a power plant.
Between a collection of photovoltaic panels, a new wind turbine and a battery of batteries, she’s almost completely off-grid now, producing enough power to run her house on her own power 22 out of 24 hours on cloudy days. She also collects rainwater in a series 5,000 liter tanks, so her needs for water are satisfied by what falls from the sky.
She is, of course, careful, conserving rather than wasting, with low energy bulbs she flicks off when she leaves a room, not allowing water to run freely down the sink without reason and such as we all should be. (The bright idea that illuminated us for years is now being replaced … as should others.)
Unlike almost everyone else on this tropical island with its 12 hours of daylight year round, frequent rains and almost constant breezes, this friend is harvesting all, and so very happily.
On hot, sunny days, she’s over the moon. Blustery days are a breath of energy-laden fresh air to her. When it’s pissing down rain and the tourists are groaning, she is happy as a clam.
No matter what the weather, she has it covered.
Granted, none of the setup came cheaply. The original outlay was substantial, installation was … well … drawn out and riddled with frustration. But …. what’s done is done and it’s done. She now faces low maintenance, free power and water and … well, power and water.
When the electricity goes out, as it does, her lights are on.
When “weather gets into the pipes” and water doesn’t flow, her toilets flush.
When ever-growing bills come, they don’t come to her in any size other than extra small.
Seychelles, so far, is not an petroleum producing nation, yet our electricity comes from diesel-powered generators with fuel coming to us on ships that also require huge amounts of diesel to get it here. Our water catchment systems can sometimes not meet demand and during times of little rain need supplementing by desalination plants that run on … you guessed it … diesel.
Does this sound just plain silly to anyone else?
How much would it take to require new construction … and some of this involves huge projects that cover many acres … to include the technology my friend has voluntarily installed?
Sure it would add some cost to construction, but putting more pressure on already stressed systems is expensive, too, and in more ways than financial.
If individuals were also encouraged to invest in retrofitting homes with energy producing equipment and water collection systems, and helped with those investments, the country could move closer to self-sustainability, save a fortune on importing fuel, reduce pollution and increase the ‘green’ factor by a huge margin.
Our tiny island nation could set the bar by which other countries would have to compare their own commitment to sustainability, the environment and forward thinking, just has my friend has in her small, yet significant way.
It’s only old fossils who insist we continue to rely on old fossils … we can be reNEWable!
Gee. Seems just writing about energy has given me some ….
A collection of my short stories:
I'm in this one, too ...
And I'm in here, as well ...
Paradise Preoccupied 
Maybe this should be my new career — setting up house (buying or building one) somewhere on the planet and doing it all green. Now if only I could figure out where I should “settle,” as I have no roots anywhere. The South of France, Italy, Ecuador, Uruguay, somewhere in Africa . . .
Would it be difficult to get your house done over all green? Are you tempted? They have amazing technology these days, and its getting better all the time.
I would love to have an energy neutral or producing home, but with this one on the market there’s not much point since I’m hoping to sell soon. It would not be difficult to retrofit this house. It was built with much attention to making the most of breezes and such and already has solar water heating.
Too cool! Good on her for standing on her own two feet above the rest. I love stories like that. Thanks for sharing, and for your friend, keep living intelligently and keep making lemonade!
I’ll tell her!
Great idea! Where I live, the powers that be make it very difficult to pull off something like that. Crazy…
Hang in there and take care and I’ll try to. 🙂
That’s a deal, M …
I completely agree, take Norway for example, there are so many old houses here (like mine) that would save huge amounts of energy by having them re-insulated and such, BUT it is SUCH a expense that you would have to save for years to be able to do it. If the GOV stepped in and covered some of it I would do it in a heart beat.
I’m pretty sure I know who this delightful friend is!! I can just see her celebrating every type of weather possible with that infectious glee of hers. Tell her I congratulate her. I understand her enjoyment of the situation. This past year Lanny and I converted to solar through the SMUD program. Since then our HIGHEST monthly bill (in December) has been $12 (down from a Dec. average of $200). And with the longer sunny days we get paid back for what we put out on the grid beyond our needs. We get a check every 3 months. Our first one was for $300 and our second one was for $600. We will be getting another one soon and It should be the biggest one yet!! We also got a big tax rebate from the feds the first year for the photo voltaic. Although the initial outlay was expensive, we should have the system “paid off” in 3 years! We also have solar hot water with an “on demand” backup system that doesn’t even need to kick in during the summer. Because we only use gas now to heat our house in the winter, our fair weather gas bill is only $2.50 a month!! We haven’t collected rain water yet, but have talked about it. I get such satisfaction everytime I come home and admire the panels on our roof. Imagine the electricity this area could generate if every industrial flat topped building and every parking garage simply “allowed” SMUD to install panels. That program does not give you an energy break (because you do not pay for the system) but puts energy onto the grid and you get paid a small rental fee. The possibilities are endless!
I enjoyed this post!!
Wow, Jane! I am so happy to hear that the Sacramento Muni Utilities District is so proactive on renewable power. That is fabulous.
With all the organized insistence on continuing dependence of fossil fuels, it seems it may well be a person-by-person, district-by-district dedication that will eventually wean everyone off the stuff.
I miss your house! And, yes, you do know my delightful friend.
[…] kinda thinking about changes in me in this last year. I was talking to Sandra Hanks (who is a great writer btw and one of three blogs that I follow which do not have to do with diet or fitness, the two other […]