by John Lynn | Mar 11, 2019 | Off Grid Living
Why is it difficult for me to reduce my electricity bill? There are two components to your electricity bill. One is the supply charge which covers the infrastructure such as poles and wires and the other one reflects the amount of electricity that you use. Even if...
by John Lynn | Mar 4, 2019 | Off Grid Living
Using Your Air Conditioner Efficiently – In my younger years when I first went to work in Moranbah, which is an inland mining town in Queensland, I had luckily arrived before my furniture was sent from Brisbane. Because I arrived when the temperatures were well...
by John Lynn | Feb 25, 2019 | Off Grid Living
Electricity Power Savers, Do They Really Work? Who wouldn’t want a gadget that you can buy on eBay that simply plugs into a power outlet in your home and cuts your electricity bill in half? My guess would be that everybody would want one. If your yearly electricity...
by John Lynn | Feb 11, 2019 | Off Grid Living
My Home Is Frequently Shaded. Is Solar Worth It? If you live in an area where you have very little access to the sun, then putting solar panels on the roof of your home to reduce your electricity bill may not be a commercially viable option. If your home is located in...
by John Lynn | Feb 4, 2019 | Off Grid Living
How Often Should You Clean Your Solar Panels? Your solar panels do not collect energy at night. During a full moon on Halloween the panels may register a voltage with a multimeter, but you’re not going to run household appliances regardless of how many hounds are up...
by John Lynn | Jan 21, 2019 | Off Grid Living
Solar Panel Efficiency Through The Years. Solar panels were invented by Alexander Becquerel in 1839 and had an efficiency of about 1%. Bell Laboratories came up with the silicon solar panel in 1954 with an improved efficiency of just over 4%. In 1960 Hoffman...
by John Lynn | Jan 7, 2019 | Off Grid Living
How long does it take to pay off your solar panels? This is commonly referred to as the “payback time” and because producing the aluminium and silicon required to make solar panels is energy intensive, this doesn’t happen overnight. In most applications the...
by John Lynn | Jan 4, 2019 | Off Grid Living
Is It Worth Me Buying Solar Batteries For My Home? No it is not. That is no it is not worth buying solar batteries at this time if you have access to electricity from the Australian electricity grid or even electricity from a less expensive supplier. This is starting...
by John Lynn | Dec 5, 2018 | Off Grid Living
Don’t Lose Your Cool – Last week there were devastating fires and a heat wave on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and it was snowing in Victoria. That’s global warming for you. Maybe the snow will last until Christmas time just in time for Santa to feel just that...
by John Lynn | Dec 3, 2018 | Off Grid Living
Do You Believe Santa Is Real and That Electricity Prices Won’t Rise? Don’t be in a hurry to answer either of those questions without careful consideration. Let’s have a look at the stability of electricity prices first as the information to arrive at...
