Comments on: Is there an electrical alternative energy which is cheaper than buying electricity?

By: It is me

It is me — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:55:59 +0000

It's a bit of both. Alternatives to the national grid can't supply the amount of electric for the demand of your house. So you would have to reduce your consumption to use the electric producing alternatives. That would mean losing the electric cooker and electric shower.

Then you could have a wind turbine, solar power and if you live beside a river, a water turbine. Once the cost of these come down and the efficiency increases, we're very much dependant on the grid.

If we can alter the way we live, you could do away with electric. In my city, an old lady died in her late 80's and her house was all gas, and that was late 1980's. Apparently she still had the old gas lights.

Have we advanced to a standard of living that the planet can't support much longer.
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By: thor

thor — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:40:59 +0000

All forms of alternative energy that are suitable for your area are cheaper than buying from the electric grid eventually. Since the grid and the power companies are already built and paid for it's cheaper to buy energy from them immediately. Until your energy production device is built and paid for you will not be saving any money; but after that, its free.
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By: Russell H

Russell H — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:25:59 +0000

Going off the grid has some drawbacks, but there are some areas where if you stay on the grid, and add photovoltaic solar panels, wind turbine or small hydro you can make your electric meter spin backward and get paid for the electricity that you make as a supplier. People do it and they really like it. I don't know about your area. You can check around.
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Solarwrights.com

By: 300 miles

300 miles — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:01:59 +0000

Methane get a load of cows to fart in a tank job done...
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By: johnfarrell696

johnfarrell696 — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:56:59 +0000

There are a number of ways to go off the grid for electricity generation, wind is probably the most used way in the UK. However it is unlikely you would be 100% self sufficient 100% of the time as wind turbines generate power approximately 35% of the year.

The incentives for power generation in the UK means that when a wind turbine is generating if you generate excess you can sell it back to the grid and even claim a Renewable Obligation Certificate which can be worth in the region of £44 per mega watt hour of electricity generated. You can often do a deal with your electricity provider to sell them the excess in return for a good deal on your unit price when you are buying back from them.

There is funding from the energy savings trust, the carbon trust and a number of other organisations.

The average cost of electricity from a wind turbine to generate enough power for a large house occupied by four adults paid back over 20 years in approximately 8.5pence per kilo watt hour (per/kwh) without grant aid. current electricity suppliers are charging in the region of 12pence per kwh.
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The following has a lot of the info you will need to make an informed decision:

http://www.greenliving.co.uk/Articles/theeconomiccasef.html

By: David H

David H — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:37:59 +0000

I believe it is a bad thing to "go it alone". It destroys the economies of scale.
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By: whsgreenmom

whsgreenmom — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:00:59 +0000

The cheapest thing is to reduce the amount you use. I had a solar system installed last year, I didn't zero out my bill, but I cut it way down. I'm still on the grid, so I am able to sell back my excess and drawn from the grid when I don't generate enough or there is no sunlight. I should break even in about 6 years, and should save well over $50K in the 25 years the system is guaranteed for.
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By: Blappers

Blappers — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:14:59 +0000

Solar, wind, wave, tidal, geothermal, composting etc. Geothermal being the ultimate alternative. Buy solar panels, build windmills etc.
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By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:37:59 +0000

Wind is about 1.25X more expensive than coal.
If you do your own labor that may reduce that down however I also imagine smaller units are less efficient and this is refering to larger ones.
Solar is over 2X

One correction, only a small amount of our electricity comes from foriegn oil. It remains unclear if alternatives can replace that, as the energy from oil is usually just for peek loads, and we will still need that capicity.
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Mechanical Engineering Text Book

By: Eve M

Eve M — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:06:59 +0000

Solar panels are expensive to install, they are not very efficient at the moment as there still needs to be alot of development on them – they are only really useful if you live somewhere with a hot and/or sunny climate.

Wind power is good if you live in a particularly windy place, hills are always a good place to put them, however they can cause significant noise pollution.

water power can be a good source of cheap energy however, again it has some limitations. The best way of conserving energy and saving money is investment into heat insulation, energy saving light bulbs and other such methods

This should save you money, however it still relies on buying from the national grid
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