My solar powered lifestyle

I am a DIY guy so I tend to do everything myself.  Pictured above left is my grid tied solar array consisting of 40 solar panels that I have installed with the help of friends over the years.  There is a very detailed blog on my website covering the design and installation of this system.  In peak sun it produces over 6 kW and surplus power goes back into the grid where I get a credit for every kilowatt hour exported thanks to net metering.  This allows me to be largely carbon neutral from April through November.  A few years ago I self-installed heat pumps in both my workshop building (pictured) and my home (here's a video about that).  I am located in Maine at the 44th parallel so in the winter, I have less solar and a higher demand for electricity to run the heat pumps, so for a few months I pay a substantial electric bill to run my heat pumps when the average temperature stays below freezing in the winter. (You can see detailed stats of my solar energy system power here).  The utility power is sourced from more than 60% renewable including hydropower, wind, and other renewables.  I believe Maine has the highest utility supplied renewable energy offering in the US.

Pictured in the photo above are also the following items:

2017 Chevy Volt.  This is my second Volt and it is an amazing car that is the fastest and sexiest vehicle I have ever owned.  With over 50,000 miles on it I still get a thrill driving it knowing that it is fully carbon neutral and I even put vanity plates on it that say: SUN PWRD.

 

Aventon Level.2 E bike.  This is my second E bike and it has an impressive 60 mile range with pedal assist and somewhat less than that if I were to use it in throttle only mode (riding it like a motorcycle without pedaling).  It is capable of level III, meaning that pedal assist can take me up to 28 mph easily.  (Level II goes up to 20 mph).  Despite all the electric assist, I get a lot of good exercise riding an average of 10 miles a day in good weather.  And as you can see in my previous post I have large panniers on the back that I use for picking up garbage and redeemable bottles and cans around my neighborhood.

Green Works self-propelled 80V cordless lawnmower.  This mower is an absolute beast and chews through tall grass with no problem at all.  I really like the self-propelled feature in the summer when it's unpleasantly hot and humid.  My lawn areas are relatively modest, just to keep a setback around the building and open areas around my garden beds, and fruit trees and this mower can cover the whole area on a single charge of the two 80 V 4AH batteries.

Black & Decker cordless 20V string trimmer.  This is a surprisingly powerful machine that chews through tall weeds with abandon.

Black & Decker 20V cordless hedge trimmer.  I refer to this as my "light saber" because it will cut anything up to half inch branches with ease.

The bottom line is my carbon footprint is as low as I can practically get it with my relatively modest funds.  By doing my own installation of my solar panels and heat pumps I have saved tens of thousands of dollars, and I also took advantage of federal and state tax incentives and grants to keep the cost down.

I still use a little propane in my home for clothes drying, cooking, water heating, and some building heat to supplement the heat pump.  My propane water heater is a tankless unit that is much more efficient than a standard tank heater and it is  supplemented by solar collectors that I installed on the building.

In both my workshop and home I have wood stoves that I light when the temperatures drop below 20°F.  I harvest much of the firewood from my own property and other sources but also purchase cut cord wood.  Typically, I go through about 1 cord of wood per building.  (a cord of wood measures approximately 4' x 4' x 8' when stacked).  Both my wood stoves are very efficient modern units with low emissions.  I consider burning wood to be nearly carbon neutral, but others may see that differently. 

I don't have kids, but I have a daily awareness of the impacts of the climate crisis on future generations.  One of my primary motivations for living sustainably is to try and avert the worst of the climate crisis so that today's grandchildren will have a livable world.