We have been living in the new house for a month now and, so far, so good. It's the first time I have lived anywhere that is totally reliant on solar power and we have had to incorporate some changes into our lives but let's start with what we need and what we have.

What do we need?

We are 2 adults (and one very escape prone dog). We work from home so MUST have the ability to power our computers, the internet and charge our mobile phones. Additionally, we need lighting and the ability to wash our clothes. We do have a television, a music system and an Xbox and, of course, we also need to heat our water, heat the house and cook.

So what do we have?

Electricity

We have 10 x 200 watt 24 volt solar panels and the batteries are large 2 volt lead acid 360 amp hour units. There are 24 of them wired in series to make one 48 volt battery. This obviously powers all the sockets and lights in the house as well as the fridge/freezer and the washing machine.

We also have a petrol generator for when we need it. I try and need this as little as possible because it's a long way down the garden to the generator hut, especially in the dark!

Gas

We have butane gas bottles connected up outside the house and these are used both for our cooking (gas oven and 4 gas rings) and heats the water.

Water

Amazingly, given how remote the house is, we are on mains water so do not require a water deposit.

The Upshot

And now you will want to know how it's going and the answer is pretty good. As we are in December, now and the next few months are going to be our most lean time for sun hours but we are still getting a charge into the batteries in the day time. When we originally moved in, we were having to use the generator a lot at night, especially if we wanted to watch the television but we have since had the system looked at so that more charge is going into the batteries and we are now using the generator less.

There is no central heating in the house however both downstairs and upstairs have a log burner with the additional option of using gas bottle heaters in 2 of the bedrooms but we haven't had to use those yet.

There are things that I have had to give up; ironing is one of them so no great loss there but I also can't dry my hair. The washing machine is always set to a rapid wash and I only use it when the sun is out. There is obviously no tumble dryer so all our clothes are dried outside.

We are constantly checking the numbers on the charge controller to see if we are using more power than is coming in from the panels and, if we are, going around the house to check what's on and if it can be turned off. We tend not to leave appliances on standby and I don't have any Christmas lights up as that would be a flagrant waste of electricity.

Coming up, we have one set of parents and the children arriving for new year so we will see how that goes. The boys, 14 and 12, are not used to living on solar power alone and I am wondering how they are going to cope. I will let you know!

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