Sizing ourselves for solar

Michael and I recently measured all of our household appliances with a wattage meter just to make sure we were sizing our proposed PV system properly.

Appliances that get the boot:

• Floor lamp with CF bulbs
• Halogen task lamp
• Small box fan

We will be replacing our lighting system with all LEDs and are on the market for an energy efficient fan.

Appliances with negligible power usage:

• Toothbrush chargers
• AA battery charger
• Camera battery charger
• Electric hair clipper (for Michael’s head)

All of the above devices accounted for less than 2 watt hours per day, so they get a passing grade.

Items with manageable power usage:

• Cell phone chargers
• Compact speaker system
• Inkjet printer

We calculated that it will take a total of 5 watt hours per day to charge both of our cell phones. Our nice speakers will take on average of 13.5 watt hours per day if we use them sparingly. We use the printer so rarely that it is almost negligible but it does run at a peak of 25 watts so we will need to keep and eye on our system when printing things.

Computer Life
The big energy suck, of course, is the laptop I’m typing on right now. The most efficient way to use my laptop, it seems, is to charge up the battery and run it down every day (rather than keeping it plugged in and charging all the time). I could conceivably sell this computer and buy a smaller, more energy efficient one, but I’m really happy with my 1920×1200 screen resolution and my 2.4 GHz processor. Hmph. I think the solution is less screen time, which means the hours I do have need to be more efficient.

What are we missing?
No fridge, no freezer, no dishwasher, no hairdryer, no washing machine or clothes dryer, no water heater, no furnace… we are planning a life without such modern-day conveniences. This begs the question, are we crazy or what?