Conservation should be in your mind from the first moment you consider Renewable Energy. This is because for every watt that does not require to be generated on a daily basis, this could mean a saving of approx $10 on your capital cost for the system hardware.

This is because while the cost of the energy you are going to generate is going to be free, the cost of the system and installation is not, and if you could be spending needless money in installing a bigger system than required, and lets face it the cost of renewable energy systems is not low, it fact they could be considered rather expensive.

So as part of the process in considering renewable energy, we should not only consider the energy required, but when we require it and of what type. An example of this maybe to use a high power appliance during the day when we have a plentiful supply of energy, rather than at night when we are using energy converted from stored batteries. Another example may be that we use DC powered LED lighting, rather than mains powered Fluorescent lighting which will require to be powered using an inverter, which again is converting power from stored batteries.

To help you consider the different type of appliances and where you can make savings we are detailing the pros and cons about each type of appliance.

First of all consider DC powered components in preference to AC powered appliances. Your raw power is coming and stored in DC. The process of converting from DC to AC is not 100% efficient.

Next consider manual as opposed to automatic appliances. To manually wash clothes and use outside for drying as opposed to an automatic washing machine followed by the use of an electric dryer.

Next use Gas for cooking rather than electricity

LIGHTING is more effective, using less power, if you have lots of local area "task" lights rather than a big central light. Use 5 - 20 watt fluorescent lights under cabinets close to the kitchen counter. Use a separate wall switch for each wall/ceiling light so you can turn on lighting precisely where needed. Several small lights save energy by giving more flexibility than one large central light.

Screw in light bulbs should be mostly compact fluorescent lights using about one quarter the power of regular bulbs while giving the same brightness and colour. Get only electronic ballast models; they do NOT flicker. Light dimmers should not be used unless you have a sine wave inverter and the bulb specifically states dimming is OK. Consider DC lighting in preference to AC lighting. Contact Us for more details.

WALL CLOCKS AND TIMERS Clocks should be quartz type and battery powered; not plug-in AC powered. Timers for automation or wake-up radio should be DC powered, not AC. Several timers are available.

REFRIGERATOR / FREEZER Older, Standard, non-Energy Star refrigerators and freezers use so much power battery charge is depleted very quickly. With solar electric powered homes, it is not practical to use these older, standard electric refrigerator or freezer. Super efficient refrigerators designed and tested for solar power operate on less than half the usual power and should be used instead. DC power should be used in preference.

Ordinary AC refrigerators and freezers run on over 200 watts AC, and run many hours a day. Most have less than 2 inch insulation. Fortunately, special refrigerators and freezers are available which use less than 30% as much energy. Contact Us for more details.

GAS: A refrigerator’s need for power matches solar electric's increased production in summer and less in winter. But a gas refrigerator can relieve a large electrical load from a power system, and cut the initial cost of a power system. Added solar modules for electric refrigeration raise the up-front cost, whereas propane gas is paid over 15 + years. Cost comparison is close either way (if gas prices don't rise).

CAUTION: COMBINATION GAS-ELECTRIC refrigerators are usable only as GAS POWERED, not as electric. They use an electric heater, running nearly full time, to replace the gas flame. They use much more power than an electric compressor type, so they work well only as GAS.

WATER PUMP DC pumps use very little power. 12 or 24-volt models can pump from well depths as deep as 750 feet. AC pumps, 1/3 or 1/2 horsepower can operate from inverter power, lifting water from 300 feet down.

COMPUTERS Windows type computers run on any inverter. A few Apple/Macintosh computers may require a "true sine wave" inverter, but most do not. Laptop/Notebook computers use internal batteries, and recharge from any small inverter using just 20 to 50 watts AC power. Most manufacturers offer an optional car-cord to operate directly from a 12 volt battery at very low power.

Laser printers (and most photocopy machines) can be damaged by modified-sine wave inverters. Inkjet and dot matrix printers are no problem, and use very little power. At Asian Renewables, four computers with printers run 8 to 12 hours a day. HP laserjet printers automatically idle to just 7 watts between printing, or a switch can be used to shut your printer off. An outlet strip with switches off all computer equipment after shut-down to prevent phantom load leakage.

For true sine-wave operation the whole home/office may be powered by a large sine-wave inverter. Alternatively, one of the smaller true sine-wave inverters may be added for just the computer, and a separate circuit run from it in the battery room to an outlet by the computer.

CLOTHES WASHER most top-loading, agitator type clothes washers work fine with a minimum 1500 watt inverter. They consume 800 watts while running. A starting surge of about 3000 watts is required. A motor start capacitor can be added to any washer that has a start winding wire on the motor to lower the starting surge. Alternatively, wash by hand.

KITCHEN STOVE Electric stoves are out. Propane or natural gas stoves with gas pilot light need no power connection at all. Spark ignition burners use very little power and work fine with inverters. Do not buy a gas range with electric glow bar as oven pilot light. This is an electric red-hot glow-bar pilot in the oven that consumes 400 watts all the time the oven is used! Instead, look for one of two types of pilot light oven. An oven with regular gas flame pilot light is the simplest. Better is an oven pilot that lights by electric spark when oven is started and goes off when oven is finished.

WATER HEATER Electric water heaters are out. Use a solar water heater mounted on the roof or natural gas or propane tank heater from plumbing and hardware stores. Get one with a pilot light, not glow-bar ignition. Vent all gas appliances straight out through the roof to avoid power wall vents that seem easy to install but use substantial power ever after.

SHOP & POWER TOOLS Most hand-held power tools operate from 800 or 1500 watt inverters. Larger power equipment like table and radial saws usually work with 2500 watt inverters, though sometimes the motor belt needs to be manually slipped for easier starting. Sinewave inverters rated 4000 watts work best for large equipment like table saws and smaller air compressors, which have very large starting surges. Select small wattage 120 volt models or use a generator or 4000 watt inverter to power these tools. Many cordless tool rechargers, the ones without a wall cube transformer plug, must have only true sine wave inverter power, and can be ruined on modified waveform inverters, but you can often obtain a 12 volt charging stand from these tool companies.

STEREO, TV, VCR, SATELLITE TV, TV up to 19 or 20 inch uses about 85 watts and works with any inverter. Some larger screens use more power, but work fine if you allow for the extra power. VCR and some satellite units use only 20 watts. SATELLITE TV works great on inverter power. Sony Direct Satellite System (DSS) uses about 15 watts. STEREO of good quality usually works with any inverter. A few large screen TVs require a true sine wave inverter.
Almost all TVs, VCRs, satellite, and stereos consume power even when switched off. It is important to use a wall switch, or a switched outlet strip to cut all power off from this equipment when not actually in use.

PHONE MESSAGE MACHINE and FAX Phone message machines and fax machines, if left on, use small amounts of power 24 hours a day which adds up to a large load.

DC TO POWER MOST PHONE MESSAGE MACHINES Any answering machine can be run on AC power from your inverter, but since they are usually powered 24 hours a day, this uses more power than we would like to spend. Many phone answer machines can operate direct from 12 volts at very little power consumption. These cannot be directly connected to a grounded battery system, or they put a ground hum on the phone line and disable it. Also available are voltage converters for 24 or 48 volt batteries to 12 volts.

Recently most phone companies offer a voice-mail message service just like an answer machine, but works through your telephone, for a monthly fee. Advantages are that no power is required, you don't need to maintain a machine, and it even takes messages for you if your line is busy.

CORDLESS PHONES work on direct 12 volt DC, very low power, to avoid keeping the inverter on 24 hours for so small a load. They work anywhere around the house, eliminating the need for extra phone wires and jacks.

AIR CONDITIONING: So much power is consumed with such long running hours that air conditioning is usually considered impractical on solar power. The smallest 600 watt window unit is actually possible to run during sunshine hours given a large solar power system, but can add $4000 to power system cost. EVAPORATIVE COOLERS work very well, (except where very humid).

DISH WASHERS Dishwashers work fine, with one caution. There might be two high power heaters, one to dry the dishes and sometimes one to superheat incoming water. You should be able to disconnect or switch off these heaters to save a lot of power.