Liam Omalley wrote:Hi all,
First post here, so please lmk if this is the wrong place for such a question or if there is a better place to find the info I am looking for. I tried searching first but didn't come up with what I was looking for.
I just purchased a 4 acre home, mostly forested, in a semi-rural area of northern VA. I have a *lot* of planning to do. But I don't know where to start when it comes to energy sources. It seems like the land I have could potentially provide a lot of natural energy, even from multiple sources. But I don't know how I can analyze what's worthwhile, and how I could store/transfer that energy for my home.
Hydro - I have a stream with heavy water flow but not much drop, and a creek with a lot of drop by not as much flow. Both about 100 feet away from the home.
Solar - I have about a half acre field out front with full sun, and the roof of a 2000 sq ft house also with full sun (though surrounded otherwise by trees).
Wind - the home sits on the edge of a fairly large hill, and we have fairly regular gusting that could be capitalized on.
There are a million details I'm sure I need to know in order to decide which of these things might be worth pursuing, all I'm looking for right now is where to start. How do I perform a site analysis for these various energy sources? Are there professionals I could hire in order to do an analysis?
Thanks in advance, any and all help is appreciated!
Liam Omalley wrote:
I just purchased a 4 acre home.....
“The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.”― Albert Einstein
Life on a farm is a school of patience; you can't hurry the crops or make an ox in two days.
Henri Alain
Life on a farm is a school of patience; you can't hurry the crops or make an ox in two days.
Henri Alain
Travis Johnson wrote:I would start with what would give you the biggest bang for your buck. In this case, I would research all you can about micro-hydro because that is a 24/7/365 electrical generator. That really adds up compared to only when the wind blows, or when the sun shines.
John Weiland wrote:Wow!.....our home is only ~1800 square feet! How do you heat that thing!??
John Weiland wrote:Agree with Travis, but also to add: Any possibility for home modification for passive solar? Even with modest sun in the winter, adding more south-facing windows and beefing up the insulation all around can make a lot of difference, especially with the leaves are off the trees during that season. Does it have a woodstove already? With the 4 acres, would one part of it be able to provide wood for wood-heating? If interested, here is a lin to a furnace that does a combination of wood along with fossil-fuel of your choice: https://napoleonheatingandcooling.com/products/hmf200/
Amit Bajpayee wrote:Hydropower, wind and solar are the most reliable form of renewable energy. These are really eco-friendly and cost-effective resources.
If you are thinking about to install these resources in your land, it will become a huge project and you must analyze these things from the professional expert from the relevant field.
Mart Hale wrote:hydro is the way to go, look up ram pumps, and etc, however, often you can't do anything to a flowing waterway because of the permits you have to get. I would explore what others have done in your area to the water ways. In several areas people just don't go that way because of the regulation.