It's all about capacity. Capacity to supply electricity to your home. Capacity to charge the batteries. Capacity to pay for it all. Another capacity comes in the form of patience and in this case it costs nothing to be patient. My advice for a DIY-er is to target half of your needs. You can add capacity later with the right planning up front.
Half of my current needs (37,000 Wh) is 18,500 Wh. Right, what's that mean?
- 13 60W light bulbs turned on for 24 hours
- 9 60W light bulbs and a 50" Plasma TV on for 24 hours
- 11 60W light bulbs and a 50" LED TV on for 24 hours
- 59 14W CFL bulbs turned on for 24 hours
Capacity isn't just about supply but what you can (or want) do with that supply. Before thinking more about your project it may be helpful to make a list of everything that's plugged in from the oven and microwave, lamps, clocks, computers, DVRs, toothbrush and other chargers, light timers and whatever else uses a wall socket. Chances are it's on and you don't realize it.
Back to the 59 CFL's v. 13 60W bulbs... replace those 13 60W bulbs with 14W CFL's and you have "created" 14,132 Wh capacity. It's a 76% reduction in what was previously consumed!
Okay, reality check. Your electric bill isn't for 13 bulbs you leave on all day. It's about the total of everything plugged in and why you need it. It's worth looking at it and asking whether those things can be replaced with a more efficient technology. Replacing 13 60W bulbs with 13 14W bulbs is relatively cheap ($2.85 for 4 at my local Home Depot). Replacing a circa 1970's refrigerator may be worth it. Replacing your grandmothers first 1000W microwave complete with speed dial may not. Why? It doesn't run unless you're standing there heating your coffee or soup.
I'll give this some time to ferment.
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