GOING ‘OFF GRID’

SOLAR POWER IS PERFECT FOR RURAL QUEENSLAND

There is a lot to be said for the dependability of the national power grid, but more and more people are making the move to solar power for both environmental and financial reasons.

‘Going off grid’ has become a popular saying and a goal for many home owners, who cite the rise of their power bill as a common reason.

To go off grid, your home needs to produce enough renewable energy (through solar panels, for example) and you have to store enough of that energy to meet your annual electricity needs.

Between 2001 and 2015, about 1.4 million Australian homes installed solar panels on their roofs — the largest up–take of photovoltaic (PV) solar systems of any country.

But, for people living in rural Australia, the dream of living off grid is more attainable than for those living in urban centres, due to factors like roof size and orientation.

According to a report released by the Grattan Institute in May 2015, for a household to reliably produce and store 99 per cent of its annual energy needs, it will require a 10–kilowatt solar PV system and 60 kilowatt hours of storage.

A system this size would likely exceed the dimensions of most urban homes (considering a seven kilowatt system requires about 70 square metres of roof space).

Ideally, the panels would face north and be tilted at about 60 degrees to maximise output in winter, which again would be difficult in an area surrounded by other buildings.

Named the ‘Sunshine State’ for good reason, Queensland’s rural landscape is the perfect place to live off grid.

However, even with the roof space, orientation and sunlight offered by country living, you’d be caught with your pants down if something went wrong (like if your system failed), so you’d need a back–up plan.

For many, this is a diesel generator (loud, stinky and expensive to run).

For others, it’s a hybrid solution — being self–sufficient while remaining connected to the grid, and exporting excess energy to the grid for a small return.

Whatever option they choose, the trend is clear: people want to live with less reliance on the national power grid and the country is the best place for it.