permaculture

[George Anna Clark <esac@laneta.apc.org>]

Hi everyone,

I'm asking for advise regarding whether to get on the grid.... I live in 
south central Mexico where highs hover around 102 (in the shade, of 
course, much, much hotter under the sun) around 3 months of the year. 
I've been living full-time off-grid on my farm for the last three years. 
I have two 103 watt panels and 4 deep cycle (Trojan) batteries. My 
present inverter has a 650w "capacity" if that's the correct term, so no 
irons nor espresso machines, microwaves, etc etc. There's lots of sun, 
as it rains from June to September (otherwise, zilch), and pretty much 
doesn't rain in August and when it does rain it's usually at night. But 
hurricanes provide cloud cover (and much needed rain, of course); the 
high heat of spring plus lack of rain (i.e., now) produces quite a bit 
of haze from evaporation, I guess, as well as dust  and even smog from 
Mexico City to the north.

Despite this last, the location is truly privileged regarding solar power.

On-grid electricity will soon come to the neighborhood, and with a 
sustainable livestyle my goal, I put out the question - "is it 'better' 
to be on the grid, generate (and sell) electricity and avoid batteries 
(with the temptation of course to buy appliances, use more electricity 
that I don't need) or use batteries which (I suspect) suffer from the 
heat plus I don't understand if they're recyclable or not (i.e, their 
env. impact)?"

I suppose I'm frustrated by not understanding why my batteries are low, 
why my nova-kool frig has problems (what the connection is between the 
two) and I'm especially frustrated by being refrigerator-less in such 
hot weather and buying  a bag of ice daily, which surely is not 
sustainable. Plus it's just friggin' hot. :)

Not that I'm asking for a vote, although, hey, that's an idea,  but 
would like to know people's opinions, and/or where else to look for 
advise...

my blog is http://chapulixtle.blogspot.com/  but unless you read 
spanish, you're kind of out of luck but you can always look at the 
pictures (sorry!), and the green (living? what's it called?) roof entry 
is in English (scroll down). (those of you who read it: you may be 
relieved to know that I found an appropriate alternative to the green 
plastic sheeting )

Thanks for listening!
George Anna