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 )