Three years ago, Emma Sutcliffe and her family faced a choice.
After being quoted as much as $45,000 to connect their eight-hectare property at Little River to the mainstream power grid, they understandably looked for other options.
Having read about solar technology, the Sutcliffes installed 30 panels on their roof and a 24-cell battery bank to capture and store the power.
Now the family of four, which includes two teenagers, lives ‘off the grid’, with their 38-square, four-bedroom home powered entirely by the sun.
Installing the system has made power bills a thing of the past.
“We’ve been living off-grid for three years now and life is great,” Mrs Sutcliffe said. “All up, it cost us $60,000 and we received a $7500 government rebate.
“It will last us 15 years and, in that time, we won’t have any energy bills so we’ll actually save money in the long run.
“For the first winter, we were a little nervous about using too much power, but we don’t worry any more because we’ve never run out.
“Last year, the system was at 100 per cent capacity apart from two days and the lowest it’s ever reached is 92 per cent.
“We have the same electrical appliances as everybody else – a washing machine, microwave, laptops and televisions on 24/7 – so we haven’t compromised our lifestyle.”
As part of its Green Living Series, Wyndham council is offering tours of the Sutcliffes’ home this weekend, including a meet-and-greet and an educational look at how the home operates.
Mrs Sutcliffe said that with the cost of solar technology falling all the time, she expected increasing numbers of homes to go off the grid.
“People are sick and tired of the heavy cost of electricity bills,” she said. “Our system was designed in such a way as to meet the power needs of our household.
If, for example, we wanted to add a few more plasma televisions, we can simply connect to a diesel generator.
“Our battery bank cost $35,000 but, in time, I think most households will have a solar battery bank as their primary source of power before pulling from the grid.
“Eventually, we could have streets all over the country with powerlines that do nothing.”
Green Living Series open house
The ‘open house’ is on Sunday from 10am to 2pm at 20 Devines Road, Little River.
Bookings are essential.
Visit www.experiencewyndham.com.au/whatson/sustainableopenhouseday or go to www.theoffgridsolarhouse.com.
