Ayurveda Consultations Goes Solar
Being in the country is good for enjoyment of the tranquility of nature. On the downside, electrical power is a lot less reliable than in most towns, since the above ground utilities are more exposed to trees and ice.
Initial Construction Considerations
When building my home eight years ago, I looked into the alternatives for backup electrical power. In Connecticut, where our power lines were above ground, it was common to have several prolonged outages a year. We had a natural gas-powered generator. Although not particularly efficient and requiring a lot of maintenance, it was the best available option at that time. The transfer switch which started the gas generator in an outage had a fixed 30-second delay. So, with every power blip, the computers would shut down and all the clocks would need to be reset. On my Chapel Hill lot, natural gas was not available. I didn’t really want a propane tank and, besides, it would have always been at risk of running dry. Moreover, I made a long-term commitment to favor electricity over hydrocarbons. As a result, I did nothing but prewire for a generator and have suffered a half-dozen outages a year lasting from a few hours to a few days.
A New Day
Last summer, I finally got fed up and revisited the question of the best solution for backup power. I found that solar panels with lithium battery storage have totally changed the game. It’s now the most efficient, reliable, eco-friendly, and cost-effective solution–provided you have good sun exposure on your roof. Fortunately, with my Vastu construction, I was in an ideal situation. My garage roof is perfectly oriented to the south. It was so compelling, I would have done it without the substantial cash rebate from Duke Energy and the 30% federal tax credit.
I also found I was not the only one moved the idea. Due to the backlog of orders, it took almost 4 months from proposal acceptance to system operation. Since it went live in February 2025, I’ve been through at least five outages. Except for one caused by a nearby lightning strike, which only knocked the lights out for a few seconds, I would never have known there was a problem unless I was paying attention to text messaging or system app alerts. The solar power gateway is so quick as to be seamless. Now, I can be on my computer or a teaching webinar and have no worry about disruption. In the worst case, when internet service is affected, I’ve used my cell phone as a wi-fi hot spot.