Going Solar in Moriarty

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Michelle Worley, blogging for Live and Learn New Mexico, Building a Nonprofit.

We moved to Moriarty from Cedar Crest in April and we are still not entirely set up with solar energy. This is because it's learn as we go and also because it's damn expensive! We started out buying two small kits (one at $1300, the other at $700), one for the kids' camper and one for my small mobile home.

Each kit, with three solar panels, is not enough to get all the appliances in either place running but we were able to get what was important to us -- internet/television, light, and food -- with the energy these kits provided. It has not been a smooth run the whole way. We have hit some bumps and we're still figuring some things out.

The plan was to add solar panels and batteries a little at a time but today we got a propane tank installed and now we have to get the furnace hooked up to electricity in order to pass inspection. We need to add more panels/batteries sooner, and we need to add more of them than we first thought. We also realize that it would be good to get an expert to help us with this, make sure we do it right.

We have two solar panels Danny acquired from a friend, and Mariah is working to hook up the necessary wires so we can add them to the camper. She's been watching YouTube videos to learn how. We will be buying a few more batteries for our battery banks as well. My battery bank is in my bedroom but we will be moving it outside and build a shelter for it. 

Wind Power
It would be crazy to live here in Moriarty and not take advantage of wind power. That is our next step. We've heard wind and solar work well together so we're going to do it! Anyone out there know about this and if so, can you help us get started? Any advice is always welcome.

That's it for today. It's another incredible New Mexico day. I hope you found time to enjoy it.









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