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MsCowgirl 
1:31pm, October 25, 2009
Our government announced that electricity charges will rise 25% this year. Where I live it costs about $20,000 (aus) just to get the power to farm/block, so many rural residents are choosing to go "alternative".
It cost about $110.00 for one large gas bottle to be deilivered and on average we go through about 5 a year. We also have an average of 8.5hrs of sunlight per day, so solar power is an obvious option. Last year, when the gas hot water heater looked like it was dying, we converted over to a solar hot water heater. Now we have an endless supply of hot water, free from the sun.
And now, we are just about to convert from mains power over to solar, where surplus power is sold back to the main electricity grid. The electrician came today and started the first part of the installation. Soon we'll have 5 solar panels on the roof sucking up the sun and giving us "free" energy to all our powerpoints - ooh I can't wait.
Living on the coast, we also get a fair share of sea-breeze, and only about 10km from us is a wind farm with 56 turbines. These turbines provide power to our main line also. We looked into domestic wind turbines for power generation, but the development of solar panels beat the commercial availability of reliable domestic wind turbine units.
Ed's been out, relaying the rain water pipe on the shed he's been building. They say we are going to get some rain (ha - fat chance I say), so he knows any possiblity of rain falling on the roof is water in the tank for us. The house is totally supplied by stored rainwater, so we treat it as a very precious comodity. A 22,000 gallon tank lasts us about 12 months give or take.
And lastly fire; a memorial service was held yesterday to mark an official day of mourning for the Victorian bushfire victims. I think just about everybody in the country stopped to watch the televised event as a mark of respect. But the fires have not been totally extinguished and 6 more flare-up's have occurred today. I wish they could have a big downpour of rain!
And me, well I get more cactus as each day passes. My Humira script is in the mail, probably going via Italy. I limp like the hunchback of Notredam, have the strength of a hamster, am as tired as a sloth, ache like a marathon runner who's just a finshed 42km run and am giving up on myself today. Maybe tomorrow will be better.
