How to beat the environmental vandals

[Robin4]

One of the major frustrations with hosting is guest wastage. They are paying for it so they make sure they get value. Almost every guest will try our cheese plate, there may be a couple of cheeses on there that aren't to their liking so they will just slice or nibble a bit off and re-wrap the cheese, but it ruins those cheeses for the next guest......wastage.

They will take a 40 minute shower......wastage.

My main headache was the use of electricity! They will come in on a cold day, put their things down and go out for the day and the evening.....but only after they have wound the air-conditioning thermostat up as far as it will go so they have a nice comfy warm environment to come back to!! I had one couple from Singapore on a warm evening slept all night with the thermostat on 17c (62f) so they could experience what it was like to sleep under a doona!

I tried all sorts of gadgets, inventions, devices to try and thwart them, I even had a sensor on the cottage key-ring that would turn the air-con off when they left the property. We were experiencing energy pain. Here was one of our winter quarter (90 day) power bills......

We were in power shock......$18 per day just for electricity and none of my energy saving devices were working effectively! The guest got snippy if we tried restrict what they were paying for, we were being seen as 'cheap skates'!

We put in a self supporting solar array and a small battery  and wow, did we turn the corner. Here was our October/January quarter bill for 2018 before we upgraded......

And here is our current account for the same quarter.......

We have changed suppliers but they are all similar, we have gone from a bill of $621 for the quarter to having a credit of $91.60 to help offset the less productive winter quarters . We have averaged a saving of around $700 per quarter for the last 5 quarters which means the system paid for itself in not much more than a year. I don't give a 'proverbial' how much energy guests use now, it doesn't come out of my pocket any more, and guests do appreciate the fact that they can be environmental vandals  if they want to! 

If I had charged another $20 per night to offset my energy costs my future bookings would have probably struggled so, solar is a path I would thoroughly recommend to other hosts.

Cheers.........Rob 

[Sarah977]

@Robin4  It seems crazy not to have solar power in a place like I live, where the sun shines nearly every day of the year.

But the cost of installing solar for me is something that wouldn't pay for itself in my lifetime. Electricity is cheap here, as long as the kwhs consumed stay under a basic amount. The folks who solar makes a lot of sense for here are those who have AC, which I don't, and which ups an electric bill enormously.

My electric bills are the equivalent of about $7 US/month. No, that's not a typo. That's lights, fans, washing machine, water pump, fridge, use and charging of electronics.

My hot water runs on propane, as does my cook stove and I have a small water tank. It's enough for one 10 minute shower, so guests can't shower for longer than that unless they want a cold shower (which is actually what I and many of my guests prefer when the weather is hot. The water that feeds my house from the big black storage tank in my roof is almost too warm in the hot, humid months).

I've also been lucky in that the majority of my guests have been quite environmentally aware people and don't waste resources.

[Dimitar27]

Solar panels are extremely expensive. Something like....the electricity bills for 10+years, if you are paying very high bills.

Wind generators are forbidden for installation, if there is another house at least 500m away (measured in a circle around the turbine pole). To connect such a thing to the grid, the procedures are the same like if you build a nuclear powerplant. At least 2 years to get all required projects and permits. Almost impossible.

There is another type of panels- only for hot water. They are cheap and works fine during the summer.

[Robin4]

@Dimitar27 

Dimitar, the cost of energy around the world is directly related to the desire of governments to change.

One government puts in a nuclear reactor which through steam generation has a minimal cost to run. While their equipment has a useful lifespan they want to continue to use it! 

Another government has plenty of Hydro potential which once again has the ability to produce cheap power. As long as the water source doesn't dry up there is no incentive to reward alternatives.  

Another government has an abundance of coal and gas reserves  and the generation equipment to utilise those reserves.

There is no reason that these governments should change to sunrise technology so they keep the cost of energy cheap and actually inflate and tax the cost of alternative green energy. This will keep the citizens tied to the power grid.

Dimitar that then brings in  another aspect to this which many don't think about......the more people who generate their own power the less reliance there is on the national grid! It still needs to be maintained so, as the demand for government power and the revenue it generates falls, the supply charge has to rise to maintain the poles and wires and equipment that make up the grid. 

Australia has decided to go 'green' and while that is all very noble it comes at a cost which other countries are refusing to subsidize. 

My 5 Kw system (minus battery) cost me $2,845.00 AU installed....... that is 3,414 Bulgarian Lev!

Dimitar it cost me that little because the government here want me to go green.....your government in Bulgaria don't and therefore solar is not an option for you, it is priced out of your reach!

But the cost to physically produce my system is precisely the same whether it is installed in Australia or installed in Bulgaria, it all comes out of China!

It's a political thing! 

Cheers.........Rob

[Dimitar27]

Well...you are absolutely right. Most of the PV panels come from China, but in EU they are charged by  65% import duty. PV panels, made in EU, costs far more then the same panels, made in China.

5000w system costs near 12,000 Lv (batteries included)...that is 9500-9600 AU$.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Robin4 

We also have a small solar panel... which is a godsend during the summer when the AC is on 24/7.

Many homes see their electricity bill easily exceed 120usd/month during summer months. 

 

We are able to keep our electricity usage always within the 1st bracket (lowest rates). It was installed about 4 yrs ago and with the subsidy our out of pocket cost was about 350usd. While there is some seasonal difference our electricy bill is usually 20~25usd/month. 

Henry was saying last year (after we bought a new kimchi fridge) he wishes we went with the bigger panel 😆

[Robin4]

@Jessica-and-Henry0 

Jess, if your power bill is $20-25 per month there is simply no incentive to install solar. My winter time bills were around $600 per month and mid summer about $250 per month.

This is the Kw rate we were paying........

We were paying 50c per Kw, which is complete madness. I would love to have spent our money on other things but it was imperative that I install enough power generation equipment to make us self sufficient.

It wasn't a, 'in gods ideal world' scenario.....we were literally frightened to switch an appliance on.

The other thing is, when this property is sold, the fact that it is power self sufficient will put at least $10,000-$15,000 on to the value of it, so that cost value will not be lost.

And the final thing is ......I am actually doing my bit to save the planet! With my rainwater harvesting and power generation my ecological footprint would not even leave an imprint on a sandy beach.....in a global sense, I am energy neutral, and I feel good about that!

Cheers........Rob

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Robin4 

Agree.....the financial incentive for us to install a solar panel was minimal - without solar we'd probably be paying something like 40/month  or around 100 a month in the summer 2~3 months out of the year. But we liked the idea of being less dependent on the grid and doing what we can to use *clean* energy. Our mini solar panel has already paid for itself (as expected, took about 3 yrs to recover the out of pocket cost of installation thru savings) and we are happy with the fact that our utility bill is lower than average and will continue to stay low 😀

Because we live in an apartment complex (consisting of 3 buildings) there are shared common spaces and we need elevators - our electricity bill always includes a "apartment common use" line item which is about 60~70% of our bill that's out of our hands. And we live in a 64 m²  three bedroom apartment - so of course, the amount of energy we need can't compare to larger detached homes 😁