My wife (quaqualita) and I have, in the past several years, replaced power hungry appliances with the most efficient we could find. We bought a propane water heater and fridge (fridge died after 7 months, long story....so we replaced it with a mid sized electric ). We don't have AC or even a microwave. All lights replaced with energy efficient florescent ( you can find a more natural colour light in Santiago or maybe even POP instead of the harsh white we all hate). 3 Fans, 2 TV's, Stereo, VCR's, video games, several computers etc.
In other words, alot of electrical equiptment.
Just over a month ago we finally bought solar panels. Something we have wanted to do for years, but the cost was prohibitive and the 40watt panels that WAS the norm in this area didn't really seem like alot of charging power. Following a thread on DR1, I found the name of a gentleman who sells more respectable sizes and a respectable price. Never mind saving the hassle of shipping and taxes.
We already had a 1.5K Trace inverter and only 4 batteries. They have all served well for about 4 years. I keep the batteries full and everything clean and have yet to have a problem or replaced any. Yes...I'm getting to the point.
We use electricity, but wanted the solar as backup. There are sometimes blackouts that last days.
For an experiment; Last week I disconnected the street power and ran straight solar (fridge and waterpump excepted, although the waterpump does run fine I was too lazy to change the wiring in my breaker panel for an experiment). Everything ran great for 4 days AND nights. I could watch all the TV I wanted at night, outside lights on at night and fans too, just like normal.
The Batteries ran out the 4th day because I didn't tell the maid, and she ran the washing machine for about 8 hrs straight
.
Everything is back to normal. I use power when I have it, and solar when I don't. Conservation plays a big part in saving electricity, and if we shut off lights and appliances that we're not using at the time, and there's no change in our daily routine.
I know I have power when I need it. And before you say "but what about when it's cloudy"...the panels even charge on an overcast day.
The power is out right now...time to blow dry my hair...