To all my friends and readers on this day of festive days.
Thank you all very much for reading during the year. It has had its ups and downs, but best of all through it all, it was fun and exciting with many more stories and adventures to come.
Peace and Joy to all.
Gavin, Kim and Family xox
As Christmas approaches, this event is often missed by many people. Today is the Summer Solstice. According to the Museum of Victoria, and in our part of the world…..;
On the day of Summer Solstice, the Earth’s south pole is tilted towards the Sun. The Sun rises south of east, sets south of west and reaches 75 1/2° above the horizon at noon. This is, usually, the longest day of the year.
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| Artist: Frey Micklethwait. Source: Museum Victoria |
It occurs just once a year in late December. Here in the south eastern part of Australia the day reaches its maximum of 14h 47m 21s. The actual solstice itself occurs at 1630 which is about the same time this post was published. This mean the inverse in the Northern Hemisphere who are celebrating their Winter Solstice and their shortest day of the year!
What does the Summer Solstice mean to me? Well it means that summer has really started in earnest, and it is about the latest time in the season that I can plant any vegetables. Any later and they usually do not make it to maturity unless we have a really warm autumn. It means less rainfall (usually) and that I have to start to use my water reserves in the rain water tanks to keep everything alive around the garden.
It also means that the evenings have more light due to the long days and daylight savings. Time that I can spend in the garden, pottering around and enjoying our bounty and time to talk to the chickens. We have been harvesting self seeded beetroot leaves and rainbow chard for salads, and are just about to get stuck into the garlic and onions that are now dry and ready to use. We have also been enjoying peaches for about two weeks now and the nectarines and apricots should be ready in the next week or two, if we can keep the birds off of them. Our first tomato for the season should not be very far away!
I feel the most grounded at this time of year as well. We have a simple lunch on Christmas Day, so there is not much to prepare for. I have lots of home made beverages ready to enjoy by the pool whilst I am on holidays over the next two weeks, and we are just going to wind down until we get itchy bums and need to start a new project. All external commitments are on hold until February 2012.
I get time to make cheese, read (in fact I just read 7 books in 21 days), relax, and enjoy time with my family.
Happy days!
What does the solstice mean to you?
I took my final reading tonight. It worked out that my daily average for week 4 was 16.8 kWh, which was similar to my baseline reading. Now that the weather is heating up, the airconditioning is being used sparingly, but still it uses so much of our daily consumption. I estimate that on hot days, our demand goes up by at least 40%. You can tell just by a quick glance at the graph below which 4 days were the ones over 30 degrees C! They stick out like a sore thumb.
Here are a few statistics from my end of the challenge.
Highest electricity generated by Solar PV in one day: 19 kWh (5th December)
Highest electricity drawn from the grid in one day: 17.6 kWh (18th December)
Most exported to the grid in one day: 13.6 kWh (5th December)
Lowest electricity generated by Solar PV in one day: 2 kWh (26th November)
Lowest electricity drawn from the grid in one day: 6.4 kWh (6th December)
Least exported to the grid in one day: 0 kWh (26th November)
Highest daily total consumption in the home: 28.4 kWh (9th December)
Lowest daily total consumption in the home: 11.1 kWh (6th December)
Biggest cost in one day: $2.31
Biggest profit in one day: $7.46
Total profit: $64.16 for the month!
Our electricity consumption was variable, however we had more days under 15 kWh than we had above it, which is quite pleasing.
So what have I personally learnt. My first point of action will be to replace a very old air-conditioner in the living area, which is the box type that fits into a hole in the wall. I estimate that it uses about 3000 watts per hour, and has the biggest impact on our daily consumption. Over the next few months I will be saving up for a replacement. The old one is about 15 years old and on its last legs, so I will not feel guilty replacing it. Once it is replaced with a more energy efficient one, we should be able to keep our consumption below 15 kWh, even on a hot day!
As we come to the end of the challenge, I would just like to thank everyone for participating. I hope that everyone gained a bit more insight into their electricity usage, and what events and appliances are the culprits for high energy utilisation.
From the initial response that I had via comment and on my Facebook page for the blog, there were about 30 to 40 people who gave the challenge a go. I don’t know how many made it to the end, but if you did, well done and please leave a comment with either your week 4 confession, or just a friendly note. I would really appreciate it as well as any feedback you may have.
Cheers, Gav