A project started in 2023 to rework the electrical infrastructure in our main office in order to reduce the reliance on grid power and the overall consumption of electricity as well. Our impact on the environment has been the key driving factor here, but it also remains one of the best investments in the future anyone, company or individual, can make these days. Solar is the future! As cheesy as that sounds.

The journey up to a working system has been a bit bumpy, but we are now happy to report, that with the installation now mostly completed, we have observed a 35% reduction of electricity usage from the grid. Producing on average about 15kWh per day from the sun, while keeping our office just that much cooler as well; An added benefit during the warm summer months. The reduction in usage will also reduce our monthly cost overheads by quite a significant amount as our current supply contract scales exponentially with usage. This makes the investment much easier as the projected reduction in costs easily covers the investment within 8 years.

We are continuously looking into new ways to reduce our carbon footprint. As the climate heats up, the heating requirements drop, which allows heat pumps to be more effective. Unfortunately the current situation does not make this a worthwhile investment for us. The installation costs are simply too outrageous and the cost of energy still unreasonably low. It is on our radar, however, as we believe the massive efficiency gains compared to gas or electric heating is worth investing in.

This also means our continuous effort to contribute to the folding@home project is now partially powered by the sun. If that counts as dependant on the tax form? 🙂