U.P. couple uses solar panels to power home.
By Jerry Hume
Sunday, November 08, 2009 at 7:54 p.m.
Read more: Local, Community, Environment, Homesteading, Cooks, Presentation
MARQUETTE -- Solar power may not come to mind when thinking about heating your home in the U.P., but one couple in Schoolcraft County is showing that it can be done.
On Sunday, Sue Robishaw and her husband, Steve Schmeck, showed people in Marquette what it's like to live in a homestead. They built an underground home 30 years ago just north of Cooks.
They grow most of their food, have a windmill to pump water, and use solar panels to heat and power their house. But they do have a back-up.
“We do get an amazing amount of sun,” said Sue, “but the days are very short. So in November, December, and this year in October, we do use a generator occasionally to charge our batteries. So for us, it's maybe 25 hours a year. It's not a whole lot.”
For more on their house, click here.
