BYC Café

[SpartanLady]

Good day to all

 

[DobieLover]

By this time tomorrow I should be off the grid!

What I find quite ironic was when I got home today, I could tell that I had had a power loss while I was at work.

 

[aart]

By this time tomorrow I should be off the grid!

So not participating in any buy back programs wit the local energy companies??
What kind of battery banks do you have?

 

[Shadrach]

Yeah.
He can only eat really soft stuff, still having a hard time swallowing.
He was just shy of having a stomach port installed, thank goodness he avoided that.
He can feed himself but his hands are not functioning 100%, not sure why.
His son is in charge and has set up a website deal to update everyone.

That is one handy thing about the internet.

 

[Sally PB]

Off grid! @DobieLover, that is so exciting!! YAY for you!

Yes, do tell more about your setup, please.

 

[Shadrach]

By this time tomorrow I should be off the grid!View attachment 3424880
But I find quite ironic was when I got home today, I could tell that I had had a power loss while I was at work.

How many watts is that going to provide?
Will you need to change the house to a lower voltage system?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Guess we all want to know about the journey to solar?

 

[DobieLover]

So not participating in any buy back programs wit the local energy companies??
What kind of battery banks do you have?

I'm not technically off the grid! I'll be selling any excess energy to NYSEG.
I'll have a Tesla power pack in the basement. It should last at least 3 days in the event of a power outage. But I'm only having specific circuits tied into the panel that will be backed up by the power pack.

Yes, do tell more about your setup, please.

See above!

How many watts is that going to provide?
Will you need to change the house to a lower voltage system?

The system is designed to generate 8,100 watts which is 107% of my average electric usage. Nothing will change for the way the house is wired up.
This project is the reason I've been cleaning out my basement.

 

[DobieLover]

I took Piper to the local Humane Society tonight to get her first rabies shot. She is officially a law breaker as she is 5.5 months old and was supposed to have it no later than at 4 months of age. So sue me.

It was 29F with very brisk winds and the waiting line was outside. I had Piper in her jammies bundled up in my wool trench coat but I forgot gloves so I had one hand in my pocket under Piper's butt and the other wrapped over her head trying to keep her ears warm. I estimate I was out in that wind for at least 1/2 hour. By the time we finally got in the building my feet, legs and head were freezing and my right hand was nearly useless with the index finger nearly white. I was very concerned I had frostbite. But everything warmed up in the car after we were done and turned back to the right color.

The dogs and the people that go to these events.
O.
M.
G.
HORRIBLE!
There was a pair of pit bulls growling, barking and lunging at all the dogs and they were just 2 spaces behind us! The owners of them finally gave up waiting after about 10 minutes and I was relieved to see them go. Another man kept swearing at his dog and threatening to hit her. I then watched a different man slapping his dog in the face. The rest where shrilly barking and pulling on their leashes. Piper just watched and never joined in the cacophony.

And WHAT are these people feeding their dogs??!! The amount of squishy huge piles of crap or outright puddles of diarrhea everywhere was disgusting. Talk about a mine field!

 

[bruceha2000]

I'm not technically off the grid! I'll be selling any excess energy to NYSEG.

And buying it back during those periods where there is more consecutive snow and cloudy weather days that the panels can't keep up So no, not off grid but net neutral, or possibly net positive (or is that negative?? Selling more than you are buying is what I mean) over a 1 year period.

BTW, the Powerwall controller knows when there is a storm coming and will charge the batteries from the grid beforehand if needed.

• How big is the Powerwall bank?
• Is the house totally electric or do you have some gas or fuel oil devices?
• What is your main heat source? Do you have a heat pump? If so I assume your backup heat (or primary if you so desire) is your woodstove.
• Is the excess power sold to the utility subject to "use it or lose it"? Ours is, excess generated in one month is forfeited a year later if it isn't used.
• Can you get a cash credit/payment for excess power annually? We can not.

We were WAY into "use it or lose it" at 8 MW/year on the original arrays installed Dec 2015 but were able to transfer some of the credits to our old house which we were renting out. Sold that on tax day in 2020, bought the Leaf that August. Got another 12 panels to cover the Leaf since DW drives it 75 miles 6 days a week. In the summer it daily uses about the same amount of power as the house. More in the cold winter when batteries are not as efficient. No way to be off grid when you you have an electric car that you run distance like that. The Leaf battery is a bit over twice the capacity of our 2 Powerwalls.

We have 5 things not on the Powerwall during power outages

• the pump for the stupid pool
• bathroom floor heat
• the ductless heat pump that was installed late last year
• the wall oven (the ONLY way we know the power has gone out, the display goes blank. The Powerwall is so fast the lights don't blink, the microwave clock isn't affected)
• the EV charging station, it isn't connected to the Powerwall at all.

We have been running down the cash credit this winter with the Leaf and the new heat pump, might actually owe some money next winter especially since we are planning 2 more heat pumps, these will be connected to the 2 hot air furnaces (one oil, one propane) and not connected to the Powerwall bank.

Get a soft bristle push broom and extendable handle for pulling the snow off the panels. It doesn't take much snow to SIGNIFICANTLY cut power production even if the sun is out the next day. A half inch will just about shut them down, more will do so.

Congratulations!!!!!