Going Solar and off the grid

[skyhightree1]

Grey can we switch houses for a while ? I have never had a 200 electric bill. I think maybe your source you get the electricity from mas many different ways to get the power where as mine is all coal powered.

 

[chippie]

I did not have time to read all of the replies.

My brother has solar panels on his house. I guess that they are about 4 or 5 years old now. He has a two story house in Denton and the panels are on his roof. It has worked well for him. There are many days when the meter is running backwards and he is putting electricity onto the grid and getting paid for it. I believe that it has almost paid for itself.

 

[skyhightree1]

wow chippie thanks for that information I plan on calling the company that does the installs here soon

 

[greybeard]

wow chippie thanks for that information I plan on calling the company that does the installs here soon

Don't forget to consult with your power provider as well Hightree. Probably want to do that as soon as you have the info from the local solar power people, tho they may be able to tell ya if your power co buys back excess energy.

As far as I know, my local provider (Entergy) gets it's Texas residential/business power from nat gas/oil generators and 4 or 5 nuke plants over in La and one in Arkansas. They've about divested themselves fromcoal fired plants--just a few still in Arkansas. They have a working interest in a wind field in Amarillo Texas, but not sure what the MW size is, but other energy companies have huge wind farms in Nolan County Texas--perhaps the largest concentration of wind turbines in the US. Energy is like any other commodity--bought and sold from and by one provider to another as needed, so ya never really know where your electricity was generated from at any given time.

 

[skyhightree1]

Thanks Grey that was a excellent point.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

The solar deal would be good, but i have always thought it would be fun to play with a small scale hydroelectric system and see if it would work.

 

[skyhightree1]

i saw on some tv show about people living in alaska that used water to create the electricity in there house

 

[denvermartinfarms]

I have heard of some that work on 10 or 15 gallons a minute, but don't know if they would be worth doing.

 

[skyhightree1]

yea it is alot of work

 

[cow pollinater]

There's a general store and a few rental cabins up in the high sierra that runs off of hydro from a creek that you could step across and the whole system was built with scrap materials by one man. They don't use much electricity but it's enough to run a few lights and radios.

As far as solar, there are alot of solar homes here that are attatched to the grid and a few that are stand alone. I know a few states offer pretty big tax incentives for going solar so check and see if yours is one of them before you buy anything.

 

[john250]

Does anyone in here have a solar system that they are completely off the grid from local power companies? I have been looking into it lately but don't know anyone i can ask how dependable it is and is there any issues ? I figured id throw my question out to my C.T. family and see what I can get for info. :help:

It isn't dependable and there are issues. If not, it would be the standard.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Hmmm, I could make a giant hamster wheel generator then kidnap CB and stick him in there on his hoveround chair. All I would need to do is feed him rice and beans and concrete a cedar post in front of it so he would have something to talk to....

If I could figure out a way to generate energy from his talking I could power the whole state.

They might get me on that hamster wheel but it won't be by you.
Remember we have all seen your picture you little sawed off peckerwood.

 

[greybeard]

The solar deal would be good, but i have always thought it would be fun to play with a small scale hydroelectric system and see if it would work.

I haven't looked back at it lately, but there's some posts in the Idaman thread about a hydro generator--after he moved on to the Empire Valley Ranch. It didn't sound like it was an easy thing to do.

 

[pdfangus]

a more practical idea for a cattleman would be a methane generator using a manure digester and running a generator off of methane....

Of course you have to have a significant number of confined cattle in order to capture the manure for the digester. A potential side benefit is a source of water for crop or pasture irrigation and the potential to compost and sell the solids.

it is getting to be a popular option at some dairies.

in my opinion solar works well for specific applications, for example running a pump or something like that.

it is easier for me to pay the power bill than to make payments on the solar equipment to run a house. If I were building new I might consider it....Especially if building far off the road or power line.

a really bad hail storm can ruin you day as well. not run of the mill hail, but a bad storm.

I have had one 75 watt panel running a water system for ten years. The solar panel part has worked every day....every other part of the system has needed some work or failed one or more times.....fortunately I can make most of the repairs myself but it is not free....just the single 12 volt deep cell battery is now a hundred bucks and they don't last any longer in a solar set up than they do in your truck...for water pumping the biggest problem is electrical components get musty and buggy and corrode and fail...trouble shooting where the failure is takes me the most time.

 

[tom4018]

A couple people close by have put some systems in that feed the excess back into the grid. One told me that just got his up and running that on a sunny day it was producing about twice what they use, said his normal fill was about $250. According to him not all utilities will buy the power back but ours does and pays a decent price. Panels are 10 x 60 and track the sun. $85,000 and he said about a 10 year payback counting the tax incentives.

 

[skyhightree1]

wow... It seems solar is a PAIN IN THE A so im not sure thats a good idea..

 

[highgrit]

Skyhigh, you should be able to save a hundred bucks a month easy off of a bill that high. Just get someone from the power company to come out and do and energy use assessment. It costs way more to heat your house than to keep it cool with electric power. We took the vinyl siding off and put 5/4 cypress boards on and now the fireplace will keep the house warm. Insulation makes a world of difference. Solar power works good for keeping the automatic gate openers, and the deer feeders charged up and working.

 

[backhoeboogie]

wow... It seems solar is a PAIN IN THE A so im not sure thats a good idea..

I have looked in to this for years. Solar water heating is absolutely a positive and a money saver. It is worth its salt and cost effective. Just think of that garden hose in the summer time and how long it takes for the stagnant water in it to cool off.

Battery technology is way behind. That is the draw back.

Solar trickle chargers for the tractor/Caterpillar/backhoe are a huge plus.

Inverters have come a long way and are affordable.

Wind generation is unstable and the commercial units cause perturbations to the grid. When people put them in they need shunt devices. The electrical industry hates them. It is a dangerous situation here in Texas with "going green". ERCOT (Electrical Reliability Council) is constantly calling us up and asking us to decrease watts and increase vars so that the grid will become stable.

If you can run wind generation into a battery than covert it, you got yourself something. But then you are back to the expensive battery bank and the outdated technology.

 

[skyhightree1]

Skyhigh, you should be able to save a hundred bucks a month easy off of a bill that high. Just get someone from the power company to come out and do and energy use assessment. It costs way more to heat your house than to keep it cool with electric power. We took the vinyl siding off and put 5/4 cypress boards on and now the fireplace will keep the house warm. Insulation makes a world of difference. Solar power works good for keeping the automatic gate openers, and the deer feeders charged up and working.

Yea, My house has that new insulation foam so its insulated but I also forgot to mention the barn behind my house a shed and a 30x30 building are all on my same meter. My fireplace can keep my house warm with no issues like you High but I think I will have them come out and check it out. I did find out alot of times the power company doesnt check the meter they guesstimate what your usage is because of your average bills.

 

[skyhightree1]

wow... It seems solar is a PAIN IN THE A so im not sure thats a good idea..

I have looked in to this for years. Solar water heating is absolutely a positive and a money saver. It is worth its salt and cost effective. Just think of that garden hose in the summer time and how long it takes for the stagnant water in it to cool off.

Battery technology is way behind. That is the draw back.

Solar trickle chargers for the tractor/Caterpillar/backhoe are a huge plus.

Inverters have come a long way and are affordable.

Wind generation is unstable and the commercial units cause perturbations to the grid. When people put them in they need shunt devices. The electrical industry hates them. It is a dangerous situation here in Texas with "going green". ERCOT (Electrical Reliability Council) is constantly calling us up and asking us to decrease watts and increase vars so that the grid will become stable.

If you can run wind generation into a battery than covert it, you got yourself something. But then you are back to the expensive battery bank and the outdated technology.

Backhoe you are right about everything you said. I love solar trickle chargers.