$6000 off grid whole house Solar System

[CrealCritter]

the best thing to do currently is to encourage your utility to invest in larger scale projects like wind, solar and battery storage or other forms of energy storage systems (pumped air, molten salt, large battery banks, etc.). these are much more practical and can be done by them for not much $ in comparison to what you would pay yourself for similar. plus they can take advantage of the changing technology and improvements each year as they happen for new projects while you are stuck with sunken costs in your own system.

to me having clean energy generation is more important than a personal solar supply. as long as i have a source of heat in the winter i don't need much electricity every day if there is a storm so having a backup generator is an unneeded expense. yes, it would be nice to have a generator, but it's not worth that $ to me to have it as we don't have power outages much any more.

like has been said, replacing power hog devices with more efficient ones is a good way to help things out too. LED lighting, replacing old computers with newer more efficient ones, replacing an old refridgerator with a newer one (the power company here gave us a $50 rebate for doing it too), better insulation, caulking up and foam sealing cracks if you can, keeping the thermostat turned down or using zone heating, wearing a few more clothes, using fans instead of AC, furnace replacement, thermal mass, better sun shading on the windows, better windows, ... there's a lot of things that can be done to help decrease energy usage.

for one i sure don't need a huge house (even if the space is nice i don't really need it to be happy - i'll work around less space as it means i don't have as high of taxes and i don't have as high expenses). etc...

I usually don't post much tech stuff on here because I already know most people are not technology geeks like I am. But if this technology can be developed and made into a consumable product, it will be a game changer. That's why I said I estimate that solar will be affordable and practical enough for the masses in 10 to 20 years. If someone could figure out how to harness and store even a fraction of the electricity produced in a bolt of lightening it would also be a game changer.

For me the truth to "green" energy is multifold. For a system to be effective all known forms of energy generation need to be utilized. Some technologies are known and are efficient such as fossil fuels but others are known and are not efficient yet such as solar and wind. But then there are unknown technologies or are just beginning development like alge and this night time power generation device. It's going to take a multi utlilized system to take advantage of all available technologies before I would consider it "green" and practical for the masses like me. there is so much opportunity that exists in the energy sector, it's unreal.

Interesting read ---> https://www.foxnews.com/tech/breakthrough-device-can-generate-electricity-from-the-night-sky

 

[Britesea]

Way back when, in CA, there was some kind of scandal (forgive me, I've forgotten exactly what it was) that caused our power costs to really spike. The first thing I did was go through the house and change out all the incandescent lights with cfl (which was all that was available at the time). Just doing that lowered our bill by 50%. We have since moved to LED's and power costs went down again.
When we moved to our current house, we needed all the big appliances (totally empty house!) and one thing I got was a Sun Frost refrigerator. This baby sips electricity, very economical- something like 15 KWH per month. In 17years of use, we've only had one small repair needed- the door latch broke- which cost $30. I wish all my appliances were as great as this one!

 

[flowerbug]

Way back when, in CA, there was some kind of scandal (forgive me, I've forgotten exactly what it was) that caused our power costs to really spike. The first thing I did was go through the house and change out all the incandescent lights with cfl (which was all that was available at the time). Just doing that lowered our bill by 50%. We have since moved to LED's and power costs went down again.
When we moved to our current house, we needed all the big appliances (totally empty house!) and one thing I got was a Sun Frost refrigerator. This baby sips electricity, very economical- something like 15 KWH per month. In 17years of use, we've only had one small repair needed- the door latch broke- which cost $30. I wish all my appliances were as great as this one!

our newer refrigerator runs a lot more than the old one but like you say it doesn't use much juice at all. the biggest improvements in it were the lighting (LEDs in both fridge and freezer) so you can actually see what you're doing (downside you have to clean it more often haha) and that it is much more quiet when running... it seems to be very efficient because i only have to bump the temperature setting up one when it gets hot in the summer and that is just one above the lowest setting.

 

[Medicine Woman]

Hi. So revisiting this idea again and I just survived Hurricane Ida. We went three weeks without grid power. Internet is still not completely fixed. So for a while we were using small solar projects, generators, waiting in gas and food lines. It was a mess. Then it was so incredibly hot and wet and we had curfews and just it’s starting to cool off the police and military are trying to rush you home....that’s if you have a home. So we went to Harbor Freight to find solar panels and other components. They had one single 100 watt panel, no batteries or inverter. Furthermore the employee didn’t seem to know as much as I was told they would know. Like I am discussing my needs and she just basically is telling me this is all they have. I don’t know . Maybe the hurricane caused everything to be bought up fast. So this young guy is there and looking at the same thing as me and I tell him I was just going to start with my refrigerator but I would need 3 of these to give me enough power. I asked him what he was planning and he wanted to ‘just power up an electric burner to cook with and his phone.’ So I tell him he would need even more than me because of the burner. I suggested he get a battery backup like a Jackery for the phone and other small things and power it up with a small panel by day and replace the burner with a camping stove or grill....God knows we have enough fallen oak and pecans. I think he believed me.
So back to me. I had to relocate to DH’s original home. Very old Cajun shotgun house. I have never lived in such a small house in my life so hopefully the utilities are low. We have gas heater, water heater and stove. Wash room is in an attached shed. I understand the dryer doesn’t work but I don’t use it anyway....but the 220 line allows us to backfeed and power up the whole house during outages with a generator and I am wondering if it could be used in a similar way with solar power. So I have a bit of money picked up that I thought I would use to pay my taxes....that child tax credit Biden is sending everyone. Well Hurricane Ida ended my employment so I think I can access that plus a little emergency money and get the $6000 setup...maybe more because this thread is a few years old. But my thing is I don’t want the panels on the roof. I want to be able to have everything possible fully charged and then take down the panels for protection before the storm shows up...leave Louisiana...maybe visit WBF or something and come back down the bayou to see what’s left. Very soon I will see what Hurricane Ida will cost us on our electricity bill and I don’t think I will like it. I hope your links still lead me to affordable products.

 

[The Porch]

I'm no expert by any means. This is just based on research I've done in the last month. I keep hearing about $20,000-$30,000 for a solar system. I believe you can have a whole house system for roughly $6000!

Renogy 300W Polycrystalline Solar Panel $235 x4 = $940
http://www.renogy-store.com/300W-Poly-p/rng-300p.htm?gclid=CjwKEAjw8O2hBRDKur2lseLW6C8SJAC-r1J3JYI0Jz8PygE-lm4fV2n5EUSadfXS0yXt0_ySVfGGUxoCPpDw_wcB

Xantrex charge controller c60 60amp $140
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&output=search&tbm=shop&q=xantrex+charge+controller+c60&oq=xantrex+charge+controller+c60&gs_l=products-cc.12...7970.11266.0.13137.2.2.0.0.0.0.114.186.1j1.2.0....0...1ac..55.products-cc..1.1.114.VC2if-40b6Q&gws_rd=ssl#spd=5266964961206413007

Xantrex true sine inverter 3000watt $1364
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&output=search&tbm=shop&q=xantrex+charge+controller+c60&oq=xantrex+charge+controller+c60&gs_l=products-cc.12...7970.11266.0.13137.2.2.0.0.0.0.114.186.1j1.2.0....0...1ac..55.products-cc..1.1.114.VC2if-40b6Q&gws_rd=ssl#hl=en&tbm=shop&q=xantrex+true+sine+inverter&spd=16127689800116964546

16 deep cycle batteries 1600Amp hours total $3200
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solar-PV-Wind-qty16-VMAX-SLR100-AGM-HiCap-Maint-Free-Deep-Cycle-1600AH-Batteries-/280979588634?pt=US_Rechargeable_Batteries&hash=item416bb0461a

Desulfator (extends life of batteries x3) $130
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Z3EZ1O/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003Z3EZ1O&linkCode=as2&tag=yt0c-20

Battery Tender $75
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DTV172/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002DTV172&linkCode=as2&tag=yt0c-20

Other expenses that I didn't list:
Wires
Fuses
Surge Arresterhttp://www.deltala.com/prod12.htm


Also, if you'd like to tie into the grid you'll also need:
Grid Tie Inverter

Thank you, this is all very Informative and very helpful information.

 

[Medicine Woman]

After a couple of weeks living in the third world section of the USA and having to cram all washing and cleaning into moments we actually had power I became very determined to have solar power because I realized we already had some equipment that we were using while we gave the generator a break. We were using an inverter with vehicle batteries to power up a fan, bug light or radio and keep phones charged. I figured I could just order a panel to get started with the fridge so I did a google search and discovered I needed a 300 watt panel to run a fridge. Well I ordered something that claimed to be a 300 watt panel off of eBay but DH’s BF informs us it’s not even 100 and it’s normally just used to keep RV batteries from draining when sitting so long without using. I probably should have returned it but maybe I can set it up and just charge batteries. I mean batteries helped us out just a few weeks ago. What I envision is treated studs leaning and fixed in place to the south side (back) of the house, which will offer some protection for the rabbits and keep the sun off the back porch. That way we don’t need anyone to climb the roof for us. We can get some extra long squeegees or something. I do feel a tad bit pessimistic about this but only because I never attempted to totally unplug from the grid except for storms but they do happen. Ida was so crazy mad and don’t any of y’all believe what the news said about it being a Cat 3, because the plane that flies around the storm to measure them....well they stopped before finishing the job because the windows were cracking and I believe it. But fact checkers blurred a meme with all the facts and all us Lafourche Parish people know there is a wind gauge in Port Fourcheon. I can go back for the numbers but Ida was the absolute most violent storm to ever hit the USA, and if y’all could have seen my town, instead of just New Orleans y’all would believe it. It was so horrible that life long residents have left. I met people I didn’t even know before who were talking about the stuff we always talk about here. This guy was at a friends house and he was gonna get a cistern, some solar panels and have his gas changed out for propane and get a wood burning stove. Suddenly no one looking at him but at me....to see my reaction.
Regarding the cost and convenience of energy one way or the other I tallied up my yearly utilities a good while back and actually I was using over $3000/year in my house (much bigger than this one). So I have to see what I will actually spend here. But here is my two cents worth....so let’s say my average electric bill would be $200/month and I manage to get a whole house solar generator built and we take care of it and have 5 years without issues and then we see we will be needing to buy new batteries for $3,000 (not allowing for inflation)....so a reasonably prudent person would attempt to take the $200/month and put it somewhere in a nest egg to prepare for the inevitable death of some of the system. In 5 years I would have given the power company $12,000 and have nothing to show for it. The fact that I will need $3,000 of that amount shouldn’t upset me too greatly. If anything, I should just be grateful I saved it. Even if I have to add another $1000 onto the price, due to inflation, I can safely assume grid power will also be going to also increase beyond what my income can reach. It’s like this with anything. Who would buy a new car today.... pay it off in 5 years. Use it for a total of 15 years and then it totally dies and you are without a vehicle and now you crying because you have TO START saving for a new vehicle? No....after the first 5 years are up and you suddenly don’t have a $500 note, you should have been saving at least $200/month so next go round you won’t have a note. Sure...we mostly all on the grid and it’s easier today to just enjoy it but some of us are getting old and we won’t be bringing in as much money in 10 years. Who is to say we will even be able to afford electricity? I for one am very tempted to take the plunge.

 

[flowerbug]

first thing to do in a place that gets enough sunlight is to set up solar water heating as that can save the most $ and will repay itself very quickly. if you use a solar panel and inverter to run the pumps to move the water where you need it then you can also size that inverter for the size that you will eventually want for the whole house if you get enough panels (eventually) and include some battery storage to start, but perhaps not a huge amount but enough to get you through a day or two of very low usage for the most critical items. that is my recommendation and it will save you the most $ up front. once that pays for itself then everything after that is gravy which can be used to imrpove, add more panels or more battery storage or both. it is a kind of way to bootstrap your way towards the eventual goal.

being so far south you won't have as much winterization issues that we have up here, and also all the clouds we can get and high winds and so very cold storms.

 

[Medicine Woman]

I am leaning towards a composting water heater. Several years ago I had talked to a salesman and he recommended me to start with a solar water heater and to adapt it to connect to my existing electric water heater. He said the electricity on the water heater wouldn’t be needed much and it would mostly just be a storage tank. I suppose it would work but he told me it was like $5,000 and I am talking around 1995. I figured I could build a compost pile behind my house and do it Jean Pain style for under $100 and have hot water for 2 years. In my area people that are off grid with regards to water use cisterns and gutters . I went to Woodville, MS and we stayed at a friends cabin and I poured some red water in the tub. I just don’t know about that.

 

[flowerbug]

I am leaning towards a composting water heater. Several years ago I had talked to a salesman and he recommended me to start with a solar water heater and to adapt it to connect to my existing electric water heater. He said the electricity on the water heater wouldn’t be needed much and it would mostly just be a storage tank. I suppose it would work but he told me it was like $5,000 and I am talking around 1995. I figured I could build a compost pile behind my house and do it Jean Pain style for under $100 and have hot water for 2 years. In my area people that are off grid with regards to water use cisterns and gutters . I went to Woodville, MS and we stayed at a friends cabin and I poured some red water in the tub. I just don’t know about that.

if you have free compost available that's one way to do it but i don't know how fast it can actually heat water without compromising the pile itself. it would all be about thermal mass there and heat transfer, flow rates, the size of pipes and pumps, all very possible to do.

if you are willing to cobble something together and not have it connected to the water supply in a complicated manner you could probably get by for a lot less than $5,000. i'm pretty sure that would be a quote for a pretty high-tech system. low tech can work. just a black water bladder sitting on the roof with a hose with a plug in it can get water pretty hot and is very low tech. i think they have these for campers and such. i haven't looked into them myself. i live with someone who doesn't want anything done here so i can't play as much as i'd like. if it were up to me we'd already have a hot water system on the roof for the times when the sun is out it would save for both electricity and heating costs as we could use any extra heat collected to keep warmer. i've not had any luck at all convincing The Management (aka Mom ) of doing anything. solar electric would be nice too but i'd first do hot water as that is a big use of electricity for us - our well water is cold - even a tank for preheating water would be useful and save a lot of $.

 

[Medicine Woman]

The thing I don’t understand is what happens for a hard freeze if you have pipes on the roof?. I know it would be fine most of the year. I have a wood chipper so my plan for composting water heater would require about 100 feet of very special hose, coiled up against a cylinder of sorts. Then I can just start piling grass clippings, rabbit and chicken droppings, weeds and wood chips around and over it. Wet it down and soon it will begin to get cooking. When I begin to see the compost is hot I can replace the water heater with this. I would think have all dishes washed and clothes and turn off the water. Disconnect the water heater and drain the water out of it. Get it out the house. You can probably trace the pipes to a lower spot under the floor and cut it there. Adapt the hose to the intake and output of the previous water heater and wait for the glue to dry a bit. Turn the water back on and test the hose connections leaks. Take a warm shower. Enjoy for 2 years. Plan your best garden with the future compost.