You are pursuing foolishness so you can be green - maybe some equally loony friends will be impressed but not any sympathy from us here.
You still need building permits, electrical inspections and all or else you can end up in deep soup.
For others that read this - Vinnie is talking about playing a dangerous game - not to mention a loser as far as economics go. Many aren't happy with their utility but you folks are forgetting that the state tells the utility everything it can or can not do and how much they can charge.
Grid tie makes far, far more sense - simpler and cheaper. If one is worried about emergency power just have a small generator in the garage that can be used if there is a power outage.
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Yes I am crazy. I have flash fevers and am fighting off throat cancer and told I could die tomorrow. So yes I am crazy and walk that fine line.
I am going off grid because I'm tired of getting un expected bills in the $300 range for a 1200sq/ft home in the winter because I like to keep my 2 year old son and my 2 step daughters warm. Besides I hate the bureacracy of PG&E, and the state of california. So the state wants me to go green? Fine I will, but I won't stimulate the grid, at my expense, and I won't help PG&E that will continue to hike energy costs as I could stimulate that grid.
You are forgetting.
I get materials at 10% discount for being a contractor. Permits? Seriously? I was just going to disconnect at the main panel so PG&E doesn't call variance if i was to get into their metering section. Its legit and what they won't know wont hurt them their meter will just read 0. Rebates, credits, don't care I will write it off under my home office. chinese panels are so cheap they are half teh price of teh competitors.
Labor is not a problem my family is a family of contractors, its free, and my brother is NABCEP certified and my sister is a project engineer. I have friends that want to learn solar at my expense of $100 day and a 1099 form, besides I would rather build it myself and self perform.
Just found a recycle/dismantler that will actually pay me $30 to disassemble the batteries and recycle what ever they can get from them. I will go with this solar setup discussed, with the addition of of another battery bank to reduce load on the batteries, and retain a lower percentage on D.O.D. I am adding a generac 7000W propane/natural gas generator for winter use. It's CARB legal for California emissions.
Maybe, but this is more about life lessons, principals, and values. I do this for my kids. My gift to reduce my carbon footprint, it will teach my kids, how to survive on their own. I do this for my family and don't need to depend on society or a grid to do it.
Total cost is at $62,289.00 my budget is stopping here and I am going to start sourcing parts as they come. Build completion should be in under 2 years. No permits, no credits.Leave a comment:
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Vinny this is insane to even consider going off-grid. With your winter insolation of 3.4 Sun Hours using 31.2 Kwh per you need a 14,000 watt solar panel array, 4 80 amp charge controllers. 8000 pounds of batteries, industrial grade inverter totaling well over $70,000 just in the major equipment not counting the all the misc material, equipment EPA permits, local permits, labor, and engineering fees. By the time you add it all up you are staring at $150,000.
The fun part is those cheap batteries that cost you $21,000, will need replaced every few years at even a higher cost, and the paper and legal work to dispose of them will be expensive.
This is just plain insane.Leave a comment:
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If I completely do away with the heat pump. I can save 1.3 KWh a day. Then the system would be over power minus an additional battery bank.Leave a comment:
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In the winter your area receives approximately 3.4 kW/day with an annual average of 5,47 (close to the annual average you have). With off grid the worst case (Dec-Jan) are what counts - the annual average is meaningless.
Per kW of panels PV Watts says you will (on a 10 year average) generate 1427 kWh per year.
For that size of system to have an Off Grid system you will have to sell your grandchildren into slavery for the next 100 years or so. You would be looking at approximately 25 kW of panels to cover the December/January period.
The heat pump is no doubt a real energy hog - you should look at the energy consumption of all consumers in the home and replace where ever it makes sense. Conservation is normally a much better investment.
You battery bank size is off by a few thousand percent - way too small for your load. You would also need a generator capable of charging the batteries in the event sun is not available- such as during a storm.
You are looking at a couple hundred thousand for your desired configuration.
Rethink it and go with grid tie - should be a much better deal - then the utility is your battery bank. If you have net metering you can possibly use excess summer generation for credit for winter consumption.Leave a comment:
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Build Design On My First Off Grid System 13KwH
I will try to keep this short.
My home in the winter consumes 61.44KWh day when the heat pump is in use, the break down in 24 hours would be 2.56 KWh . I've modestly rounded out to 2.8KWh, which would be 67.2KWh day.
Concord California Sun Hours are recorded on a modest 5.6 of consistent sun. I am assuming I will need roughly a 12~13KWh array.
5.6 sun hours X DC side 12.3KWh = DC side 68.8KWh DAY
So I selected a panel that when in a string of 2 is suitable for 48V.
SUNTECH 205W 26.3VmP 7.8Imp
26.3VmP X 2 = 52.6VmP
Combined 10 Strings = 78 Imp
So now I would duplicate this 3 times.
Total of 3 sets of arrays
Total of 3 sets of combiner (midnight solar 12, 10-150V breaker/15 amp)
Total of 3 set MPPT outback 150V, 60~80amp
Total of 1 Combiner 3 string
Total of 1 battery bank string of 4 surette 48v, 357Ah (seems to be the best choice recommended by Sunking)
Total of 1 sunny island inverters 4248U
1 pole DC disconnect (fuseable)
1 pole AC Disconnect (visable and fusable)
AC side result should be roughly 54.35KWh DAY.
My fiancee and I realized that we would need to make some cut backs. First one would be to use the heat pump less, or have it removed as the unit itself is 25 years old and isn't efficient.
Now my question is some one with off grid design build will the equipment I want to use for this set up work. Or will I need a higher voltage panel?
Total system $42,404.10
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