Hi folks, I'm tired of paying a huge corporation for power and I'm looking to go off-grid with my own battery system to save money, and of course help save the planet as well. I was told to register here and ask for advice from someone named "Sun King".
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Hello greencrusader and Welcome to Solar Panel Talk
Building an off grid solar / battery system is a possibility but unless you are paying way above $0.50/kWh for your electricity you will end up paying a lot more using batteries and the last time I heard batteries are anything but green.
There are a number of Sticky Post in the off grid section of this forum. You should read some of those to get an idea of how to size your system and what it may cost you. -
Thanks SunEagle. Reading through those stickies, it appears that the cost of the equipment, plus the initial and ongoing cost of batteries, makes off-grid solar a losing proposition in all but a very few cases. Plus, it appears that using batteries isn't "green" at all since, if i read correctly, it takes more energy to manufacture them than the energy they provide. I will instead look into reducing energy waste and increasing efficiency, which I'm sure will be the most cost-effective option of all. After all, energy I don't use is the best savings of all. Off to do some more reading...
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Originally posted by greencrusader View PostThanks SunEagle. Reading through those stickies, it appears that the cost of the equipment, plus the initial and ongoing cost of batteries, makes off-grid solar a losing proposition in all but a very few cases. Plus, it appears that using batteries isn't "green" at all since, if i read correctly, it takes more energy to manufacture them than the energy they provide. I will instead look into reducing energy waste and increasing efficiency, which I'm sure will be the most cost-effective option of all. After all, energy I don't use is the best savings of all. Off to do some more reading...
Going with solar can save you money depending on where you live and how much your POCO charges you. And even then usually the best payback is with a grid tie system. The most costly is usually an off grid system.Comment
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If you want to go greener, consider upgrading appliances and replacing light bulbs with LED's. An old flat screen TV can consume 4X what a newer LED TV and better picture. That old refrigerator in the garage likely uses 10X what your new one does. Have your HVAC inspected and upgraded if necessary. Check your insulation and windows, Upgrade if necessary. Get a watt meter and check for power spiders, use power strip to power on and off or replace the appliance or device. This is just a partial list, there are more ways to save and live a greener life.
Last edited by Logan5; 04-05-2017, 05:04 PM.Comment
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Originally posted by greencrusader View PostHi folks, I'm tired of paying a huge corporation for power and I'm looking to go off-grid with my own battery system to save money, and of course help save the planet as well. I was told to register here and ask for advice from someone named "Sun King".
Last edited by Sunking; 04-05-2017, 10:33 PM.MSEE, PEComment
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Originally posted by greencrusader View PostThanks SunEagle. Reading through those stickies, it appears that the cost of the equipment, plus the initial and ongoing cost of batteries, makes off-grid solar a losing proposition in all but a very few cases. Plus, it appears that using batteries isn't "green" at all since, if i read correctly, it takes more energy to manufacture them than the energy they provide. I will instead look into reducing energy waste and increasing efficiency, which I'm sure will be the most cost-effective option of all. After all, energy I don't use is the best savings of all. Off to do some more reading..
If I had an easy tie-in to the grid, I'd still have to have a backup generator, since the area has many winter storm induced outages.
Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
|| Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
|| VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A
solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-ListerComment
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Originally posted by greencrusader View PostHi folks, I'm tired of paying a huge corporation for power and I'm looking to go off-grid with my own battery system to save money, and of course help save the planet as well. I was told to register here and ask for advice from someone named "Sun King".
But this is a very red state forum, it seems; anyone who talks about science, environmentalism, or policy gets yelled at by two very loud members.
Batteries can still be green -- I don't think it's been shown they're a net loss environmentally.
(See e.g. lowtechmagazine.com/2015/05/sustainability-off-grid-solar-power.html )
But they're not at all cheap, so keep going down the energy efficiency road, grit your teeth, keep paying that big corporation ,
and consider grid-tied solar at some point.Comment
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Originally posted by DanKegel View Post
Hee hee. SunKing can give you good advice about lead-acid batteries, and this forum is great at explaining how (and whether) one can save money using solar.
But this is a very red state forum, it seems; anyone who talks about science, environmentalism, or policy gets yelled at by two very loud members..
Dan: your stuff is rude and inconsiderate in that it usually misinforms people, or simply wastes time for anyone reading it while you seem unconcerned or unknowing about the effects. You are a reprint service for stuff, that if not useless, is readily available elsewhere, selected in a way that shows little connection to reality or usefulness, and mostly tends to perhaps make it easier for people looking for straight and technically correct information to fall into the traps and scams you parrot and so waste time and money while you offer little in the way of caution and real advice. Sometimes some of us spend as much time cleaning up crap from the likes of you and calling B.S. on you junk as anything else.Comment
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Originally posted by J.P.M. View PostSometimes some of us spend as much time cleaning up crap ...Comment
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Originally posted by DanKegel View Post
I could post "The sky is blue" and J.P.M. would bloviate for pages about how it wasn't, and how anyone who said the sky was blue was indulging in junk science
When and if you choose to learn such things, come back and I'll test you, because, unlike you, I do know a bit about such stuff. Until then, stop stinking up the place with your junk. It lowers the quality of the forum's content.Comment
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Originally posted by J.P.M. View PostNot anyone Dan, only you.
Re sky being blue: physics is hard I read Cuckoo's Egg recently, and it had a lovely anecdote about that question: books.google.com/books?id=0q1_5QkqV8EC&pg=PT398&lpg=PT398Comment
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Dan you just do not get it. No one here likes you and think you are full of chit. Not even the moderators or admin want you here. Get lost.MSEE, PEComment
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Originally posted by Sunking View PostDan you just do not get it. No one here likes you and think you are full of chit. Not even the moderators or admin want you here. Get lost.
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