The Cellar » Home Power Production

griff · 2/16/2021 7:35 am

I'm fiddling with the idea of going off the grid. I have a buddy who is fully off the grid but his technology is not current. Batteries have come a long way as have the panels. Any input is appreciated.

Tesla has a solar roof which is interesting since this is a new build. https://www.tesla.com/

Sunpower is a bigger player in the market. https://us.sunpower.com/home-solar/solar-cell-technology-solutions

tw · 2/17/2021 9:15 pm

griff wrote:
I'm fiddling with the idea of going off the grid.

Do that and the Texas Governor will also blame you for their power problems.

griff · 2/18/2021 7:28 am

Now there is a situation requiring adult thinking.

tw · 2/18/2021 10:13 am

griff wrote:
Now there is a situation requiring adult thinking.

No problem. Rush Limbaugh is popular in Texas. He already told them what to think.

glatt · 2/18/2021 10:23 am

I'm excited for you to go off the grid.

My SIL's family in northern Ontario has a vacation home that is off the grid. It uses 20 year old technology, and in addition to the solar cells and shed containing multiple batteries, it has a diesel generator that will kick in when the solar panels don't deliver enough.

They are happy with the system, however they watch their energy consumption closely. It's a lifestyle change. You have to think about your peak demand and how you will meet it.

griff · 2/19/2021 6:46 am

My buddy has uses solar, wind, and a diesel. He is much more organized/obsessed than me and rarely uses the generator.He had a pretty rigid maintenance schedule for his batteries. I'd assume the modern tech has made it more simple . Our peak demand could be an issue with saws, planer, router etc... Our home usage is pretty low.

glatt · 2/20/2021 11:50 am

This guy had a video show up in my social media feed. He talks in a few videos about the Tesla roof he just installed, and one video discusses how it melts roof snow accumulation so it can continue to gather sunlight.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPQDjGEZZvINPYgZik5cUqw

griff · 2/20/2021 1:25 pm

Thanks man. I wonder about how low a temp it can handle...

BigV · 6/13/2021 11:19 am

I can't find the thread where I thought I remembered griff talking about getting a sawmill... here's a nice vid from a YouTuber "Essential Craftsman". I have subscribed to his channel for a long time now, worth mentioning in the other "youtube channel recommendations", but I'm off track already.

frickin squirrels

aaanyhow, Here's a vid where he shows a pro with his backwoods portable sawmill. The milling part is great and the dedication at the end is great too.

Enjoy.

griff · 6/13/2021 3:13 pm

Thanks for bumping this. Grid tied solar turns out to be much cheaper but I like the idea of home generation...

glatt · 6/13/2021 4:51 pm

I was talking to my brother today about solar. He lives in Tucson, and has a flat roof. Perfect for solar. He's been looking into it and found there is seller of used photovoltaic solar panels there. The panels have reduced efficiency, because they are old, but they are guaranteed to be at least 80% as efficient as they were when they were new. So you just buy more of them, and they cost "pennies on the dollar" according to him. Even if he's exaggerating some on the price, it sounds pretty promising.

griff · 6/14/2021 5:56 am

Wow. Never even thought about there being a secondary market.

I'm wondering if non-Tesla e-vehicles are easily ties to any of the systems? Ford needs to go all in.

tw · 6/16/2021 7:12 pm

griff wrote:
]I'm wondering if non-Tesla e-vehicles are easily ties to any of the systems? Ford needs to go all in.

Transistion (innovation) was obvious in the early 1990s. First 5 liter engines were replaced by 2.5 liter engines. That in turn were replaced by 1 liter engines that also recharged batteries. Then these hybrids were upgraded to also recharge batteries from AC mains. Eventually support facilities would exist so that the electric car (and truck) was practical. We are far from that . But that is what innovation clearly made obvious and necessary.

That is what Clinton promoted in the early 1990s when he gave the American auto companies (dominated by anti-American business school graduates) $hundreds of millions to innovate.

So what patriotic American companies came forth with innovation? First Honda (Insight) followed by Toyota (Prius). But again, American innovation stifled for so long that eventually foreigners are now routinely the patriotic Americans.

We should all be driving hybrids now - if American was as patriotic as it was in the 1950s and 1960s. Many should now be driving hybrids that also can be recharged from AC mains.

Unfortunately (with the exception of Ford) that is only coming from patriotic foreign manufacturers.

Tesla, of course, is making it more likely and easier.

Meanwhile Lordstown (a facility with a long history of making anti-American cars) apparently has failed to innovate. So where did its CEO and CFO come from? From innovation or business schools?

griff · 6/17/2021 6:10 am

https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2021/05/19/all-electric-ford-f-150-lightning.html

tw · 6/17/2021 7:53 pm

griff wrote:
https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2021/05/19/all-electric-ford-f-150-lightning.html

Notice how many specification numbers are in that technical summary. An indication that in 2000, engineers (not business school graduates) were finally being promoted in Ford. Because the new top man had a driver's license. It takes that long for innovation to be permitted and then happen.

griff · 7/15/2021 7:17 am

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/don-t-park-your-chevy-bolt-ev-inside-or-charge-n1273991

Don't charge your Chevy overnight... kinda defeats the purpose

xoxoxoBruce · 7/26/2021 8:12 pm

If you want to make power at home put a couple of these tiles under your mattress...

I posted this picture using the upload box with a paperclip at the top of the reply form.
Hope everyone can see it?

fargon · 7/27/2021 8:44 am

Nope.

BigV · 7/27/2021 7:17 pm

poor fargon, you're jinxed man.

I can see it. I'm not sure I believe it, but I see it.

xoxoxoBruce · 8/01/2021 11:35 pm

Thinking about that idea of buying used solar panels on the cheap.
It was said they had lost some of the efficiency, but it dawned on me that to that lost you have to add the improvement in newer panels over what those panels were new.
For instance when new the panels were 12% efficient and have lost 5%. If new ones are now 20% you have to weigh the 13% difference vs the price difference. Have to make sure at 7% you have enough room for the output you need.
Math is hard, too hard to buy without carefully figuring out where you'll be in 5, 10, 15, years especially when they are constantly touting "a major breakthrough" in the technology.

griff · 11/24/2022 8:51 am

https://www.wardsauto.com/industry-news/gm-forms-green-hydrogen-alliance

Of all the automakers, GM has been the most bullish on hydrogen, not only as a mobility fuel, but for stationery power for commercial buildings and residential housing. As far back as the 1990s, GM envisioned hydrogen-powered trucks and stationery generators that could be GM-branded.