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Doug, I second the HomePower magizine. You can download the previous to current issue for free


I actually did that at work last Friday. Only had time to skim through one article (on things not to do to your battery system) and it looked very good.

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I do have to ask as to why you want to be off the grid. Is it something to do with the utilities, the high cost of power, wanting to be green, wanting to be energy independent?



Believe it or not, none of the above.

I may have an opportunity for retirement in California at a very low cost (~400/month in a stunningly attractive setting) but with one shortcoming: electrical service will probably not be available. This will most likely be a relatively short-term accommodation, probably around two years and will involve a pretty rudimentary lifestyle. We (my wife and I) will just be hanging out waiting for the crash of the housing market to bottom out, at which point we will purchase something more conventional. The housing crash has already begun. The condominium that she sold in July has already dropped in value by about $60K)

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The reason I ask is that the battery part of an off the grid install is a chunk of change. If you stay grid connected you can use the grid as a battery selling it your excess energy and buying it back when you need it. Read up on net metering. Of course when the grid goes down so do you.


If I can connect to the grid, this whole discussion will be academic. It does not make any sense fiscally to think about spending $20K on a solar system if there is power available and I am only going to be there a couple of years, although with the California rebate, the federal income tax credit, and the likelihood of being able to recoup about $10K of the expense on resale it is a bit more feasible than would appear at first glance, and even without taking that into consideration the fact that my rent will be only $400/month gives me about a $1500 a month "cushion" to play with.

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You also just mention solar power, is there a reason for leaving wind and hydro out?


Yes. No water, no wind, regulations would not allow a tower. Other than that, yeah, wind and hydro sound great.

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Below are some random though on what I'd do, if I could.
#Reduce. Something like every dollar spent on reducing consumption will save you nine dollar on PV power. However still try to live a normal life.


Indeed, I have given considerable thought to this. Presently, living in Alaska, I am using about 600 KWH/month. I am convinced that, with some significant up-front expenditures, I can cut this in half. Example: no more 27" CRT television set. A 19" LCD flat screen would save a lot. Ditto my computer monitor. My Alaskan heating system has six circulation pumps running 24/7, while seventh pump circulates the water loop connecting me to the main to keep it from freezing and my furnace uses a lot of electricity, as do my washer, dryer, and electric stove. None of those will exist in California. My large side-by-side refrigerator/freezer is about 15 years old. I am not conservation-conscious in my electrical usage. If I cut my usage down to 10 KWH/day, figure 6 hours per day of intense sunlight (a conservative estimate where I will be) I need about 1700 watts of PV, or about a 10-panel setup, plus batteries, inverter, hardware, wiring, and installation. About $22K, I think.

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#A large amount of our energy cost are heating.


Not in this case. Temperate climate (people there think that temperatures in the 50's are cold, even in winter), not a lot of house to heat (probably about 600 square feet) and my heating and cooking will be done by propane. Hot water requirements will be minimal (on the order of 5 gallons per week) and will be supplied by a propane-fired on-demand system. To forestall inevitable questions, I cannot go into detail (Detail? Hell, I can't even hint) about the location and nature of these living arrangements.

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Much as I'd like a micro-hydro the odds of having a stream in your backyard are slight.


No they're not. Non-existant is the proper term.

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#For electricity I'd start with a windmill. Probably the most important thing to consider here is the tower, the taller the better


I might be allowed to build a windmill tower, as long as I kept it under, oh, about four feet tall. I'm afraid wind power is out of the question.

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your PVs will on average only produce power 4 hours a day.


Perhaps I am looking through rose-colored glasses, but this location should do better than that. South-facing hillside, rarely overcast, my experience there in late October showed sunlight intense enough to require sunscreen from about 9am until about 5pm.

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# It seems that even in a high tech country like the US you can loose power for quite some time


Surprisingly, this is not a concern to me. If there were no electricity for two days, my TiVo would miss a few programs, and that would be about the worst of it.

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Hope some of this is of some help,


Big help! Not a lot of things I didn't know, but you have clarified and focussed my thought processes considerably. Many thanks!

tanstaafl.
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"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"