I am with you Bob. As aggravating as it dealing with a utility company, and as attractive as it is to be free of them, it is rarely a good financial decision to drop use of an available grid. For as along as they can, utilities will be pricing there service to discourage us from going off grid.. THis will inevitably drop, but they will still be after some fee if they can get it. That grid connection is not just money but also support and influence.
Maybe if one is sitting on a big pile...but it still makes little financial sense. I would take exception with your knock on wood heat. A tree burned emits no more than a a tree decayed on the forest floor. On Mon, Dec 22, 2014 at 11:07 AM, Robert Bruninga via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > > So, I have my roof covered with solar panels. > > my utility, is threatening to at least triple monthly > > "basic connection fees" for solar "customers." > > So, 3 times $8/mo is $24/mo. Big deal... > > That is far-far (100 times ) cheaper than any home-energy storage system. > > Here is the lunacy of "going off-grid" when you already have it: > > EXAMPLE: I have 17kw of solar generating capacity at home. In Maryland, I > probably get about 60kWh on a good day. (for a net-ZERO annual electric > kWh bill) ... BUT!!! In the last 2 weeks we have had ONLY ONE sunny > day. (this is rare)... On overcast days, I maybe get 6 kWh. > > But my electric load (now during worst winter solstice) is over 120 kWh > per day (geothermal heatpump). > > If I was off grid, I'd need at least SIX TESLA equivalent batteries to be > able to continue living at the same life style, and then, in this > particular weather pattern, we would have run out of heat after 3 days and > been cold fore more than a week. (they are forcasting 3 more days of > clouds)... > > But with grid tie, NO PROBLEM. I stored up over 4 months of energy kWh in > the grid, which should carry me though the winter to break even at zero by > the spring. > > Even if they were not Tesla, but just Lead Acid batteries, and I wanted > the same 5 day energy storage, I'd need 600 golf cart batteries, at $100 > each or about $60,000 investment in batteries AND I would need to maintain > them FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE and replace them every few years. > Lets say somehow they last 5 years, That is $12k per year or $1000 per > month. > > All of a sudden, the $8 per month compared to $1000 amortized battery > cost looks really great indeed. (and zero maintenance for grid tie). > > But, HERE IS THE THING EVERYONE OVERLOOKS: > > 1) Since you have to oversize your battery capacity to handle cloudy days, > then BY DEFINITION, on every additional SUNNY day in a row, then your > batteries are FULL and cannot accept any more charge. Thus you are > WASTING almost all of your solar panel investment on GOOD SUNNY DAYS in a > row!!! (and most every summer day). > > 2) Even if you have say 5 days storage, that is miniscule compared to 365 > days storage you get with the grid! In other words, you have no place to > store the TWO-TIMES additional PV electricity you generate in the summer > for when you need it most, in the winter. What a loss! > > Talk to anyone off-grid. They live a miserable life in the winter, barely > scraping by, and then have excess solar power in the summer that they > cannot even find ways to throw away because their batteries cannot take > the extra. > > In Summary, if you have your own storage, and do NOT USE 100% of your > solar capacity EVERY DAY, then you are throwing away your solar investment > every afternoon after the batteries approach full. > > See http://aprs.org/off-grid-NOT.html > > The beauty of GRID-TIE is the UNLIMITED storage capacity, the lack of > maintenance, and the ability to store up summer excesss for use in the > winter when you need it. > > Sure, you can burn oil, gas, propane, or wood for heat and drastically > reduce your electric heating need, but then what about our goal of > EMISSIONS FREE living? > > Bob, WB4aPR > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA ( > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > -- Put this question to yourself: should I use everyone else to attain happiness, or should I help others gain happiness? *Dalai Lama * Tell me what it is you plan to do With your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver, "The summer day." To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html> A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. *Warren Buffet* Michael E. Ross (919) 550-2430 Land (919) 576-0824 <https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones> Google Phone (919) 631-1451 Cell (919) 513-0418 Desk [email protected] <[email protected]> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20141222/58daa2ac/attachment.htm> _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
