EcoRenovator - View Single Post - ice storm, generators and lessons learned

jeff5may · 12-13-15, 03:53 PM

I did not realize how much infrastructure you have already installed on your property. It seems that everything you mentioned has has a quick and practical ROI. A couple hundred dollars a month savings every winter adds up quickly I would imagine. And the healthy cattle have to improve the yield and quality over the long term. The triple purpose of the water being pumped from the ground has to be beneficial to your bottom line also. Sounds like a well-laid plan to me.

I would definitely look into pushing some of your solar into a "critical needs" reserve that could allow you to run for a few hours for short-term outages. It could possibly run your well pump and product refrigeration at night, while the solar could recharge the reserve and power critical systems while the sun is out. For major events, the reserve could do its duty while you fired up the tractor, or when something ran out of gas in the wee hours of the night. If this sounds like a bad idea, just buy more panels with the reserve component money, then buy a generac with the savings in a year.

12-13-15, 03:53 PM	#9
jeff5may Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: elizabethtown, ky, USA Posts: 2,428 Thanks: 431 Thanked 619 Times in 517 Posts	I did not realize how much infrastructure you have already installed on your property. It seems that everything you mentioned has has a quick and practical ROI. A couple hundred dollars a month savings every winter adds up quickly I would imagine. And the healthy cattle have to improve the yield and quality over the long term. The triple purpose of the water being pumped from the ground has to be beneficial to your bottom line also. Sounds like a well-laid plan to me. I would definitely look into pushing some of your solar into a "critical needs" reserve that could allow you to run for a few hours for short-term outages. It could possibly run your well pump and product refrigeration at night, while the solar could recharge the reserve and power critical systems while the sun is out. For major events, the reserve could do its duty while you fired up the tractor, or when something ran out of gas in the wee hours of the night. If this sounds like a bad idea, just buy more panels with the reserve component money, then buy a generac with the savings in a year.