View Single Post
Old 08-11-17, 04:55 PM   #2
gasstingy
Journeyman EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Arab, AL
Posts: 491
Thanks: 109
Thanked 49 Times in 43 Posts
Default

I won't really address the last paragraph / question you proposed, but did want to make a comment or two. My wife and I live on 4.5+/- acres of land that was her inheritance, outside the city limits yet fairly close to town. People around here target practice, hunt squirrels, whatever.....so we are used to the sound of gunfire and fireworks that aren't so welcome in town.

That said, we built our house and outfitted it with gas/electric HVAC. The only other gas items installed are a 50 gallon water heater and a nonvented cast iron gas stove in the living room. Since we aren't in the most populated area, we aren't on top of the repair list when the power fails. Hot showers can be a serious luxury when your power is out.

After we installed 6.8 kW of solar, we had a home energy audit performed so we could determine the size of the new HVAC I wanted. It came up great and the auditor said that if I added 5" more attic insulation, I could go from a 3.5 ton gas/electric unit to a 2.0 ton unit. I immediately had 10" of insulation blown in. (Personal opinion: no such thing as too much insulation) Our new unit is all electric inverter SEER 19, the other # for heat efficiency was 10.x. I don't have that in front of me. So, do an audit first. I had 3 HVAC estimates before my audit. They wouldn't listen when I said my house wasn't a "rule of thumb" house and it's very efficient and shouldn't need a 3.5 ton unit, the old one I had short cycled. Two still said I did need a 3.5 ton unit and the third said I really needed a 4.0 ton unit. Glad they were free estimates. The estimates were worth exactly what I paid for them. $0.00

Our solar arrays are both ground mounted. We change tilt from summer to winter and back on the equinoxes and therefore we typically beat the PV Watts estimate for our location / array capacity. Easier to clean the dust and bird mess off of in the summer and easier to clear the snow off of in the winter. At the summer tilt angle, there is enough clearance to let the mower clippings go under them and not sling stuff against the PV modules.

Having a gas water heater and dryer are good things. They operate cheaper than their electric counterparts. Plus, having gas connected comes with a base charge whether you use it or not. So, your usage charges are minimal and you save far more offsetting your reduced electric bill.

I've owned rental property. It was a learning experience. Don't rent to any friend you want to keep, I promise you will not believe how people act when it comes time to pay the rent. I agree that not everyone is the same. But, when it goes sour, remember not to do it again.

I plan to add a Tesla Powerwall 2.0 as soon as I get some of my other bucket list done. Then, I'll put my entire 200a breaker box on a generator transfer switch and add another 3 - 4 kW of solar. I'll run off the added solar while I sell TVA off the originals, per our contract. When the contract is over, I'll reconsider what options I have.

Our new 2.0 ton HVAC is a Maytag HVAC unit, installed mid-2013. We are very happy with it and it is very reasonable to operate until it gets really cold. Below freezing or so, but in the worst of times, my whole house electric bill in the winter is less now than my natural gas bill was before.

19 acres is a lot of land. You'll either need animals to chew it down, a big honkin' mower, spend a LOT of time working it, or let some of it grow up. That is a lot of work.

Best of luck to you.
gasstingy is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to gasstingy For This Useful Post:
jeff5may (11-25-17)