Anyone working toward Off Grid

earloflondon · 05-20-16, 07:49 AM

Hey all, have been reading this thread all week with great interest but just now actually have a few free minutes to jump in! There are of course MANY considerations when thinking about going off-grid. As many have said here already, and I would agree, the grid is probably the cheapest form of back-up battery - BUT there are many caveats with that statement.

Accessibility: if you can't connect to it - you can't use it. Although currently connected to the grid for USEAGE, I cannot connect to PROVIDE. I will spare the political crap that the originator of this thread is all to aware of here in Ontario Canada.....suffice it to say that while monster turbines are going up all around us, our utility has no way to be able to handle the massive spike in power output from a few 10kw arrays....(blood pressure rising)

Cost: As costs for electricity rise - off-grid becomes more and more cost effective. As randen stated in his original post - we are presently at around $.26-.28/kwh. With my small diesel tractor and the PTO mounted generator I can produce power for $.32/kwh so we aren't that far apart on cost for my most costly form of production.

Location: Like the old real estate adage says "location,location,location" If you live downtown in a major city - it is going to be more difficult although as others have pointed out - not impossible to cut the cord. For me, I have 100 acres so I can put up as many panels as I need. If you able to supplement with wind and/or hydro - awesome! You will burn less or no fuel in the winter to run a generator. 20 acres of my property is woodlot, so my heat is also taken care of. In 20 years I've yet to have to cut a live tree - cleaning up everything that dies or falls over has heated our home...and my wife likes it warm.

Lifestyle: This is probably the hardest one to judge. As others have said the needs of a 4500 sq.ft. house differ greatly from a 1700 sq.ft. house. Again in my situation I have planned my system so that we continue to live as we do now....otherwise I think I might find myself single again.... Due to our "time of day" rates for electricity we have all basically had to become vampires in order to do everything we need to do as it is 3X more expensive during the day. Using power during the day will be a welcome return to "normalcy" for us once we cut the cord.

Resourcefulness: If you can design, build and maintain your system it is obviously going to be more economically feasible. Many in this thread alone have given valuable tips for cutting electricity needs. I ran 240v Hobbs meters on my electric hot water tank elements for a year. This showed me that hot water was 30% of my electrical use. I invested in an evacuated tube solar water heater with the 50 gal tank mounted on top. I have a small circulating pump hooked to a 10w panel that runs water between the HWT inside and the solar unit when the panel gets sun. By 4PM I have 90 gallons (40 inside 50 out) of 130 degree water. For the past 5 years I shut my HWT off at the panel from May-Sept. and I live above the 42nd parallel. I also have an external heat pump to add to the HWT for winter use (summer project!) which should take care of my hot water needs throughout the winter at substantially less cost.

I appreciate all of your feedback - this truly is a great site and everyone is most helpful!

Tim

05-20-16, 07:49 AM	#11
earloflondon Lurking Renovator Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: ontario, canada Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	Location...location.....location... Hey all, have been reading this thread all week with great interest but just now actually have a few free minutes to jump in! There are of course MANY considerations when thinking about going off-grid. As many have said here already, and I would agree, the grid is probably the cheapest form of back-up battery - BUT there are many caveats with that statement. Accessibility: if you can't connect to it - you can't use it. Although currently connected to the grid for USEAGE, I cannot connect to PROVIDE. I will spare the political crap that the originator of this thread is all to aware of here in Ontario Canada.....suffice it to say that while monster turbines are going up all around us, our utility has no way to be able to handle the massive spike in power output from a few 10kw arrays....(blood pressure rising) Cost: As costs for electricity rise - off-grid becomes more and more cost effective. As randen stated in his original post - we are presently at around $.26-.28/kwh. With my small diesel tractor and the PTO mounted generator I can produce power for $.32/kwh so we aren't that far apart on cost for my most costly form of production. Location: Like the old real estate adage says "location,location,location" If you live downtown in a major city - it is going to be more difficult although as others have pointed out - not impossible to cut the cord. For me, I have 100 acres so I can put up as many panels as I need. If you able to supplement with wind and/or hydro - awesome! You will burn less or no fuel in the winter to run a generator. 20 acres of my property is woodlot, so my heat is also taken care of. In 20 years I've yet to have to cut a live tree - cleaning up everything that dies or falls over has heated our home...and my wife likes it warm. Lifestyle: This is probably the hardest one to judge. As others have said the needs of a 4500 sq.ft. house differ greatly from a 1700 sq.ft. house. Again in my situation I have planned my system so that we continue to live as we do now....otherwise I think I might find myself single again.... Due to our "time of day" rates for electricity we have all basically had to become vampires in order to do everything we need to do as it is 3X more expensive during the day. Using power during the day will be a welcome return to "normalcy" for us once we cut the cord. Resourcefulness: If you can design, build and maintain your system it is obviously going to be more economically feasible. Many in this thread alone have given valuable tips for cutting electricity needs. I ran 240v Hobbs meters on my electric hot water tank elements for a year. This showed me that hot water was 30% of my electrical use. I invested in an evacuated tube solar water heater with the 50 gal tank mounted on top. I have a small circulating pump hooked to a 10w panel that runs water between the HWT inside and the solar unit when the panel gets sun. By 4PM I have 90 gallons (40 inside 50 out) of 130 degree water. For the past 5 years I shut my HWT off at the panel from May-Sept. and I live above the 42nd parallel. I also have an external heat pump to add to the HWT for winter use (summer project!) which should take care of my hot water needs throughout the winter at substantially less cost. I appreciate all of your feedback - this truly is a great site and everyone is most helpful! Tim