Growing off the grid

[tstick]

I just had a good friend of mine who installed solar panels on his roof. He runs a studio in his home…often has parties…entertains lots of people. he normally says his electricity bill is $500 per month (crazy!). He got the panels installed….rainy, cloudy day….trees all around…..HIS METER STARTED GOING IN REVERSE!!! That means that the city is paying HIM!

Of course, the obvious application is….well you don't need me to tell you!

Anyone using solar panels to run their electricity?

Thanks

 

[cat of curiosity]

if you can afford the 8 grand per panel install, it's a great thing to do. every roof should have them.

 

[steelheadguy]

if you can afford the 8 grand per panel install, it's a great thing to do. every roof should have them.

If you do it yourself., it doesn't cost 8 grand.

You can find panels at $1 per watt. Granted you will still need a lot of other equipment.... batteries, controllers

 

[Southerner]

I think itd be easier and a lot cheaper to just build a greenhouse.

 

[Steve581]

I worked with a guy that got a check from the power company each month instead of a bill. I intend on having a couple installed in the next couple years.

 

[LIBERTYCHICKEN]

I just had a good friend of mine who installed solar panels on his roof. He runs a studio in his home…often has parties…entertains lots of people. he normally says his electricity bill is $500 per month (crazy!). He got the panels installed….rainy, cloudy day….trees all around…..HIS METER STARTED GOING IN REVERSE!!! That means that the city is paying HIM!

Of course, the obvious application is….well you don't need me to tell you!





Anyone using solar panels to run their electricity?

Thanks

He will only get paid if he has a agrement with the power company , as well as the correct meter type (usually digital) , and enouth power circulates back into the system to cover to connection charge , and rember any power that he now uses will likely be charged at a much higher rate


I have a small system that I am slowly building up on , but since I am still conected into the system it costs me much more than it's puting back , but someday I will disconnect totaly and reap the benfits , hopefully

 

[Hydrotech364]

if you can afford the 8 grand per panel install, it's a great thing to do. every roof should have them.

You can do all of your own panel design and assembly and save a shitload of $$$$.Every day they get better though and as soon as I spot one I put a meter on it and check the voltz amps and watts.Some great ones out there.

 

[joe macclennan]

the goal to solar or any small alternative energy technology should be to produce roughly the same as you will use.

The power company will never pay you the same rate as they charge. So if you are receiving a check you have invested too much imo.

 

[tstick]

I don't understand that, though. If you're not paying any more electricity bills, then what difference does it make how much the power company pays you back on top of it?

My friend invested $20K for the panels/installation/etc. Yeah, it's a lot of money….but it's in a very desirable city (Seattle) and his house and property are probably valued in the very high 6 figures…maybe even 7 figures. So, was it worth his investment?

Thanks for responses, everyone! I wish the "like" button would get fixed!

 

[billy4479]

I Read about these are a real danger for fire fighters . because there no way to turn a solar panel off when the sun is shinning . its a danger to spray water on a burning building with live electricity . I bet in a few years house with solar panels might lose there fire insurance or home owners insurance all together .

 

[tstick]

Hmmm…I don't know about that…Could be, I suppose…but I'm not concerned about that, too much.

As far as the investment paying itself off. I did just a little quick math and it goes something like this:

He was paying $500 per month in electricity.

He invested $20K in the solar panel installation.

So, How many months will it take, at a savings of $500 per month, before the $20K is paid off? Answer: 40 months.

How many years is 40 months? Answer: 3.33 years.

In less than 4 years, his investment will pay for itself. Beyond that, it's a money-MAKER no matter how you look at it….check from the electric company or not….right?

 

[LIBERTYCHICKEN]

Hmmm…I don't know about that…Could be, I suppose…but I'm not concerned about that, too much.

As far as the investment paying itself off. I did just a little quick math and it goes something like this:

He was paying $500 per month in electricity.


He invested $20K in the solar panel installation.

So, How many months will it take, at a savings of $500 per month, before the $20K is paid off? Answer: 40 months.

How many years is 40 months? Answer: 3.33 years.

In less than 4 years, his investment will pay for itself. Beyond that, it's a money-MAKER no matter how you look at it….check from the electric company or not….right?

Everyone forgets the power input drops off after 1-3 years , and most must replace the pannels after around 10 years (many shady flyby night solar panel producers will not honor warantes), The inverters are known for breaking, The inverters that can power computers,TV's and modern electronics are expensive , BATTERYS are nessary to disconect from the grid And you need lots of batterys and they are not cheap and when constantly used dont last long

 

[TibetanBowl]

wtf is the point when you have the sun? how much more cost free can you get?? growing with solar is just tossing $$$ away unnecessarily.

 

[joe macclennan]

what??????

 

[tstick]

wtf is the point when you have the sun? how much more cost free can you get?? growing with solar is just tossing $$$ away unnecessarily.

Disagree.

Growing outdoors is fine, but there are other obstacles you have to deal with there, too. If you're talking about greenhouses, then you have to have heaters/coolers/fans/water source…gotta deal with potential thieves/animals….a lot less predictability for growing, imo. Free electricity sounds good to me. LED indoor setup and free electricity seems like a better way to get total control over the growing environment.

I suppose there are some shady (pun intended) companies, but they can't all be shady. There has to be some good old hippy-scientists out there making inverters that work and designing better panels….right?

 

[tstick]

Everyone forgets the power input drops off after 1-3 years , and most must replace the pannels after around 10 years (many shady flyby night solar panel producers will not honor warantes), The inverters are known for breaking, The inverters that can power computers,TV's and modern electronics are expensive , BATTERYS are nessary to disconect from the grid And you need lots of batterys and they are not cheap and when constantly used dont last long

Replacing the panels in 10 years seems doable if you are not incurring any electricity bills in all that time. Like I say…for my friend, his will pay itself off in 3.333 years. So, if he needs to replace the panels every 10 years, then he's good and then some!

Plus, I think technology will advance and there will be better panels and upgrades for older designs that will be better and last longer…more efficient, etc.

 

[jimmer6577]

LIKE the whole thread. I'm going to school to install and design pv and solar thermal systems. By this summer I plan on running my whole 2400 watt grow shed 100% solar. The cost will be around $4000 just for my shed the way I want it. 1 harvest return for free growing inside. This even covers the heating in winter between lights and a solar thermal radiant floor heat set-up.

 

[Yodaweed]

LIKE the whole thread. I'm going to school to install and design pv and solar thermal systems. By this summer I plan on running my whole 2400 watt grow shed 100% solar. The cost will be around $4000 just for my shed the way I want it. 1 harvest return for free growing inside. This even covers the heating in winter between lights and a solar thermal radiant floor heat set-up.

you better hope its not cloudy for a week then your grow is screwed

 

[jimmer6577]

you better hope its not cloudy for a week then your grow is screwed

I've got plenty of background on what I want to do and it's very feasible. I have plans and details all worked out. Murphy's Law was the first thing took into consideration. But what do you think houses do that are 100% solar, oh they live in the dark till ......If sized properly then all of this is figured in. Even on a cloudy day you will charge your batteries a little and the solar thermal part works in a snow storm from vacuums but I'm not here to convince or argue with anybody just made a statement.

 

[Nutes and Nugs]

LIKE the whole thread. I'm going to school to install and design pv and solar thermal systems. By this summer I plan on running my whole 2400 watt grow shed 100% solar. The cost will be around $4000 just for my shed the way I want it. 1 harvest return for free growing inside. This even covers the heating in winter between lights and a solar thermal radiant floor heat set-up.

Somewhere here in riu is a thread on solar power.
This guy was living in the mountains and was using a small car engine for a radiant floor set up as well as some electric.
That thread talked of Bedini motors, coal tar.
I'll be damned if I can find it.