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Old 09-16-2012, 05:22 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,461 posts, read 61,388,499 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jellybean50 View Post
... If i'm not able to move soon, i will be getting a generator for my house here also. I need at least something for my sump pump, and internet/TV!

I do have a well for my water, but we make do without it when we need to.
We are in the process of going off-grid now.
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Old 09-16-2012, 07:33 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by submariner View Post
we are in the process of going off-grid now.

how?
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Old 09-16-2012, 08:04 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,461 posts, read 61,388,499 times
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Solar.

We want a more reliable electrical source.
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Old 09-19-2012, 04:01 AM
 
Location: Ellsworth
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Power is out this morning. Bangor Hydro reports some 2200 out in Hancock County. Generator running till we are off to work. Pain in the neck but at least no snow to shovel!
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Old 09-19-2012, 07:23 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Submariner View Post
Solar.

We want a more reliable electrical source.
How much solar are you putting in to get off grid? And How big batteries to keep your service operable in the off hours? And how often will you have to replace the batteries?
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Old 09-19-2012, 07:47 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slyfox2 View Post
How much solar are you putting in to get off grid? And How big batteries to keep your service operable in the off hours? And how often will you have to replace the batteries?
4400watts of panels now, planning on doubling in in the future.

About 8,000 amp hours of battery bank.

Battery replacement is generally somewhere between 10 and 20 years, unless you deep cycle. If you deep cycle then figure on replacing batteries after every 100 cycles. If you cycle your batteries, you have a system design flaw.



The choices in Maine are:
1- municipal utilities, cheap but very unreliable;
2- generator and transfer box, reasonable priced to install then pay fuel-prices for every hour it runs;
3- solar/wind, pricey startup, most years they run with no expense at all, occasional refurbishment costs.
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Old 09-19-2012, 08:29 PM
 
3,925 posts, read 4,129,715 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Submariner View Post
4400watts of panels now, planning on doubling in in the future.

About 8,000 amp hours of battery bank.

Battery replacement is generally somewhere between 10 and 20 years, unless you deep cycle. If you deep cycle then figure on replacing batteries after every 100 cycles. If you cycle your batteries, you have a system design flaw.

What's the break even time on this compared to your electric bill?
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Old 09-19-2012, 08:38 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,461 posts, read 61,388,499 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slyfox2 View Post
What's the break even time on this compared to your electric bill?
Within the next week, maybe two, when the power goes out again.
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Old 09-20-2012, 06:39 AM
 
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Originally Posted by Submariner View Post
Within the next week, maybe two, when the power goes out again.
How much will the solar panel, the batteries, the sinewave inverters, the structures to hold up the panels, the power box, the associated wiring, and the labor, cost you for the startup on this project?

And you have to figure in whether the off grid is giving you enough electricity to run everything without waiting until the refrigerator goes off before you turn on the well pump.

That will be the cost which you have to recoup by paying your electric bill. For example, If your electric bill is $134 a month, this means that you are paying $1608 a year for electricity. If your system costs a total of $25,000 to put in then it would be 15.5 years before you break even. Remember of course that your batteries will die before 12 years and they will all have to be replaced, and on the other side that your electric bill can only go up.

So you might also look at what the pay back would be to stay on the grid, and put in a 6000 watt propane generator with an automatic startup 30 seconds after the power goes off. Total cost on that might be about $5000. Break even would be about 3 years, with minimum repairs to make.

Could you clarify these costs a bit? You must have done these cost analyses before you got into the transition.
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Old 09-20-2012, 07:05 AM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,461 posts, read 61,388,499 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slyfox2 View Post
How much will the solar panel, the batteries, the sinewave inverters, the structures to hold up the panels, the power box, the associated wiring, and the labor, cost you for the startup on this project?
Oh a good little bit.


Quote:
... You must have done these cost analyses before you got into the transition.
We did.
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