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I'm currently purchasing a home that is wired for a generator. I'm so psyched about this. It has a separate control panel for the generator. I'm thinking a gas/solar hybrid would be the way to go?
The property is on septic and uses a well. I'd like to eventually get it set up so that we could function independently.
What is the voltage of the well pump? Most are 220....but you need to know what it is.
I'd go with a gas model made by Honda. They are quiet and super-reliable. Can be converted to run off propane, if you decide to go that route. We have 3 of them, but we are not grid-connected.
As for sizing (watts of the generator), go to HD and get a $10 Kill-A-Watt device, and plug in to read the draw of only those appliances/lights that you'd really need in an emergency/power out scenario. You don't need anything bigger than that -- don't try to run the entire household as per usual with it, or it will cost too much. You need to conserve while on generator power.
As for "solar", that will not power a generator. Advertisers like you to think it will. Caveat emptor.
Skip the solar (at least for now) and get a simple gas unit.
Do you have propane or natural gas at the house for the furnace and such? Where are you (a State is close enough) so we know your weather. If you're in a northern climate and your only heat source is electric, your generator needs are a lot different than if you have gas or live in a mild climate.
Does your septic have a pump that also needs considered in your electric usage?
Thanks for your responses. It's given such great information. I'm in New England and the house has oil heat. I don't think there's any chance of ever getting gas as its way out there and sits on 6 acres up a private drive. It has a wood stove and two fireplaces. I assume the septic has a pump, but I could be wrong. I'm just learning about that now. I was also planning on getting solar for the house to help offset costs to some degree. There are skylights throughout the house as well.
I would've bought into the whole hybrid thing if not for this thread. Do you think seller will get better in the future?
I would've bought into the whole hybrid thing if not for this thread. Do you think seller will get better in the future?
There is nothing wrong with solar; we have a solar (with batteries) set up, as there is no grid available in our area, that would be economic to bring to the property. (We are in northern Maine).
But be aware that a solar array and a battery bank are major investments. They really have nothing to do with generators...except you may need 1 or 2 of them to power laundry machines, air conditioners, etc. It's very expensive to do those things with solar power.
I used to be confused by the term "hybrid" in regards to generators. When I looked into the matter, I discovered a whole group of advertisers trying to get people to buy something called a "solar generator". This is a scam. No generator runs on solar. They are just engines that run on fuel -- gas, diesel, or propane.
Many people are in the dark about the parts of the system -- solar panels, wind turbines, battery banks, grid-tied, and generators. I strongly urge you, before you spend a cent, to research this thoroughly and know exactly what you are buying and what it will do for you. There are many Youtube videos with excellent advice and explanations. Look up Engineer775 for especially good ideas and explanations.
... I'm currently purchasing a home that is wired for a generator. I'm so psyched about this. It has a separate control panel for the generator.
A 'control panel'?
Hold on. I suspect that what you have is a junction panel, maybe a bus-transfer switch? Like a two-position switch that allows you to select from grid power to aux power.
Quote:
... I'm thinking a gas/solar hybrid would be the way to go
I am on solar power. All homes in my town tend to have a generator. A few homes [maybe 3?] have solar power and a generator.
Is that what you mean when you say 'Gas/solar hybrid'?
I am not sure if I understand exactly how you wish to hybrid gas to solar.
Thanks for your responses. It's given such great information. I'm in New England and the house has oil heat. I don't think there's any chance of ever getting gas as its way out there and sits on 6 acres up a private drive. It has a wood stove and two fireplaces. I assume the septic has a pump, but I could be wrong. I'm just learning about that now. I was also planning on getting solar for the house to help offset costs to some degree. There are skylights throughout the house as well.
I would've bought into the whole hybrid thing if not for this thread. Do you think seller will get better in the future?
If you have oil heat, you can generally run the fuel oil in a diesel generator for power. Depending on where you are there may or may be law that prevent this on tier 3 and 4 engines so just get an older generator.
What works real good for this are older diesel constant voltage welders for mig welding. they usually have both a dc generator and an A/C generator built in so you can charge 12 or 24 volt battery banks without a problem. Then yu have 120/240 power for backup also or running large tools. You use the welder to charge the batteries and then inverters for power inside the house. Most people will also have a large electric water heater or 2 and use the generator power while running to preheat water going to their main hot water heater.
You can use Solar power to split water and create Hydrogen for use in either diesel or gas engines.
Ive been doing this since the 1970's and use a Nickle Metal Hydride as a storage medium instead of tanks. You can use tanks but they do leak hydrogen right thru the walls. Ive been collecting Palladium for years now and am going to switch to a Palladium Hydride storage instead.
Thanks for your responses. It's given such great information. I'm in New England and the house has oil heat. I don't think there's any chance of ever getting gas as its way out there and sits on 6 acres up a private drive. It has a wood stove and two fireplaces. I assume the septic has a pump, but I could be wrong. I'm just learning about that now. I was also planning on getting solar for the house to help offset costs to some degree. There are skylights throughout the house as well.
I would've bought into the whole hybrid thing if not for this thread. Do you think seller will get better in the future?
My town has no residential gas either. I heat with wood. We get a part of our heat from passive solar, this year we will be installing an active solar-thermal system. That should take over the majority of our heating needs.
My septic system has a pump, because our leech field is uphill from the septic tank, the effluent must be pumped up to the leechfield. If you leechfield lies below the septic tank than it might not require a pump.
We are very happy with our solar-power setup. We have grid power available, so on cloudy days we can use grid power [on days when the grid is up].
Our 'E-panel' has inputs for 'aux' sources of power. We currently have it wired to view grid power as an 'aux' source. One of our neighbors uses solar and wind power in their e-panel. Another neighbor uses solar, wind and a diesel generator [a big generator on a trailer, the type that welders use].
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