Going Off Grid in East Tennessee; The Story and Chat Thread (conversion, year)

[NJ_Jim]

Lisa, Mike & Princess Niki.
So Saturday night( feb 9th, 2013 ) luckily, I found this blog while looking around the Knoxville blog(s). I have been reading it since. I was so enthralled I read it every free moment I had. Now I have come to present day, now I will be like the masses and will be waiting on bated breath for the next post.



I did take a break, when I read about the cupboards/canned food, I went into the kitchen and emptied ours and removed all the out-dated cans also rearranged and cleaned.
My wife came home from work, and she sends you out a big “ THANK YOU”.

I have been reading some parts out loud to her and showing her all the photo's. Funny thing, I was so riveted to the story I didn't see my wife writing. Well it turned out to be hundreds of pages of a “ Honey-to-do-list “ Only joking, we both love to work together, much like you two). But, with us, I have an idea ( to improvise something ) she then comes up with her idea – in the end her ideas are mostly always correct.

Both of us, like the majority of the readers are so happy to have been through all the building and updates you all have kindly posted for us to read. Never once, I am sure, anyone conjure up the phrase “ Haste makes waste” you guys find a use for everything and Mikes perfection in his work, is a lesson most of us hopefully absorbed. I know I have.

We organically garden, now we are planing so many projects this spring ( because of you ) we are grateful and will keep your blog in our thoughts, as an energy booster.

It was amazing, just an hour after I finished reading your blog, our dog barked, and the mailman arrived with the 2013 Tennessee Official Vacation Guide I ordered last week. WOW, what timing.

Before I got married ( 2011 ), I wanted to retire in Arizona, but my wife is more of the Mountain type and hates the heat, so Tenn it is. We are planing to come down this spring to look around.



You both had ideas - as we all read - together you made it a Dream come true.



Thank you for letting all of us share in your daily joy and struggles.

Sincerely,

Judy & Jim

[gentlearts]

Lisa, will you and Mike still keep in touch with us regular posters after you become TV Stars?

[Jaxson]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

Lisa, will you and Mike still keep in touch with us regular posters after you become TV Stars?

Lisa will you let us all be their groupies.

[ylisa7]

Hello everyone. I am so sorry I haven't written back for awhile. I have been stretched kind of thin and doing many different things. I just wanted to catch up

PapPappy-Niki has a herniated disc and I have to keep her from jumping, climbing or running. She is better but needs her rest Thanks for asking.

Originally Posted by Glace

Quite beautiful! Almost makes me want to move to east Tennessee.

Thank you...we love it

NJ_Jim-Thank you so much for writing in. I ma glad you and your wife enjoyed our story so far It sounds like you might have a story of your own

Originally Posted by gentlearts

Lisa, will you and Mike still keep in touch with us regular posters after you become TV Stars?

LOL...why of course. Mike and I are always the same

Originally Posted by Jaxson

Lisa will you let us all be their groupies.

[LilyLady]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

Lisa, will you and Mike still keep in touch with us regular posters after you become TV Stars?

Originally Posted by Jaxson

Lisa will you let us all be their groupies.

I hope they do - on both counts...

[NJ_Jim]

YoungLisa, Mike and your posts/vision are so wonderful, It necessitates a second read. I just got to the point when you said:

"The bull has been getting into our yard the past 2 days so we have to add more wire on the fence. Here is Mr. Bull posing for me."

Warmth, sincere, Deliberate and enveloping are just some words to use, to express what we all were/are so lucky/privy to experience with you both.

I was curious, I just looked up the Solar panels you are using, have you upgraded? THe price has come down ( about 40%) - ( using your price/post in 2008 )

Or are you finding they are working, A-OK.

Again let me say, you have given so much and I do hope more like myself have learned so many idea's.

I also hope in the near future at the very least, it would be best to entertain the desire to go more 'Green' ie solar panels.

If I negated to say, Thank you to you and Mike, you have made our mundane daily lives full of dreams, that maybe one day we can attain our dreams like you both did.


THANK YOU.

[TN Tin Man]

This is a very useful link for calculating the sun time and date and photovoltaics for your zip code. Plots the sun based on your zip code between the solstices.

UO Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory

[NJ_Jim]

Tn Tin Man,

Great info. Ya know here in NJ, they put solar panels on all the telephone poles, It is mostly for a " Feel Good, Feeling" everyone knows, you need to have the panels turn, not only during the day, but for seasons. The studies out ( the panels on the poles ) are really only getting 20% of what they should. Ok, enough of that.

But for the homeowner, yes thanks for that info.


So, what did I Op-Ed?

Why bother put them on every pole? Why not on the Roof tops of the Schools/Police stations? That would make more sense, and two of the solar panels would be used to turn a screw system to attain the proper sun/to/panel ratio.

I was laughed at.

I Know why, they ( panels on poles ) were just to create a Job. Ah, what about this year? ( enough of politics )

Oh the school roof tops would do so much, better/easier cleaning, letting the children see the process.. ect, I could go on, but you know what???


Climate change is just the " Pet Rock", the DOT COM, of the 2010's.

Psst, don't.. Here where I sit just a scant 10,000 years ago we were covered with 1 mile of ice ( ice age ), did the SUV's back then warm it up so I can type?

* addition*

So, in the 1970's when I went to school my teachers scared me that we are entering ( and TIME mag ) an ice age, but they relized they can't make money, selling Parka's.

Ask yourself, if 85 % of Scientist say 'Global warming " Is true, what would they do, otherwize? I mean how would they make a living? Studing shrimp on a treadmill?

Global Warming is the new DOT COM.

Ok, go for it, but DON'T TAX ME TO DEATH, for your job.
Just saying.
Or disagree with me and Demand your Senator/Congressman ( woman ) to enforce the Carbon tax. What is another 10% out of our daily lives anyway.
Can you afford to pay for it?

[PapPappy]

Just wondering, are you still using the wind-generator? I remember that you found a different supplier, with a much simpler idea and system, since you weren't all that happy with the first system.
Has the solar and wind been sufficient for your needs through the Winter? I know you've got the generator as a back-up, did you use it more than just too "exercise" it?

Any animals yet (Niki isn't an animal, she's family!).....chickens or goats?

And to NJ-Jim...aren't those solar panels on the telephone poles for something specific to that pole? I doubt that they tie into the "grid"......and while they would be more effective following the Sun, I'm thinking that they set them to try and get as much of the solar as they can (facing South, or UP) without having to make changes....much the way a solar electric fence would be set up. I think there is a point where the extra cost for a mechanism would offset what the value of the power generated would be, and take decades for the system to pay for itself....and that assumes that the system would work properly all the time....a few service calls would screw that up in a second.
Just staying.....solar is great, but sometimes, simple is better too....maybe not as efficient, but effective all the same.

Lisa, have you forgotten how to post pictures?? You know we're dieing for some. :-)

[ylisa7]

Originally Posted by LilyLady

I hope they do - on both counts...

NJ_Jim-Ah...the solar panels. Let me recap Mike and I went with solar because Mike has never done it and he wanted a challenge....that is why we have so many changes to our system because no one has ver done what Mike has done. No matter what is said there really is no "right" book on what to do for true off grid. It would have also cost us more to bring underground electric to our house and we would be susceptible to power outages out of our control

We have learned a lot in the past 4 years. Our original system had 6 135 watt panels. Then we added 6 more. That was good for all summer....but not the winter. More up to date we added 12 more....but I won't go there since we are changing them this year. The price has gone down considerably and we bought bigger panels so we can have less panels. This year we are going to make a new system with the bigger panels. I don't want to confuse everyone by saying more

Originally Posted by TN Tin Man

This is a very useful link for calculating the sun time and date and photovoltaics for your zip code. Plots the sun based on your zip code between the solstices.

UO Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory

Thank you for the link.


BTW....according to some of the solar sites...we will be oversized when we change the system...but that is "only" during the summer. We wanted the extra panels for our system to get us through the long days of winter without using the generator. The pros never mention that...then again most don''t talk about real off grid

PapPappy-Yes we are using the wind generators and getting a little juice from them. Solar is still our main form for electricity.

No animals yet....still deciding about that.

Ha, ha...no I did not forget how to post pictures, lol. We have a lot of plans coming up and a lot of work to do....but there is snow on the ground and we are stuck inside I will be making lasagna today