In this new forum. So I'm a virgin. Anyone tried solar power yet? Just curious about cost vs benefit.
Also geothermal... have seen it done on tv but never fer real....anyone run water pipes underground for cooling etc?
There are a couple of threads on this. To have enough power to be independent was going to cost me about 55k. After rebates and government money about 40k. Had about a 9 year break even point. We have an estimated 12 years left on our roof. That crap has to come down to put on a new roof the. You have to pay to put it back up. And the panels only have a 20 year life expectancy. Not worth it in my opinion.
Last edited by reeltight; 01-18-2016 at 07:47 PM.
Waterwheel generator would be better if you have the creek on your property.
My Sister and them have everything 120 in their house running on Solar Power. Four Panels on a pole in the yard. Turn enough power to run it all, but need a more expensive inverter, I'm told. Knocked their City of Camden power bill back to $20/month on the electric side. I think he has under $5k invested in the panels, golf cart batteries, and inverter.
It's pretty cool.
The neighbor across from the office just installed a Geo Thermal system in his house last year. 9 wells and a heck of a mess! I'd hate to know the bill on that one.
I've sold three houses that all belonged to engineers with those systems in them. They definitely save energy and last, but are not inexpensive to replace.
I met with a company called Veridian last week about solar. They have a program where they take your average power cost, estimate the savings with going solar, give you a set rate and install the panels for free
Basically they will take my power bill which averages 400 a month, with solar it would be 150, they install the pannels for free, they own the tax credits, and set me up with a monthly power cost of 250
That doesn't sound right. How much do the panels cost you? So you would have a $250/month savings + a $100 month panel payment = $150 net savings a month. Buy the time you pay those panels off they will be dead or have very little life left in them. Sounds about like leasing a car to me. Don't forget about your roofs age. Those panels have to come off. I'd make sure at least one take down and reinstall is part of the deal.
Last edited by reeltight; 01-19-2016 at 08:14 AM.
I am going to set my shop up on solar soon. Just to get my feet wet before buying a bigger system. I plan on using the panels from HF.
Last edited by crackshot; 01-19-2016 at 08:44 AM.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)
Not a practical application for daily living, but my hunting camp is completely off-grid.
It has a pole barn and shipping container with power and three mobile homes. One of the mobile homes is a cookhouse with living and dining area (TV, DVD, mini-fridge, etc.), one has the bathroom and three bedrooms, one has everything (kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom) where my wife and I stay.
All lights are LED (this is key I think, little draw on power) and I also run a 220v well.
I use two solar panels, a charge controller ($50 from Amazon), an inverter (most expensive thing), and four mac daddy big ass batteries for solar (400 amp hours). I found golf cart batteries didn't do the trick.
In the fall/winter months with this set up, I can run everything I need and I've never run out of juice, even after four days. The panels charge even on overcast days, just not as much. I use kerosene heaters. The stove and hot water heater are LP as well.
In the summer months I run on solar until the batteries are drained from running three AC window units and the rest of the camp. When the batteries are drained I hook up a portable 10kW LP generator with a manual transfer switch and can turn on everything in the camp. It is fed from a 200 gallon (I think) LP tank that costs me $400 to fill and has lasted so far for about five months.
My goal is to double the size of my solar set up, but haven't gotten around to it yet given that I'm not there more than a few days at a time. but I don't like thinking about what power I can and can't use at any one time.
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