Residential Solar

We have one Tesla Powerwall. At ~ around 12kWH it will cover the house needs for a short period. It doesn’t really/is not really intended to isolate you from the grid as a regular occurrence when the grid is up, it’s mostly used as a backup when the grid is down but it will recharge from the array when the grid is down. We would also have to be very careful about using the Powerwall to try to charge the EVs.

I almost pulled the trigger on an F150 Lightning, which can be used to power your house if the grid goes down, but to set that up as an automatic power backup like you see in the TV commercials is CRAZY expensive. This will be a standard feature on future EVs I am sure. Decided to pass on the F150Lightning for now.

 

It's a new way of doing things so naturally you want to get the best of it. The better you understand the system, the better you can use it to your advantage.

 

I do not, and the cost of a battery back up for 3-4 days is very high at this point. My reasons for going solar had nothing to do with being off-grid and I rarely lose power - the longest time being for 4 hours.

IMO, use of alternative energy is not an all-or-nothing proposition. As I have some gas powered tools and appliances, I also have some electric tools and appliances.

 

First year with my panels but I’m really pleased with their production so far this month. You can really tell the higher sun angle and more daylight is having a positive impact.

 

I am so slow on the uptake sometimes. I just realized, now that my panels are producing an overage, I need to adjust my lifestyle. I'm used to doing my laundry in the early morning (4:30 am or so) and the clothes dryer is one of my biggest energy hogs. So now I'm going to have to consciously wait until late morning so I can use the energy produced instead of pulling from the grid and then later replacing.

Although most of the charges on my electric bill are tied to the usage minus what I send out to the lines, some charges on my electric bill are tied to the amount I pulled (not crediting back what I returned). The more I use directly from my panels, the less $$ I send to the utility for "stranded recovery costs" and "system benefit charges". It's not a break-the-bank total (I would have saved about $2.50 last month and that assumes I pull NO electricity between sun up and sun down). But at the same time it is a small change I can make since I WFH, and would stay more in line for some of the reasons I installed solar in the first place.

 

That would be why you have been tracking your usage out of curiosity. Now you can use the system to its full potential especially if you can see when you use more electricity at certain times.

I know billb3 posted a clothesline picture. That is fine if you don't have high humidity. We hang clothes in the basement and use a dehumidifier. I don't know if it uses less electricity but we don't get static build up on the clothes. Elastics last longer too. You have to have room to do it though.

 

I've used clotheslines for over 30 years - in fact, never owned a clothes dryer until I moved into this place (house warming gift from my folks). I don't know how many loads I've had to re-wash because they didn't dry before becoming musty - especially bath towels. It's even worse at this place since I'm in a valley and don't get as many good breezes that were available when I lived at the side of a ridge. And for work clothes, I used to iron out the wrinkles - which I don't have to do with the dryer.

Also use an indoor clothes hanger, but with little free floor space, that can be challenging if I'm hanging more than a couple of items. During summer, with an indoor humidity of 50-80%, that doesn't work so well either. This time of year, with the pellet stove going, I use the hanger more often (every day to dry my bath towels and washcloth after my shower).

I do two loads of laundry per week, so I'm pretty sure that usage won't break the grid

 

As a kid I always thought it was weird when I seen the Amish hanging their clothes out to dry in winter...but back then I didn't know anything about the dry air when its cold though...

 

My grandparents always hung laundry out in the winter. Freeze dried.

 

Same harder to fold when frozen

 

Got to thaw them out and then they are wet again, right?

 

Sheets aprons shirts could be folded, light fabric had a feel almost like cold new denim, folded placed on table in stove room to finish drying.

I still hand sheets outside in spring as they smell better

 

Actually no. A few times I have been able to hang clothes in January outside and they froze. It had to be a clear day and not snowing. By the end of the day, they weren't frozen stiff and were almost dry. Not completely so I finished them off in the dryer but oh that fresh smell was great.

 

But dried. Sometimes stiff as a board, but a good hard shake usually fixes that. Actually it's the wicked humid windless days of Summer that can be tough.

Some people around the Med still are in the habit of airing out their bedsheets every day that their clothes line is not in use . So there are always some kind of laundry hanging out of apartment windows or on their veranda.

 

Yes we use the clothesline about 9 months of the year. As long as it’s not raining out.

 

EXACTLY! Thank you for providing efficacy to renewable energy.

Why not take FULL advantage of the abundance of energy that nature provides to the earth.

 

Exactly! Like fossil fuels!

You just may be on to something there!

 

In case you haven’t noticed, “we” are taking advantage of fossil fuel.

 

And in case you haven't noticed, "we" are no longer allowed to take full advantage of fossil fuel.