Define "off grid".

Just watched a program about the Neanderthals on PBS (Nova). Rare for a person of European descent not to show Neanderthal genes. Oddly enough, not the same sequences.

 

Passionate? Hardly. Basically offering you an opportunity to use your own words to answer the questions rather than trying to interpret your words. Using the Socratic Method avoids speculation on your motives and motivations.

And, while my tribe is doing fine, we have not gone incognito, and won't. We don't need no steenking smoke signals. You hear of hollarin?

 

Super nice, my neighbor has a similar unit, different brand, connected to three 100 watt solar panels, LOVES IT. You can also do the same thing for less by purchasing your own components and it's a blast to build if your into such a hobby!

Why thank you for that opportunity.
I'm glad you're here and an independent sort, (I assume), like moi.
Don't be a stranger, feel free to say hello or yell at me anytime I ain't sugar!
PS: Please if you will define, "Socratic", (in your own words).

As a cro-mag wanna be and regular simian who is genuinely curious about my tree swinging, recent, ancestry, I also saw the Nova program regarding Neanderthal gene sequencing. Maybe there's hope for me yet?!

 

My off grid work today :




Western Read Cedar

Fence materials for neighbour

Cant ready for milling in 4X4

Fir cants and 2X6 cut today .
That size is MAX for the mill is 28"
Alaska Mill on the larger ones in the first Pix, then on to the mill if less than 28 "
All the bark and first cuts are firewood ..
Sloth

 

WOW that's an impressive wood processing facility! Take a lot of energy, courage, care, smarts and money to own and operate such equipment! Now, is that wood processing facility designed, manufactured and delivered from a non grid source? Of course not! There is no such thing as off grid except maybe for people that live in the jungle and wear banana leaves!

 

"Off grid" can mean different things to different people.

For example, I see this as 'off grid'






it is an intresting topic to see how people view the world...

 

Some towns won't let you go "off grid"
One lady tried in Florida and they made her hook up, not that she used it but she still had to pay.
If there is sewer available you will pay because there is access, they will add it to your tax bill.
The same with all other services.
Best option, be enough out side town you are not easily connected.

 

We're MMG/HSS Mixed Minimal Griders with Home Stead Slant......

Connected to the grid, as we had no other option when we started the place in 1982....although they did have to build a line up to our end-of-the-road location as it truly had been 'off grid' before. Fortunately at that time all we had to do was agree to buy power for 3 years to cover the cost of bringing it in. Today, whole different story.....they would charge many many thousands of bucks !

About 12yrs ago, I began installing solar, beginning with a small 2kw, grid tied/battery backup system, because the local power company offered (thru the regional power producer, TVA) a nice infeed incentive for small solar installs, and I wanted backup power ability (hence the battery backup part). With the experience of what that did to our electrical bill, and the price of solar equipment continuing to fall (those first panels were $4/watt !! Last ones I bought were 60 cents/watt), I added on 4 more times and now we have a 16kw (panel total) system.

10kw of it is grid tied only, to reduce our power bill. The other 6kw is off grid only. We use it in off grid mode thru a transfer switch and sub panel to run part of our household...mainly the many freezers we have for food storage. We only run this on sunny days so as to not cycle the batteries (AGM) too much or too deeply. We made this change in the way we use our system when the initial 10yr contract with the power company ran out in 2018. They no longer pay any infeed amount, only credit you 1:1 with production/bill.....so I have figured it's more to our advantage to do some 'behind the meter' production in combination with 'on the meter' production to produce a net zero bill.

My NEXT expansion will be a new 12kw Sol-Ark inverter system to replace my original 5kw Outback setup and probably LiOn batteries to replace my now aging AGM setup. My goal is to get to the point of not needing the grid at all for 80-90% of our use. I have a woodworking shop with multiple 3-5hp motors on equipment that I use from time to time and to run it off grid would either require WAY more that I'm willing to ever shell out for solar, or invest in a 15-20kw generator to fire up while running the shop.....another fairly large outlay of cash.....so for that, being able to use the grid is a huge economic advantage to me.

 

Im about the same , 3 different systemms on my ranch .
2 outback cabins if the weather turns in the mountains and you need cover