What are you doing to reduce your dependencies on the grid?

Just got my inverter 5000 watt, regulator and batteries. Need to put together about 24 panels and will save about 200 a month. Considering solar water heating, not PV but radiant.

 

Total cost, about 20,000 bucks.....but after Federal tax credit, about 14,000.

I figure I have about 600 each in the trackers.

It does about 350 kw/hrs/month....approximately 1/3 of our total electric use. ( I have the house and shop on the same meter ). But by selling back, TVA pays little over twice the rate we buy at, so, moneywise, it takes care of most of the bill. Last 6 months, bills have averaged 16 bucks/mo.

Current system is shade over 3kw in size ( 18 panels x 175w per panel ).

My plans are to expand the system in the spring with another array of 10 x 245w panels on another tracker ( dual axis this time ), which will bring the system to about 5.5kw. At that point, they will be paying us about 75/mo on average.

That will be about a 8-9 grand addition, putting my total in the system slightly under 30,000 bucks......of which Uncle Sam paid 1/3 thru tax credits......remember, you have until 2016 for your Uncle to pay 1/3.

 

On the grid sell systems, here in Az. there is yet another rebate from the State Goobermint . Not sure how much it is , but from what I hear it is quite nice. You may want to look into if your state has a rebate also.

 

one of the ideas i have is to have three diff sets of solar panels system for three diff areas of the home for couple of ideas i have been bounceing around in my head now for awhile

1-tank home battery bank rechargeing them as need along with a wind turbine to keep them charge up as need

2-as part of liveing inside the tank home i bought a Engel mt80 large 12.volt powered freezer to keep foods frozen and use as they are need to be taken out and cooked as need along with two large amp hour battery set up should be able to keep it the whole thing running on a separate system from the tank home ..


3-sale back panel system that would sell back enegry to the local power company and this panel would be a six large wattage panel system tried into the grid and it the system that if the local electric company could not pay and i could turn it around and hook it into the rest of the chargeing system to help the system recharge the battery bank or add a small battie bank as a chargeing station for a small electric vehicle set up for running around in the area for store runs into town and back ..

the electric vehicle in at night and to be charged and the next day let the sun recharge the battery bank and have a vehicle that you can run around if need be ..

 

i got few dollars back from the state in rebate for my system and that money went back into preps for the homestead as part of the new power system i am planning to build when moveing out there full time

let put to this way Nadja the state bought the one system iam planning on setting up there ..

 

Thanks, I know it is avail. but don't know how much.

 

TnAndy>"Total cost, about 20,000 bucks.....but after Federal tax credit, about 14,000." Thank you very much but.... Good God.... $14k after tax credits for two trackers and what ever else goes with them which must be big bucks since the trackers were only about $600 each>>>? I'm doomed to be stuck on the grid indefinitely. I think I better focus on something solar for my well pump since potable water is paramount.

 

Well, the "whatever else" that goes with them are:

18--175w Solarworld panels, that were about 750 ea......that's 13,500 of the 20k

Two charge controllers, 600ea

Battery bank, about 1,500 with cables/etc.

Two Outback inverters, with Hub and Mate, about 5,000

Various disconnects, a DC panel, an AC panel, say, another 1500.

Bit over 20k.

AND that didn't count the greenhouse I built so I could house the electrical gear in one end, or moving my main service out there to be closer to connect the grid tie, or the new subpanel I put in for designated circuits for solar, or the manual transfer switch ( I think it was about 400 bucks if I remember right )....probably spent another 5-6k on those.

AND all that to produce 350 kw/hrs/month of electricity......about 35 bucks worth. ( we get about 75-80 because fo the way TVA pays for solar infeed ).

People have NO CLUE what a bargain grid power is, huh ?

 

when i tell people how much it cost to do a really good solar system set up for the house and they go it cost to much ..but if they would let me finish telling them how much they will get back in tax rebates or other things between the fed side and state side the money that they got back from those two people you can build up a nice little project seed money


the one of the projects that the state rebate paid for was my new six paneled solar system with tracker set up and wireing to sale power back to the local power company when i come back to the place to live full time and i will have the system up and running in no time to have money comeing into my pocket

if the local power company does not work with me then iam got another plan for the system to be used as a electric vehicle chargeing station ..

one of the project that we all put seed money into was a remote solar and wind project on a area up where we at for a water pumping station for the cattle to get water in a couple of diff areas and both of these system could pump water at one or the other well if need be as a way if something breaks down we could fix it and not have to worry about the cattle not getting water to them in the summer times ..

one of the national cell phone companys want to use the land there and the person who owned the land got a deal for us as a part of the deal for them to put the cell phone tower on the land and wanted to tap into the remote solar and wind power system that we had bult we get free cell phone service

but there where told this was a group project and the people in the group would have to say yes on it and the national company came back and said we will give you free unlimited phone and text messageing and couple other services for free if you let us tap into the solar system that is allready there ..

the only thing i pay for is my wireless boardband card useage which is about $70.oo a month total

 

as the guy who came out and made the deal said it was cheaper for them to give us the group of 8 with three teenagers in the group unlimited cell phone and text services and upgrade to a new phone once a year than it was to try and rent the land from us and run a power system out there to the place..

 

Out of my price bracket until the last kid is out of college which will be after the year 2016... little bugger chose a 5 year major. I'm afraid we're basically paupers until this youngest one is off our family social program. Grid power for sure is a bargain.... currently.... just as long as we have jobs to pay the bills and as long as the grid stays live.... which it doesn't always for us with frequent power outages and I don't think it will stay live indefinitely or if it does.... it'll be hobbled because of our burgeoning population growth. More people require more resources and I think we're going to see a day where we either can't afford electricity or it's rationed.... they do intend to start taxing us for our sins of CO² emissions. I do have a "hobby" greenhouse. I'm planning on shutting off all gas to it and using it as a glorified cold frame for starting fruit and vegetable seeds by spring of 2011. It was constructed when I was still working and before I started putting 2 and 2 together that it was time to start scaling back otherwise I would have gone with a basic hoop house. Stupid is as stupid does. For what it's worth, I can generate a sufficient quantity of heat to germinate edibles by strategically placing 6 compost units within my greenhouse. We may freeze our rear ends off staying here... but at least we'll have nice vegetable starts (smile).

 

I am payting 200 a month for grid power right now times 12 is 2400.00 per year times 10 years is 24,000.00 times 20 years is 48,000.00 I will pay to the electric company. I can afford a 20,000.00 dollar investment against that 48 grand. If I can remove myself from their clutches its freedom and that is worth the money. Kingfish

 

With just those numbers, it would be well worth the expense , but don't forget to add the increase in charges that will surely come in the next years as the price of oil etc goes up . And of course taxes like rain will also be coming harder.

 

with almost two year there now on the place and i figure out that i have a saved about $1200.oo dollars a year so far by not haveing it hooked up to the local grid ..so now i figure it going to be about be about the price of the cost of the saveing once i go and start liveing there full time the system should have saved me alot of the basic money that was put out for the system in the first time output that i did

 

Hi Hank. I just read on another forum that propane just went up a couple of days ago in Iowa $1.16 per gal from the month before. Mine went up last week about .45 and expect it to start going through the roof. Time to buy even more solar panels. Less gennie time

 

Peak oil and the weak dollar are ugly indicators for the price of propane.

 

the problem with some of the socalled basic items need are really getting to be downright scarey right now ..plus give the fact that fuel prices are going to go up here in the next few years iam looking less money spent on electric bill and more money spent on buying more solar panels system for power to sale back to the local electric power company as a way to make a little spending money here and there

 

"What are you doing to reduce your dependencies on the grid?"
I ordered 7 more native saplings to incorporate into my windbreak. Pinus strobus, P. banksiana, and P. resinosa. They'll be delivered this spring.

 

And I still dont have my tank arrrggg!!!!!