I will keep you all posted. I have three appointments scheduled in the next 2 1/2 weeks to listen to the pitch. As I stated in an earlier post, my goals are:
1. Lower my cost of electricity.
2. While being tied to the grid, I want a system that will operate independent of the grid (think extra $$$)
3. I want to own the system, not lease it or purchase electricity from another party.
Here's some random tidbits from around here for local off grid...
We have Manitoba Hydro, as our electricity carrier. All based off our hydro electric dams, and sold to 1/2 of Canada, and a good chunk of US... and several big chunks more coming soon.
If I want to set up solar or wind systems of my own, they will not subsidize, but they will buy power from me at a 'decent' price. But, to do so... they tie in BEFORE my system, so I am cool in regular times, they buy my power and sell me theirs... but if part of the grid goes down, they still take my power first, and would ship back any surplus to me. Assuming a surplus.
I can set up all the solar I want, And go off grid if I want. but couldn't sell surplus to hydro this way. They would buy my power at x value, sell me theirs at y value. and if their supply went down, they stop supplying me
While it sounds great to sell your power to the giant, know, that they are paying you x-y for your power, but charging you x+y for theirs.
bastards!
Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day!
Light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!
Cat's are food... not friends!
If you're going to fight, then fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp into Noah's arc... and brother, it's starting to rain.
Sniper, I just caught this response tonight, and I'm shocked. At least in my area, and I believe most of the US, any home hooked up with grid tied solar, MUST be equipped somehow to disconnect from the main grid to prevent back feed into the grid in case of a grid problem. This prevents the repair men from getting fried repairing any lines.
- - - Updated - - -
SoCal, any word on the solar power you were hoping to get?
I'd wager, good Dome, that the cutoff in question is probably at the POLE, not at the HOME. Why, "mere" client-employee power consumers might actually come up with the idea that they have a CHOICE when and how much power to use...Originally Posted by Domeguy
In an apartment complex such as mine the matter is a moot. WHEN it comes time to budge, part of my cartload will be solars, batteries and such. Small fry, no grid stuff.
^
That is correct.
Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day!
Light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!
Cat's are food... not friends!
If you're going to fight, then fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp into Noah's arc... and brother, it's starting to rain.
At the time I went to school, the automatic shut down was built into the inverters. But that was about 10 yrs ago, and a lot has changed since than. But you said when the grid goes down, they still take your power first. But if the grid goes down, your system should shut down and shouldn't be putting any power into the grid, even if the shut off is at the pole. If it does, it called Islanding, and unless it's been pre wired through the fuse panel to keep powering key items like necessary medical equipmentonly, the inverter should shut down if it senses a power failure. So they shouldn't be able to take your power if none is generated. That was my point, or am I missing something?
Last edited by Domeguy; 01-31-2016 at 02:47 AM.
An accuracy I take neither pride nor pleasure in. It is infuriating.
Were me, I'd take the hit of having to have a NG generator on premises as backup to a solar stack and tell NV Energy to go pound titanium shavings. At least with NG you HAVE to have at least the control at the meter, if not one or two at the generator...on YOUR side.
I still don't understand? If you are grid tied, it should shut down in a grid down situation. Period. While you are generating power, and still need more, you draw it. If you generate more than you need you sell it. If the grid goes down, so do you. You don't win, but you don't loose either.
Edit. Sniper, I have reread you post about 20 times. When you say"if part of the grid goes down", do you mean local within 1-10 miles, (or your kilometer things you use) or do you mean several hundred?
Last edited by Domeguy; 02-02-2016 at 04:07 AM. Reason: Added text
I'm looking into solar now; the sales rep that was just here said that without a whole lot more gear like battery banks, etc, as soon as the grid goes down the panels they're putting on houses around here are designed to shut down so that any utility people are working on the lines are not affected by juice back-feeding from the house. I already have a switch panel for the generator that isolates the house from the pole. The sales rep said I can upgrade to a system that can run isolated from the pole, completely off-grid, but that almost no one they're selling panels to around here does that because of the additional costs. From what he is saying, between the Federal rebate and state credits, I can expect to get about 45% of the cost of the system knocked off.
Solar's getting rough times out here in NV, as NV Energy doesn't want to pay for the power that comes from home solar, nor do they want to pay the subsidies for the original installation, so they have launched this whole "solar guys are the enemy, cause we HAVE to meet the subsidies and thus have to raise your prices."
Correct, as far as it goes. More accurately would be "raise your prices to keep our profits skyhigh, instead of just high".
NV Energy, the new Enron.
M@+#3RF(_){|{3R$.
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