Energy

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Hey All!

 

New Here. Hello!

 

Something I've been thinking about for a while is my energy consumption - I've got 3 builds at home and I'm always looking for new machines -  and I remember seeing that Linus uses some Solar in his new house and sells additional power back onto the grid. I'm also in BC, but I know that many other places allow this as well. Does anyone here sell energy back onto the grid? Or what are other solutions to energy demand? Has anyone really solved this yet or has ideas? Obviously sustainability and energy cost reduction are the goal. So far what Linus is doing seems to be a good way to go, but of course it's not as straight forward as setting up a solar panel and plugging it into an outlet haha. Are there any experts here or other people curious in how to continue their energy consumption while not having growing concerns (or expenses) with having more machines?

 

 

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10 minutes ago, Arika S said:

You would definitely need to talk to a solar installer about that as selling back to the grid isn't always available depending on your location. but it also isnt something you should count on, is a nice additional benefit, but for me what I get when I feed back into the grid is 6 times lower than what I buy it for (which thankfully I don't buy a lot because of my battery and oversized system, but still something to keep in mind).

That's good to know! I've also got one of those "jackery" portable generators so storing up electricity in that is nice, bit definitely isn't viable solution for powering my PCs.

[Donut417]

Not an expert. But as I recall if your solar setup puts power back in to the grid, your solar panels may not work during a power outage potentially. This is because if the power is out, that could indicate an issue with transmission. Back feeding electricity on to the gird can injure or kill a utility worker. If you look at backup generators on a house they have a transfer switch that turns off the main breaker and feeds the panel itself. 

 

Thats why what @Arika Ssuggested about the battery is a lot of time a better solution. I recall watching an episode of Ask This Old House where they looked at a solar setup in Hawaii. This house had solar and storage batteries. From what was said, the house would run on batteries most of the night, the house would only use grid power for maybe 1 or 2 hours a day. Imagine the power bill that home owner got, only using power a few hours a day. 

[mr moose]

On 1/21/2023 at 9:04 AM, Arika S said:

You would definitely need to talk to a solar installer about that as selling back to the grid isn't always available depending on your location. but it also isnt something you should count on, is a nice additional benefit, but for me what I get when I feed back into the grid is 6 times lower than what I buy it for (which thankfully I don't buy a lot because of my battery and oversized system, but still something to keep in mind).

You on 6 cents too? I don't have an overly large system or battery because I was told I wouldn't need it and at the time batteries weren't covered by any scheme.   It fucking drives me nuts, I pay $$$ for a solar setup on the promise of reduced power bills and at the end of the day you end up with a $6 credit on monthly bill.  Like whoopy fucking do, I'm never home to use the power it generates during the day and during winter when I need it most it produces diddlysquat.

 

 

[mr moose]

2 minutes ago, Arika S said:

5c actually

 

i have a $16 credit but i also only spend like $12 monthly for what my battery doesn't catch (my service charge is more than my usage)

I might have to look into batteries and expanding my system.  I just don't want to fall for the sunken cost thing.  

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On 1/22/2023 at 3:39 AM, Arika S said:

i got a battery purely because powercor is useless and can't keep power on in my town. luckily i got the rebate on the battery instead.

I like the idea of home batteries. I found a couple but are there any brands you would recommend?