Off the grid

[rcr203]

I have gone off the grid

Comments

[gfrancie]

That is pretty cool. So when do you start homesteading?

[rcr203]

It is cool! So, when the zombies rise up and attack, bunker at my house!

[jess_faraday]

YAY!

[rcr203]

It's very YAY worthy.. I'm saving that for the first electric bill, though!

[pasticcio]

Well, that's great!
It'll be interesting to compare your electric bills for sure.

[rcr203]

I got some elctricity for you, baby.

*smirk*

[urlgirl]

Wow. Any chance you could post pictures or a story about this project? Because that's very, very cool :)

[rcr203]

I will.. I need to take some pictures, and I'll give more details about the whole process.

[bovril]

-- You will need to get up there and hose off and or squeegie the panels every few weeks/months, or you will only get half the rated power.

-- Make sure you are averaged over the whole year for the electricity. Otherwise you are paying during the winter, when your output is low, and giving them free power in the summer, when you make more than you use.

[rcr203]

Actually, for the electric company, the meter spins backwards, so they pay me whatever I pump back in the grid, and I only pay what I take out.

So, during this past weekend, at about 8 am, the meter was spinning forward. Then, about 9, it was spinning backward about as fast as it was going forward before the panels turned on. And I had a couple TV's, computers, electric dryer, etc all running.

It's hooked into the meter, and then comes into the house (and to the grid, if the house isn't pulling as much electricity as the panels are producing) - "behind the meter" as they say.

I'll have to look into the care/cleaning of the panels on your first point.