"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 19 Nov 2015 08:36:56 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:
"A2" wrote in message
...
On 19-Nov-15 1:48 PM, Larry Jaques wrote:
On Wed, 18 Nov 2015 13:11:35 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:
wrote in message
snipped
Thinking about moving to a smaller water heater (20g) which can
be
heated with lower power elements fed directly from a 24v solar
array.
Hot water is nearly half my electric use, which now averages
$41/mo.
Sounds cheap, how much is off grid power? I'm guessing you are US
based?
We pay about $0.27 per kW.hr here in Australia.
Here in New England, USA grid power costs me $0.15 per KWH. My solar
I forgot to add in the basic charge, so mine costs 11.7 cents per
kWh.
power is really for week-long hurricane or ice storm power outages.
Otherwise it mainly keeps the vehicle batteries topped up so they
last
longer. I don't normally cycle batteries because I estimate that the
cost of depreciation is more than the savings.
These extra panels should add enough current to support the TV and
laptop longer during the day. My Harbor Freight kit gave about an
hour
of Internet access to email and weather radar per day during the
last
outage. Phone line and cellular Internet stayed up on their own
backup
supplies.
What extra panels are you using?
I bought some salvaged monocrystalline panels at a flea market, after
quickly testing them. Although the frames have some corrosion and the
screws are rusty they still put out the current shown on the labels,
but the reverse leakage when shaded is rather high so I added series
Schottky diodes.
The HF kit I bought in 2011 has degraded to about 1.7A, as predicted.
Weather radar shows me much more accurately than the forecasts when
I
can repair storm damage and when I must stop and cover it up.
Do you subscribe to Wunderground? $10 a year keep the ads
suppressed.
Their hourly forecasts are pretty accurate.
NWS radar shows which "scattered" patches of rain or snow are
approaching my house, nearly in real time.
http://radar.weather.gov/ridge/Conus..._lite_loop.php
Unwatched generators attract thieves. I made a sound dampening
enclosure from fireproof acoustic ceiling tiles rimmed with aluminum
flashing but it has to be wide open on one side for ventilation and
doesn't quiet the genny enough that I can't hear it from the street.
The noise is mechanical, an extra muffler makes little difference.
Bury that puppy. The ground makes a really nice sound deadener.
The exhaust smell would be the only giveaway.
You don't understand Granite State soil conditions. Except near rivers
excavation requires dynamite. The last Ice Age scrubbed this place
bare, then deposited a thin layer of sand and rocks as it melted.
-jsw