diy solar

diy solar

YEEE HAAA….FINALLY ….

EastTexCowboy said:
If I add the dryer or the double oven I'll have to monitor and manage usage.
Click to expand...
My issue exactly too,
I have the dryer on the solar, but not the double oven, since I would need to figure out a way that both are never on together on the solar.
I wonder about a relay that would switch over the oven to Grid if the Dryer is on. ie if the dryer is on the oven will automatically connect to grid, if the dryer is off the oven will automatically connect to solar.
Like you, I am just being patient, and will just wait to add the oven when I expand the inverters for more solar capacity.
 
Jim H said:
To you or me that’s a perfectly logical thought….BUT, Oh …if life was only that simple…

” honey , I had the electrician guy come out today and replace that broken light fixture that kept going off and on by itself … coulda started a fire … said he would just send a bill”
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know what you are saying...I had to make a plan to "Sell it to her" so I waited for the right evening, installed the motion sensor light in the laundry room.
Then said 'hey honey can I help out by taking this haper to the laundry room, it looks pretty heavy' she naturally agrees sure carry that to the laundry, as we walk into the room the lights turn themselves on automatically, no putting down the haper to switch on the light. She is surprised, says ' hey what turned on the lights? you didn't touch a thing"
show her how the sensor turns the lights on just walking into the room, and automatically turns them off again after so many minutes. Ok I had alterior motive (I don't have to run around and turn off lights), yeah, but it is all in the delivery people.
Next day she says - hey would one of those light sensors work in the kitchen? what about the bathroom? yeah so I am a victom of my own success.
 
OffGridForGood said:
Yeah, I know what you are saying...I had to make a plan to "Sell it to her" so I waited for the right evening, installed the motion sensor light in the laundry room.
Then said 'hey honey can I help out by taking this haper to the laundry room, it looks pretty heavy' she naturally agrees sure carry that to the laundry, as we walk into the room the lights turn themselves on automatically, no putting down the haper to switch on the light. She is surprised, says ' hey what turned on the lights? you didn't touch a thing"
show her how the sensor turns the lights on just walking into the room, and automatically turns them off again after so many minutes. Ok I had alterior motive (I don't have to run around and turn off lights), yeah, but it is all in the delivery people.
Next day she says - hey would one of those light sensors work in the kitchen? what about the bathroom? yeah so I am a victom of my own success.
Click to expand...
Well you’re lucky …your wife has a working memory… I would have to schedule a meeting each day to explain why the lights go off and on by themselves…I Just don’t have the energy…I would rather stay in the shop , drink some beer , work on fun stuff and be left alone..
 
Jim H said:
Well you’re lucky …your wife has a working memory… I would have to schedule a meeting each day to explain why the lights go off and on by themselves…I Just don’t have the energy…I would rather stay in the shop , drink some beer , work on fun stuff and be left alone..
Click to expand...
You sure picked your moniker accurately.?
 
OffGridForGood said:
My issue exactly too,
I have the dryer on the solar, but not the double oven, since I would need to figure out a way that both are never on together on the solar.
I wonder about a relay that would switch over the oven to Grid if the Dryer is on. ie if the dryer is on the oven will automatically connect to grid, if the dryer is off the oven will automatically connect to solar.
Like you, I am just being patient, and will just wait to add the oven when I expand the inverters for more solar capacity.
Click to expand...
In a long term outage I would like a way to put both on solar, even if I had to manage usage. But for now, neither one of them uses that much over the course of a month so it's just not worth it. I'll probably move the dryer when I upgrade but I may never move the ovens. POCO has to eat too, ya know. :ROFLMAO:
 
EastTexCowboy said:
POCO has to eat too, ya know. :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
HA HA HA!
Yeah, those poor poor utilities have such a hard life,
now that ETC is making his own energy!
I thought about a dedicated transfer switch - allowing selection of either the dryer OR the oven to connect to the solar one only at a time.
Then I thought about how annoyed my spouse might get, when she wants to use the oven but has to go turn the switch from "Dryer" to "Oven" in another room,..figured this was not a good idea and tossed it.
(maybe I was more concerned about back-lash than inconvenience but I am not admitting to anything!)
 
This is awesome. That’s one of the things I like about this forum. Most local people I chat with about this stuff could care less. They’d rather just stay on the grid. “Because it’s always worked”.

Dryer and oven together can be a real drain. We definitely still have to time their usage accordingly. It’s a bit of a dance deciding which to use sometimes for us. It’s gotten easier though. Plus, the the befits of this type of lifestyle outweighs the hassle as far as I’m concerned.
 
OffGridForGood said:
My issue exactly too,
I have the dryer on the solar, but not the double oven, since I would need to figure out a way that both are never on together on the solar.
I wonder about a relay that would switch over the oven to Grid if the Dryer is on. ie if the dryer is on the oven will automatically connect to grid, if the dryer is off the oven will automatically connect to solar.
Like you, I am just being patient, and will just wait to add the oven when I expand the inverters for more solar capacity.
Click to expand...
Or use battery powered zero export grid tie inverters or hybrid inverter that will cover any load up to its max output and at the same time the grid supplies any power needed over what the inverter is supplying. Then it doesn’t matter which loads are on at any time. Family of 4 and almost zero out my power usage every month
 
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Jim H said:
They will be the ones herded up first…and led to the chop house..
uhhh … do I need to explain that better for the younger crowd..?
Click to expand...
Hey if they worry ya. Understand why…your right…
 
Gavin Stone said:
This is awesome. That’s one of the things I like about this forum. Most local people I chat with about this stuff could care less. They’d rather just stay on the grid. “Because it’s always worked”.
Click to expand...
I have to dial it down whenever anyone visits us or if I'm just having a conversation with someone. As soon as I get past anything basic like, "We run most of the house on solar" their eyes start glazing over. This forum has been a lifesaver and sometimes sanity saver (sane being a relative term).

I'm going to build one of the carts like in Will's video for my daughter and her husband, then I think they'll get it. They do get it enough that they would like to have it but he has no interest in trying to build it himself and y'all all know the story on hiring someone to do it. So maybe I'm wasting my time but the ice storm last year knocked them out for three or four days and they couldn't keep the genny running so she really perked up when I asked her if she would like to have a portable battery system that could be charged by the grid or by solar. I'll probably end up building a system for them someday.

Back in 2020 I started talking about installing solar once I retired. Frequently someone would ask me how much solar was I planning to install. I always had the same answer - as much as I can afford. If I can run the whole house that would be great but I doubt I'll ever accomplish that. Three years later and I'm pretty much there. I'm still a little amazed every time I think about it.

I appreciate the diversity on the forum. Young people like you, grey haired like me, serious electricians and electrical engineers, people who just have the desire and smarts and work ethic to figure it out, and everything in between. A few screwballs too but at least you and I are normal. Although sometimes I wonder about you ...

1688005926076.png
 
OffGridForGood said:
Yeah, I know what you are saying...I had to make a plan to "Sell it to her" so I waited for the right evening, installed the motion sensor light in the laundry room.
Then said 'hey honey can I help out by taking this haper to the laundry room, it looks pretty heavy' she naturally agrees sure carry that to the laundry, as we walk into the room the lights turn themselves on automatically, no putting down the haper to switch on the light. She is surprised, says ' hey what turned on the lights? you didn't touch a thing"
show her how the sensor turns the lights on just walking into the room, and automatically turns them off again after so many minutes. Ok I had alterior motive (I don't have to run around and turn off lights), yeah, but it is all in the delivery people.
Next day she says - hey would one of those light sensors work in the kitchen? what about the bathroom? yeah so I am a victom of my own success.
Click to expand...
About the same thing I did. Its of the opposite side of the issue now. Wife walks in a room at her parents house or elsewhere and stands there waving her arms and the rest of the family is looking at her like she has spazzed out. She now thinks all lights will work like that instinctively :)
 
EastTexCowboy said:
I have to dial it down whenever anyone visits us or if I'm just having a conversation with someone. As soon as I get past anything basic like, "We run most of the house on solar" their eyes start glazing over. This forum has been a lifesaver and sometimes sanity saver (sane being a relative term).I
Click to expand...
I put on a large party every weekend around July 4th of well over 100 people. I'm waiting to see how many will get the big picture when they are here.
EastTexCowboy said:
I'm going to build one of the carts like in Will's video for my daughter and her husband, then I think they'll get it. They do get it enough that they would like to have it but he has no interest in trying to build it himself and y'all all know the story on hiring someone to do it. So maybe I'm wasting my time but the ice storm last year knocked them out for three or four days and they couldn't keep the genny running so she really perked up when I asked her if she would like to have a portable battery system that could be charged by the grid or by solar. I'll probably end up building a system for them someday.
Click to expand...
He wants you to do all the work for him. Maybe your daughter needs a different model of husband? :ROFLMAO:
EastTexCowboy said:
Back in 2020 I started talking about installing solar once I retired. Frequently someone would ask me how much solar was I planning to install. I always had the same answer - as much as I can afford. If I can run the whole house that would be great but I doubt I'll ever accomplish that. Three years later and I'm pretty much there. I'm still a little amazed every time I think about it.
Click to expand...

Did my truck camper and it was so slick I had to do the house.......
EastTexCowboy said:
I appreciate the diversity on the forum. Young people like you, grey haired like me, serious electricians and electrical engineers, people who just have the desire and smarts and work ethic to figure it out, and everything in between. A few screwballs too but at least you and I are normal. Although sometimes I wonder about you ...

View attachment 154905
Click to expand...
That is interesting because I wonder about you.......
 
I wonder about all of us! It’s funny. If people are obsessed with something they find comfort in talking with a group of likeminded obsessed individuals.

But I figure it beats making ships in a bottle. It can be an expensive hobby. But you get more than just satisfaction from your labors.
 
Zwy said:
I put on a large party every weekend around July 4th of well over 100 people. I'm waiting to see how many will get the big picture when they are here.

He wants you to do all the work for him. Maybe your daughter needs a different model of husband? :ROFLMAO:


Did my truck camper and it was so slick I had to do the house.......

That is interesting because I wonder about you.......
Click to expand...
We used to do huge parties like that in the fall, mostly for clients and their staff. 100 to 150 people. I'm glad that's over. It was a lot of work. But yeah, let us know how they react.

He's a pretty decent guy and owns a successful collision repair business, but he knows nothing about electricity and doesn't much want to learn. She could have done a lot worse. I do have a ding on my F350. I may make him fix that if I build them a cart!

I may have slightly exaggerated my mental stability, yeah. But I'm in pretty good company.
 
Mostly I just get that 'I am listening" look from the dog, I am pretty sure she is just waiting for a key word like "walk" "up" or "Cookie?" but she is a patient listener! LOL.
 
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