jazclrint
New Member
Hello all,
I am brand new to this forum.
Here in FL they have decided to phase out net metering and in the same week, FPL (my power company) raised the cost of electricity by almost 25%.
Now my power bill is apparently WAY bigger than it should be given the size of my house. We did what we thought was the right thing and refinanced the house and had all new windows put in. The old windows looked to be original. We were told we'd save a ton on both our power bill and insurance. Both have turned out to be completely untrue. I am just not interested in spending any more money on efficiency at this point. Frankly, it gives me the excuse to put on a system big enough to take care of our needs plus a bit. Then, as we save money we can invest in making the house more efficient and selling the excess back to FPL. And if they complain we are selling too much back we have the power consumption bills to prove it.
Also, I am not convinced my AC is the culprit. We were gone last summer for 5 weeks. It lined up perfectly with our power bill cycle. My Mom house sat and my nephew visited. The pool pump ran a LOT as they did not maintain our pool. And they used only 1598kWhrs for the month of July. June we used 2688kWhrs. And September we used 2817kWhrs. But for August, when we got back we used 3936kWhrs!!! I feel this proves my family is just really wasteful beyond my current control.
I did just see that last year my monthly average consumption was 2471kWhrs. and this year has been 2320kWhrs. Even though the cost has gone up almost $20/month.
Anyway, I'm done spending money on anything other than a self-sufficient solar system. I'm not even sure I am in a position to get a loan. But I'd like to get a solid system down on paper that is accurate.
So far in my plan, I've spec'd 4 MPP LV6548 inverters. 60 LG375Q1C-V5 panels for 22.5kW. How does everyone feel about LG panels now? And 8 SOK 48V server rack batteries. DIY of course.
Also, someone has already suggested an energy survey and to buy more efficient appliances, etc. I am confident that doing that would not generate the saving to make such purchases worth it. Also, besides having a house in SWFL and AC bill to match, I have an EV. I was averaging about 13-16kWrs a day commuting. But we have started door dashing and consumption has gone up. Not sure how much yet as we have just started. Also, we will have an EV truck sometime in the (distant?) future. So any perceived "oversizing" of my system to some is simply future-proofing to me.
Now, my biggest frustration is finding out how to have my solar and batteries working during a power outage. The idea of my panels shutting off just because the power goes out is infuriating. As a matter of fact, if I could have the grid disconnected unless my battery pack is full and there is access power to be sold, I'd be happy with that. But I need a solution that disconnects from the grid in case of a power outage for safety, but that I don't notice in my house. My panels keep powering the house and charging the batteries. And, I see no sense whatsoever in buying and wiring up a separate panel for "essentials". I can unplug things myself. It's this part of the project that keeps me up at night. I want my inverters to power my main panel. KISS.
One thing that I just now thought of, and have no idea how to integrate into this system, is 3 or 4 500w wind turbines. I know I'll never get 500w out of any of them. But I am maybe a mile from the ocean and not a lot of tall trees at all in my area. And having them on the top of my house surely wouldn't hurt anything.
Thoughts, ideas, suggestions, concerns?
Thank you for your time,
Richard
I am brand new to this forum.
Here in FL they have decided to phase out net metering and in the same week, FPL (my power company) raised the cost of electricity by almost 25%.
Now my power bill is apparently WAY bigger than it should be given the size of my house. We did what we thought was the right thing and refinanced the house and had all new windows put in. The old windows looked to be original. We were told we'd save a ton on both our power bill and insurance. Both have turned out to be completely untrue. I am just not interested in spending any more money on efficiency at this point. Frankly, it gives me the excuse to put on a system big enough to take care of our needs plus a bit. Then, as we save money we can invest in making the house more efficient and selling the excess back to FPL. And if they complain we are selling too much back we have the power consumption bills to prove it.
Also, I am not convinced my AC is the culprit. We were gone last summer for 5 weeks. It lined up perfectly with our power bill cycle. My Mom house sat and my nephew visited. The pool pump ran a LOT as they did not maintain our pool. And they used only 1598kWhrs for the month of July. June we used 2688kWhrs. And September we used 2817kWhrs. But for August, when we got back we used 3936kWhrs!!! I feel this proves my family is just really wasteful beyond my current control.
I did just see that last year my monthly average consumption was 2471kWhrs. and this year has been 2320kWhrs. Even though the cost has gone up almost $20/month.
Anyway, I'm done spending money on anything other than a self-sufficient solar system. I'm not even sure I am in a position to get a loan. But I'd like to get a solid system down on paper that is accurate.
So far in my plan, I've spec'd 4 MPP LV6548 inverters. 60 LG375Q1C-V5 panels for 22.5kW. How does everyone feel about LG panels now? And 8 SOK 48V server rack batteries. DIY of course.
Also, someone has already suggested an energy survey and to buy more efficient appliances, etc. I am confident that doing that would not generate the saving to make such purchases worth it. Also, besides having a house in SWFL and AC bill to match, I have an EV. I was averaging about 13-16kWrs a day commuting. But we have started door dashing and consumption has gone up. Not sure how much yet as we have just started. Also, we will have an EV truck sometime in the (distant?) future. So any perceived "oversizing" of my system to some is simply future-proofing to me.
Now, my biggest frustration is finding out how to have my solar and batteries working during a power outage. The idea of my panels shutting off just because the power goes out is infuriating. As a matter of fact, if I could have the grid disconnected unless my battery pack is full and there is access power to be sold, I'd be happy with that. But I need a solution that disconnects from the grid in case of a power outage for safety, but that I don't notice in my house. My panels keep powering the house and charging the batteries. And, I see no sense whatsoever in buying and wiring up a separate panel for "essentials". I can unplug things myself. It's this part of the project that keeps me up at night. I want my inverters to power my main panel. KISS.
One thing that I just now thought of, and have no idea how to integrate into this system, is 3 or 4 500w wind turbines. I know I'll never get 500w out of any of them. But I am maybe a mile from the ocean and not a lot of tall trees at all in my area. And having them on the top of my house surely wouldn't hurt anything.
Thoughts, ideas, suggestions, concerns?
Thank you for your time,
Richard
