XPost: talk.politics.guns, sci.energy   
   From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
   "cshenk"  wrote in message   
   news:m0adnRyp3bW28AD4nZ2dnZfqn_qdnZ2d@giganews.com...   
      
   Scout wrote:   
      
   > So now you're effectively paying twice as much for electricity.. what   
   > was the benefit again?   
      
   Easy Scout! I said that was the answer to the setup parameters of the   
   question.  You change it here to a 'bang for the buck' problem but the   
   2 are distinctly different problems.   
      
   If you want to change to 'best bang for the buck with profits soon',   
   then you have to add in local factors and cost analysis.  I'm game but   
   don't try to swap back and forth between them ok?   
      
   Simple answer to 'bang for the buck' with or without home battery   
   system is 'rarely worth it unless thinking small'.  If the grid power   
   after sundown is 'peak hourly rate', a smaller battery of 4-6kWh may   
   pay off as in theory, you'll now only draw from the grid at the lowest   
   rate.  Check your company though as some charge lowest rate it you meet   
   or exceed a set amount of solar production vs use.  I don't have much   
   detail on that other than my grid power costs more from 4pm-9pm and I   
   pay that.   
      
   To cover a week's backup power, you have to overgenerate to your usage   
   and then the battery costs will normally equal the cost of the panels.   
   This doubles your 'payoff to profit time'.  For most people, this is   
   where solar 'fails' the budget model.  Without the battery, or a small   
   one to deal with minor nuisance outages, it may work.  Small ones only   
   cover a few hours.  Layman's terms: You get what you pay for but best   
   not buy more than you need.   
      
   -------------------------------   
      
   Good analysis. I decided that the course was to instrument and record my   
   usage, then trim what wasn't necessary, and finally size a solar system with   
   backup to the fraction of it that would protect refrigerated food for at   
   least a few days of a storm that kept me indoors, unable to buy more or cook   
   with electricity. I view it as an insurance policy that I may not want to   
   collect on instead of an investment with hope a dividend.   
      
   Trimming didn't mean giving up, I put always-on things like the TV antenna   
   distribution amp on switches.   
      
   As part of the process I found a way to take a shower with water heated in   
   kettles on the wood stove. Replace the spray wand of a garden sprayer with a   
   sink spray hose. 3/8" plastic tubing fit and sealed in the wand fitting of   
   the sprayers I tried, and adapts to the sink spray thread. The hot water   
   needs to be tempered to comfortable (115F) before pouring it into the   
   sprayer, it's too difficult within it. I can take a Navy shower on one 2   
   gallon sprayer but fill two just in case. Sprayers larger than 2 gallons may   
   be difficult to handle with slippery footing.   
      
   The sink spray hose is long enough if you sit on a plastic stool to wash and   
   put the sprayer up on the stool to rinse.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)