Solstice coming up, glad i'm grid tied!

Joined
Nov 27, 2015
Messages
783
Location
S.E. Idaho USA
This time of year really sucks in these parts, not much sun and not much wind even, plus the hydro is shut down. After being off grid for 28 years and now grid tied, I get a real kick out of the entire grid tied thing. NO more running a generator to charge the battery bank, ever! Use all the power I want! I'll use only a part of this years credit with my utility, and don't have to conserve unless I want to. Right now the 5 KW electric boiler is running the house radiant floor heat system, I have 100 gallons of 120 degree water in the DHW tank, plus a 400 watt radiant panel heater is on near the kitchen snack bar, a 100 watt radiant panel in the bathroom (right next to the stool, total luxury first thing on a cold winter morning to have a warm crapper), and finally a 750 watt panel heater next to the big easy chair in the living. I'm using no propane. Other then keeping the house at 72 or so, I don't waste it or do anything too stupid, old (conservation) habits die hard.

I manage to ignore the fact that my utility does get a percent of their juice during the winter from Wyoming coal power plants, more then in the summer when they are mostly hydro. So, though I like to think that the power I'm using is my own wind/solar/hydro excess from the summer, and it is in a sense of course, without the coal burning utility it wouldn't be happening. On the other hand, when I'm contributing during the summer into their system, it is their peak load time (not winter oddly enough) so that must count for something. I shudder to think of the size of battery bank I'd need to be using the amount of power I'm currently using, especially after many days of gloomy weather and no wind. This will be my peak usage month, (I used 560 KWH this month, from the utility/off my credit, produced on my own about 400) once past December we get more sunny days and the days get longer, December is hump month for an off grid home, not so much for a grid tied one.
 
Ahh, CPG, you are indeed a smart guy.
Smart enough to create yourself a situation where the energy you need is plentiful, reliable, and at minimum cost, but also smart (and honest ) enough to realise that without the grid tie and likely coal, Gas, or even Nukes ,..that comforting energy back up , would be a lot more tricky and expensive to replicate.
Merry Xmas to you and your family.
 
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