ferry county solar

[StressMan79]

So I'm thinking about buying in Ferry county, WA--off the grid. They have a solar program through the PUD that basically lets you "buy" solar equipment with a 20 year loan at zero interest. The thing is they charge roughly $21/watt. They take care of the unit, the batteries, the inverter, etc during the 20 year period, and you pay them the going rate for the electric you use. This seems like a bad deal for several reasons 1) 21 bucks per watt is a lot of money. panels now go for roughly $4.75/watt, 2) The system is "standard." Depending on your architecture (maybe you want to be more DC, and not need an inverter) this might be a bad thing 3) you still have to pay for the electric you use, even though you are buying the solar, so it's not really a zero percent loan on solar, it is a fixed amount + usage. This is not a great deal! How expensive are batteries, how often do you have to change them? How expensive (and necessary) are large true sine inverters? are they prone to failure? See here for more info: http://www.fcpud.com/conservation.htm The reason I ask is I was planning on 24VDC running most of the house, small modified sine wave inverters for items that will tolerate them, some (free) UPS (uninterupted power source--think computer) (plugged into the DC system, the alarm disabled) for more sensitive equipment, and a generator for power tools, A.C., and other high-draw A/C loads. My question is--which system will be the lowest cost over the long haul? If close, I'd just go with the PUD system, as it is "headache free." Rick, do you have an opinion?

[ChainsawGrandpa]

My best advice is to get the book; "More Power to You" by Skip Thomsen.
I had planned for an 8 Kwh CDI diesel. The CDI unit is good, but I would
really getting ahold of George at utterpower.com.
I had also planned to extend my supply of cheap biodiesel, or waste vegitable
oil with a small (600W @ 12 VDC) solar array.

The inverters are cheap and have a suspect useful life, all the way to a fair
amount of money and a long life. I bought a Trace (now Xantrex). The
Xantrex are on Craigs list from time-to-time and can be pretty cheap.

The batteries are cheap.
*Walmart 12 V deep cycle 960 AH for about $70 (decent for a starter system)
*Trojan T-105 6 V deep cycle 225 AH for about $115 (excellent battery with long life)
*Rolls Surrett ($if ya gotta ask....)
Use a smart charger (sometimes built into the inverter). Recharge when you reach 80%
of full charge. A smart charger will measure the state of charge and charge quickly, aqnd
then taper off as the charge is more complete.

The alarm system at the fire station had a single 12 V back-up battery. It was maintained
regularly, never moved, and kept at a constant charge. It was at least twenty years old
and working fine when the system was finally removed.

-Rick

[ChainsawGrandpa]

Here are some inverters. Good prices. Found a 1000W
Trace for $88 (!!), but it was a modified sine wave.
More modified sine wave inverters for $50 -$150. The
good units are more, but these prices seemed fantastic.
This is just a short list off of craigs list.
I'm Thinking everything I found (the nice ones) are Heart,
Trace, or Xantrex. All good brands. I wouldn't hesitate
(especially at these prices) to buy any of the units in the
links listed below.

-Rick


http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/ele/745563564.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/rvs/744441560.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/rvs/744441560.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/rvs/744441560.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/boa/744213573.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/boa/744212167.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/sys/743879873.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/rvs/743680767.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/rvs/743677770.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/boa/740424997.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/boa/746016440.html

[StressMan79]

moved to members forum