I'm waiting for this... (solar power system)

[matthew1]

A solar power system that is VERY easy to install.

• Storage battery/controller in one unit, can be easily attached to an interior garage wall.
• Panels: use one, use 100. They must be daisy-chainable. Or if you have just a handful (separate locations for example), each should have a port to the battery/controller. Thus, the battery/controller should have six or eight input ports.
• The battery/controller should be simple to wire to the house. I don't know anything about it, but I know it should be something an electrician can do in 2-3 hours.
• It must be plug-and-play with the panels. Start with two, buy 12 in two years. They should all be easily plugged into the system.

What I'm not waiting for is a 10, 20, or 30-year contract with one of these insane solar companies. I've talked to a rep, and my mind was flashing warning signs that said "STAY AWAY FROM THIS" during the conversation. They actually go door-to-door looking for sales.

I've read Colorado realtors' accounts of trying to sell a house with one of these non-entirely-owned systems on the roof. It can be a problem. You don't own it, you can't sell it. So it's a liability, an albatross around the homeowner's neck because it must be part of the house sale contract.

Nope nope nope.

I want the Apple iOS of solar power solutions. Mostly DIY, expandable, sane, outright ownership. I'm not asking for cheap, I'm asking for a sane product.

I'm not even talking about selling juice to the power company. That's out of scope of this rant. If it can do it, fine. If it can't, fine.

/rant

[BlackBart]

I with you on this. We’ve had two different door-to-door college kids with clipboards come by. “Free installation, free power, we just need to see your power bills for our marketing.”

So who exactly is carrying the 30k installation cost? And in MT, our power supplier is in cahoots with the coal lobby and the Commissioners, so there’s no net metering and no power buy back. We don’t want your hippy power panels messing up our accounting and coal contracts.

[volvolugnut]

I would like to add a large solar panel field to my roof and have battery storage. I have done a fair amount of research.
But, I have concerns about getting a good installer that won't create roof leaks. Also concerned about space in the garage for all the equipment.
Since I have fully electric heat and air, I need a lot of storage if I want to have heat for several very cold days like when we have the rare ice storm.
Today I bought a 8000 Watt gas generator which may be able to make up the difference in power for several days of power outage. 8000 watts will not power everything for us, but will keep on some basics. I will likely report on the installation of the generator.
volvolugnut

[Vova585]

What about EcoFlow technology. They are very popular in Ukraine(for very obvious reasons), amd proven to work decently good with opportunity to add storage and panels as your budget permits.
Volvolugnut, I am in the same boat as you. No gas line, only electric. Unless you will buy a monster diesel generator or propane based generator with huge storage tank- it is not worth it. I calculated I need around 20-25kwt unit..
If I would be somewhere in south, I would totally invest into Tesla panels and storage or maybe Phillips based.

[abscate]

They must have figured out the ownership contract thing by now.

[matthew1]

Food for thought...

[lrock]

Food for thought...

does this include all currently in construction and planned future data centers? or residential only?

[matthew1]

Food for thought...

does this include all currently in construction and planned future data centers? or residential only?

All 2021 energy. Interestingly, it also says "assuming national average irradiance", which we know is less than say Arizona. An AI agent told me Arizona is 20-30% higher in irradiance than the national average, so 20-30% less area needed there. Perhaps a better option would be Nevada, which is something like 82%(!) of its land owned by the federal government, and has a very low population density. The two states are roughly equal in sunlight.

To me all that is academic. I'm a nuclear power proponent. What we think of as nuclear power is so outdated. We can make tiny, safe reactors but mountains of regulations won't let us, so we're stuck with caveman methods of power generation.

[volvolugnut]

I have reported in other posts the installation of my new Generac 8000 Watt generator. A summary below.
Generator cost about $1000.
I knew it had to be outside but did not consider it needed weather protection when running. This makes sense - the power is most likely to be off when we have a weather event like a snow/ice storm.
I found a small (about 6 by 4 feet) metal building on Amazon for less than $200. But it needed a solid base so it would not blow away. I hand mixed concrete and set cement blocks for a footing. This was more than needed and cost maybe $600.
I wanted to supply power to the house through the existing electric circuits and not have to run a bunch of power cords. The cords could not power lights and would need to go though partly open doors. Not a good plan in bad weather and would also let in the exhaust from the generator. I ended up with an underground cable from the building to the house. Then a new, special switch box for 6 circuits of the house wiring. I turn off the grid power side and turn on the generator power side to run the generator. An interlock system keeps the power from returning to the grid side from the generator. The wiring, switch, and electricians labor cost about $1800. The electricians were busy and their work took 3 months to complete.
Total cost about $3600. Total install time about 4 months.
volvolugnut

[volvolugnut]

The problem in massive solar, wind, coal, or nuclear is the grid system. It would take a massive power line from the single power station to reach other states.
Power lines also have power loss so the further you go the less power you get. Ever try to run a power tool at the end of a couple hundred feet of electric cord? The voltage drop is too great.
Where the power is really needed is where the population is greatest. And where you have most of the population, there is not as much land available for power plants and power lines. And the high population areas are not the best for wind or solar power plants. And, most of the population does not want to see, hear, or smell power systems or power lines.
volvolugnut