Most reacted posts

I certainly agree there - building your own from components is more educational, gives you assurance that you have the best components (or at least the best components for the money), and more flexibility both in the initial build and in future upgrades and expansions. My concerns was around...

This is getting closer to the idea I have in my head for what type of device should be in our homes. In my head, we should have a heavily insulated tank of water heated by the sun that just acts as a thermal battery. The goal should be to get this water up near 190 degrees during the day using...

I guess I was coming at it more from the angle of having this awesome high-tech home and yet the minute your internet connection goes down, you can't unlock the door, control the temperature, or have any content to listen to or watch on that giant TV. On top of that, someone comes to your home...

As someone who had solar installed who is now trying to learn from the ground up so I can do my own solar in my next residence, how is Will's Box different than the all-in-one solutions that are now out?

So the question to @Will Prowse - would you change any of these components if you were building your box today?

So has anyone else ordered any of his stuff and put it together? I am interested in ordering his x10 PCB kit and give it a try but having a hard time figuring out the cost of it all. His kit is $90 ... and that is just the stuff to make 10 boards each holding 7 batteries for a total of 70 18650...

If you are storing them long-term, you definitely want to store them at 50% charge.

Have you watched Will's videos with his Tesla?

As a Tesla Model 3 owner who has also put his order in for a Cybertruck, I am having these same thoughts. Based off the tests in the second video in the playlist, you would need 3 of the 5kw 48v MPP split phase inverters to get 23kw at 17 amps. Each of those MPP's would need 7,680 watt arrays...

I think he says in another video that if the batteries are full, he dumps any additional electricity into heating up the tank as well. I'm no HVAC expert, but from what I understand, chillers are twice as efficient as residential A/C. Breaking it down logically in my head, it makes a lot of...

My journey has been an interesting one. About 20 years ago, we purchased a home in Cobb County, Georgia (northwest suburb of Atlanta) in a neighborhood with a HOA. We had a big lot (0.7 acres) with a power line easement right down the middle ... so my house was on the front 1/3 of an acre...

I agree that UL listed carries value way beyond just immediate dollar cost. If you plan to insure your home then you might not want to use something you built yourself. If you make a mistake and burn down your house then the very insurance you need to use to rebuild your home will likely not...

I have a similar question so maybe y'all can help - because from what I have read here, it sounds like it should work. I bought Will's book, have watched his videos, and read multiple posts here so I think I have it figured out. I have a 2018 Tesla Model 3 Mid-range (210 miles range with 50 kW...

Wow. So sorry you are going through this.

Anyone who knows anything about information security and the lack of privacy in the IoT devices today should shudder at the idea of all that cloud-based technology being critical to the operation of your home.

Not yet ... and that is part of the challenge. I use them for different projects as those projects come up. Right now, one is being used as a Minecraft server for the kids, one is being used as a media server, and one is being used as a work-in-progress for a security camera project ... with 4...

Thus why I am still looking for help. Not the best video.

For those coming back to this thread - I found another video that I am considering since this guy specifically runs a Pi as part of his commo gear.

Now that Tesla's are being built in China, I expect to see some amazing technology to pop up related to Tesla, particularly in this space - power back and forth between the home and the Tesla. Now that technology being allowed to come to the US, that might be a different story.

This has been my "Plan C" approach - using a rocket stove as the last resort heat element for the water.

I am embarrassed to post this, so I hope y'all will cut me some slack. We had a house with an excellent solar system. Due to a medical situation (I am a disabled veteran who got COVID-19 and developed long haul COVID) that led to financial crises, we no longer have the house or the excellent...

I'm right there with you and thinking the same thing. IF I am willing / able to schedule my needs such that the prime solar hours of the day, I think it might be possible to take the batteries out of the equation for those 4-5 hours. Maybe Will could try using his one inverter with as many...

The accent is cute too.

Ah ... that I can answer. The power went out while I was charging the Tesla in the garage. It just stopped charging. When power came back, it started the charging again.

Hi! I used to be a homesteader. When I got too sick, I moved closer to the city so I could get medical treatment. Now I am working and saving for "early retirement" when I end up on disability. Planning an offgrid tiny house / cabin. Love Will's videos and when I found out there was a forum, I...

Has anyone played around with heating and cooling water with solar? There is a unit you can purchase by Multiaqua (https://multiaqua.com/index.php/chillers/mhrc-ae) but I have also seen some videos of folks trying to build their own from scratch. How hard can it be? People have been using...

OK, so it is not just me who went looking and didn't find them.

David Poz has a video on his setup:

I haven't tried any of the netonix gear ... and after reading this, don't plan to.

I have a lot of projects around the house that run off Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 single board computers. I have had my eye on a UPS designed and built for the Pi: https://lifepo4wered.com/lifepo4wered-pi+.html This board is all setup to take solar as input to charge the UPS and run for up to 9 hours...