Recent content by SolarTexan

My December totaled 1,580.3 kWh from 30.5 kW of panels. My 2023 year total came to 27,566.7 kWh I am totally off-grid, so I only produce what I consume, so I consumed 27,566.7 kWh for 2023

40kWh today. Lots of sun, batteries full.

"How long can you (and your family) survive if the grid went down for an extended period?" We provide all our own power, so to us the grid is for everyone else. We would survive as long as our other preps hold out, and as long as others around us are still civil. We are prepared for the...

My July was 3,375kWh and winter time is 1,100-1,200kWh on average (propane furnaces). The air conditioning in the summer here is a killer considering I am running two 3 ton conventional central air units.

The crazy heat we had in August took some juice to keep the indoor temperature at 73F when the outside temp reached upwards of 110F. My August total load was 4162kWh, with the highest daily load of 243kWh, and the highest peak load at 18,466 watts. I did have a refrigerator/freezer that failed...

Being off-grid, I need the redundancy in case one of my 12Ks goes down. I am planning on buying a spare soon, and I hope to pick one up under $3K if possible. If I have too much self consumption, then I need more batteries. I have 12Ks and a 15K as well as both AGM and Lithium.

And a soft-start on the 5 ton AC unit

If you have a live grid power feed, then I don't consider you "off grid" whether you use it or not.

If you can throw a switch and be on grid, or if you can charge your batteries from the grid, then you are not "off grid" in my opinion. You are "part time off grid", which is not nearly the same. I am off grid and do not have the luxury of flipping a switch to turn on the magic juice. Off...

I haven't measured the current being drawn by just the transformers. I made sure to get DOE2016 rated transformers for the efficiency, and the specs state "no load loss" of the 37.5kVa and the 25kVa is 85+54=139 watts, and the "full load" losses are 1470+1090=2560 watts. At night, I see the...

I am using a step-down transformer backwards. I consulted with the transformer company before I did this just to be sure it would work. They told me it would work, but to be aware of high inrush current, possibly several hundred amps, feeding into backwards transformer upon power up. I then...

I am totally off-grid. My power room is located in my shop building some 500+ feet from the house. I am using three Sol-Ark 12Ks in parallel, and I use a 37.5kVa step up transformer to get to 480v and then a 25kVa step down transformer at the house to bring it back down to 240v. I did this to...

I have a 2003 New Holland TC45D 45hp 4wd tractor with supersteer and a 6' loader for my 50 acres. I mow about 15 acres of it using the tractor with a BushHog 3pt mower. My equipment also includes a small excavator, zero turn mowers, tow sprayer, and a 5000lb lift forklift as well as other...

I considered the Firefly batteries. Their specs are comparable, but more pricey than the Outback 1000xlc that I ended up with. Now if Firefly sold a 48v bank of 2v batteries, complete with rack and all the interconnects, then I may have gone with them over the Outbacks.

Johnson County Texas. The batteries are in a temperature controlled room that we affectionately call "the solar room".