Where is off-grid utopia?
- Thread starter Fearless
- Start date
Zwy
Emperor Of Solar
I run radiant in the shop with a condensing boiler with a pretty good turn down ratio. I installed it over New Year's weekend a year ago when the original condensing boiler developed a leak in the heat exchanger.
The new Rinnai doesn't let me turn the boiler temp down as low as the Triangle Tube but I do believe it does turn down more. I used to use a boiler temp of 120F (48C) and a floor sensor set at 70F (21C). My feet are plenty warm most days.
I'll probably start out using a high temp emitter heat exchanger in the furnace plenum (it looks like it will be free anyway), then begin the process of adding floor radiant to all the downstairs rooms. Probably a towel warmer too in the bath.
When it is warmer and sunny, I just use the mini split anyway. It's been off since mid December, we have not had any measureable sun since Dec 17th to 20th and on the 29th I had good sun. It has been very cloudy and foggy. Weatherman had predicted sun all week here after last Friday, they sure backtracked on that and show another week of clouds plus snow.
I'm actually considering wind......... someone help me.
I have 66 new wind towers to look at all day now, they just keep going round and round lately. Just not today. My brother has 17.5Kw of wind tower, I just can't commit to it with the maintenance.
I got you, it doesn't work. Here's why...
You're dealing with two fundamental issues:
- The Betz Limit
- The Power in Wind equation
The Betz Limit is basically a theoretical number of the maximum efficiency you can possibly get. At most, only 59.3% of the kinetic wind energy can be used to spin the turbine and generate electricity. Remember this is a theoretical limit; in practice, you're going to be closer to 40%.
The Power in Wind equation is given as:
P = 1/2 x ρ x A x V³
Where:
P = power in Watts
ρ = air density (kg/m³, at about 1.2 at sea level)
A = Swept area of the blades (m²)
V = Velocity of the wind
So, no matter how good your turbine is, you will get in practice at most 40% of the wind energy converted to electricity. To capture the wind energy in the first place, you have two variables to increase (one in your control, the other not): swept area and wind velocity. The smaller you make the turbine, the faster you need to spin to make any meaningful energy. The only variable you control is the swept area, which means making the blades as big as possible. Also notice that the velocity is cubed in that equation, so you'll generate much, much less power at low wind speeds.
In other words, it doesn't work because physics.
Now I will apologize to @Fearless for taking this thread off-topic and shut up.
jdanderson
New Member
We recently got 30 acres in northeast Texas for $4800 per acre ($144k).
10 minutes to a town with a super Walmart, 25 minutes to a town with Home Depot/Lowes, Sams Club, etc...
10 minutes to a town with a super Walmart, 25 minutes to a town with Home Depot/Lowes, Sams Club, etc...
littleharbor2
Solar Addict
Some fine looking land. Amazing price.
OffGridForGood
Catch, make or grow everything you can.
I bought 50 Treed Acres for 50,000 CAD$ (38,500USD) 25 minutes from 3 Walmarts, 1 HomeDepot
Came with 250 foot good drilled well, 2,000 sqft heated steel building and the site has a high spot with 360-degree view right in the middle.
Needs septic, has NO GRID - so it is perfect.
Now how to convince the other half we should move?!
Came with 250 foot good drilled well, 2,000 sqft heated steel building and the site has a high spot with 360-degree view right in the middle.
Needs septic, has NO GRID - so it is perfect.
Now how to convince the other half we should move?!
jdanderson
New Member
Thanks!
5 acres clear up front with a pond, and 25 acres with hardwood trees.
An adjacent plot is still for sale. 32 acres listed at $160k 50/50 trees/clear with two ponds.
The seller only takes cash offers, though.
littleharbor2
Solar Addict
Great deal for somebody. I like that it appears to be mostly somewhat level ground. Trees look healthy. How much rain do you get? It looks pretty green, now anyway.
green mountain boys
Solar Enthusiast
Cheap, undeveloped land. Try Maine. It is quite easy to find land for $1,000. - $2,000./acre. The property tax rate is good so, cheap land x moderate property tax rate = low property tax bill. Also, you can put some of your land into a discounted property tax program for timber growth if you choose.
I recently saw a property in Maine for sale. Almost 700 acres with interior gravel roads to get around, 360 degree views, 300 acres of blueberries with last years' reported yield of 800,000lbs, old post and beam barn looked to be in good shape. Asking $500,000. and the property taxes were about $1,800./year if I remember correctly.
The downside... winter snow/cold, mud-season, bugs, distance to civilization and in some places wind.
I recently saw a property in Maine for sale. Almost 700 acres with interior gravel roads to get around, 360 degree views, 300 acres of blueberries with last years' reported yield of 800,000lbs, old post and beam barn looked to be in good shape. Asking $500,000. and the property taxes were about $1,800./year if I remember correctly.
The downside... winter snow/cold, mud-season, bugs, distance to civilization and in some places wind.
Re: Maine. Agree - Fantastic place to live. Amazing place to live and great suggestion, @green mountain boys. Happiest I've ever been since we moved here a few years back. And people here have welcomed us as if we'd been born here, contrary to what some would caution.
That said, please only move here if you intend on being, well, a decent human being. Have radical political views in either direction and want to impose those on others? Please stay where you're at. Don't want to help your neighbors by volunteering in the community? Not the place for you. Think you can move here and change things to the way they were back wherever you're moving from? Not gonna go well.
On the other hand, you can believe just about anything you want, and even discuss those views down at the local watering hole, as long as you treat others respectfully and listen more than you talk. Amazing how people that take that approach can all get along here (I see it almost every week, with a very wide range of people, all at the same table). If you have decent health, we sure could use more volunteer firefighters. I joined for the first time in my mid-fifties, with at least 25 extra pounds on me. They found ways to make me useful (and I made some new friends). Local libraries and other community organizations need help, too. Figure out how to "give back" a little bit, even if you're no longer as young as you once were (we're the oldest state in the nation, so we can't depend on just the young folks to get stuff done).
Anyway... I absolutely love our adopted home, here in Maine. We have friends all over the world, but these folks have treated us like family (the kind you want!). But they expect you to do more than just sit on your rear and "take". They'll give you all the space you need, but they have a sense of community, and if you're gonna live here, they expect you to do your part. Freeloaders, blowhards, and jerks not welcome. Decent folks, willing to pitch in a little, and treat others with respect even when they disagree with you, come on up.
jdanderson
New Member
I looked up a topography map for our area. My land has no more than 3 feet of elevation change across the 30 acres, so it is very flat.
This is way northeast Texas, 15 minutes from the Oklahoma border and 25 minutes from the Arkansas border. The area is forested, and gets about 55 inches of rain per year. I took that site photo in mid-August at the peak of heat (over 100 degrees) and everything was still lush and green.
This is way northeast Texas, 15 minutes from the Oklahoma border and 25 minutes from the Arkansas border. The area is forested, and gets about 55 inches of rain per year. I took that site photo in mid-August at the peak of heat (over 100 degrees) and everything was still lush and green.
I picked up one of those real estate sales magazines when I passed through northeast Texas. There was a lot of cheap land in it.
@Zwy
Well, my estimate was completely wrong... make that 30kg per day total, at -30C. I measured this last week since this number I gave you was bugging me, and had a feeling it was off...
Zwy
Emperor Of Solar
Comes out to about 60 lbs. Sounds about right, I find around that weight quite often. Thanks for the update.
Although our taxes are ugly here in Nebraska, on my property near the platte river, 25ft with a sandpoint will get you a usable well. Heck, 10 feet would almost. In the river bottom area, every 20 years or so we get some kind of a flood, it's just part of life here. Almost zero crime, though. Typical midwestern winters and summer. Very little zoning in rural areas, and minimal californicans about. If I want a new well, I just go to TSC and get the pipe and sandpoint, and use the loader on my tractor to push the pipe down. No permits necessary.
hardtop
New Member
Don't forget the corn and Cornhuskers.
And soybeans, wheat, millet, etc. But the Cornhuskers are pretty horrible anymore. lol
Tennessee is?
I'm in Southwest Oregon, and we get a LOT of sun year round. From Roseburg, OR to the south, is much different than the northern part of the state, fyi.
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