Is off grid (PV+Battery) better than grid-tie?

[HardYakka]

I know you are asking about the energy supply side (solar PV and battery, on/off grid), but what about the energy demand side of the equation?

Do you have options to reduce your energy demand? What is consuming all that energy?

We had pretty high energy demand as well with our first full year averaging 52.2 kWh/day, (high of 66kWh/day for the Summer quarter, low of 40 kWh/day for Autumn qtr) and aside from adding both grid-tied PV and eventually also off-grid PV + battery, we also took steps to reduce our energy consumption.

We've managed to reduce our home's annual average consumption by 20 kWh/day. I'm still working on that, more to do.

This makes the job of self energy supply and bill reduction much easier and cheaper as you need less PV and battery plus of course less energy imported from the grid.

Below shows our quarterly average daily energy consumption split by the source of energy supplying it (grid vs our own production) over the past nearly eight years:

View attachment 164066

This includes the additional second occupied dwelling added at start of 2020.

Our annual average grid imports are down by 45 kWh/day.

We had to leave (family issues in Oregon) the Shoalhaven but had a 3.5Kw panel array, 2 SMA grid tie inverter under the 'solar scheme' with the high buy back rate, I think it was about $.60 / kwh. Quarterly checks back to us ran between $700-$900. With the 36 tube HILLS solar water system on off peak rates. I know that buy back is gone now and refunds would be minor in comparison but we were self sufficient with the wife and myself so not a big family.

 

[hicke]

are you already grid tied with PTO from POCO? IF so dont waste your time with batteries.

the reasons people go off grid are:
1. there is no grid
2. they want "freedom" from the government who is watching their energy use.
3. we dont want to deal with jumping through hoops to get PTO

Why would your government watch your energy consumption? Why would they be allowed?

Which country do you live?

 

[Hedges]

The Land of the Free.

It was especially useful for detecting illegal indoor grow operations.

Indoor Cannabis Grow Centers Draining Electricity

Indoor cultivation of cannabis is responsible for about 10% of all industrial electricity consumption in Massachusetts, a representative from the Northeast Sustainable Cannabis Project estimated Tuesday.

www.wbur.org

https://www.dea.gov/operations/eradication-program

It's a profitable industry, really.
We have even privatized prisons.


Even energy use itself can be illegal, and violators have to pay money.

Five US cities target building energy use, emissions with fines

New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Boston and St. Louis are poised to implement penalties to curb building-level greenhouse gas emissions or energy use.

www.cfodive.com

 

[hicke]

The Land of the Free.

It was especially useful for detecting illegal indoor grow operations.

Indoor Cannabis Grow Centers Draining Electricity

Indoor cultivation of cannabis is responsible for about 10% of all industrial electricity consumption in Massachusetts, a representative from the Northeast Sustainable Cannabis Project estimated Tuesday.

www.wbur.org

https://www.dea.gov/operations/eradication-program

It's a profitable industry, really.
We have even privatized prisons.

Haha. Doesn't sound so free. Ironic that the US persists on defending their freedom internationally when the biggest restraint on your freedom are domestic actions... ?

 

[pvgirl]

Nothing better then building a large and highly visible solar array to try and hide my energy usage.

 

[Ampster]

Why would your government watch your energy consumption?

When Marijuana was illegal and grown indoors with high consuming lights that might have been an issue. I can't think of any other reason the government would care?

 

[sunsurfer]

If you don't have lots of money for a big system with tons of battery, going off grid requires MAJOR life style changes.

I have ONE good battery bank(20KWH Lifepo4) and 2 systems. One has 4000watts input max and the other is 2800watts max input. Things get tight and I "follow" the sun. When the sun is shinning, things requiring tons of power get done(pumping the well, cooking, heating water for showers, etc...) work flow changes with the seasons. Batteries are used for fridge/freezer, basic lighting/laptops and mini spilt over night. Batteries are also a buffer for clouds rolling through. Its extra work but I am free. No strings attached to my land.

 

[Shimmy]

Nothing better then building a large and highly visible solar array to try and hide my energy usage.

I'm not really in the conspiracy cult, but there are valid reasons to obscure your electrical consumption profile from the utility. High precision interval data can disclose all kinds of interesting things about how you live. In my house I can even see when I run the weekly backups for my computers. Most importantly though it is quite obvious even with low resolution interval data when someone is not home or usually not home, and this information is often unencrypted when uploaded to the utility's SCADA network.

Just seeing how many solar panels a house has doesn't say much, especially if it is off-grid. For me, doubling the solar from a net-zero level lets me have sufficient power all but 3-4 days per year. With a battery sized at about 150% my average daily consumption I could run an "average" year with batteries and solar only, although 15-20kWh of generator use might be needed. (I wonder if I could use the excess energy in the summer to make "green" syngas for the generator?)

 

[timselectric]

I'm not worried about the government or utility companies. I just don't want the Aliens watching me.
Hopefully the solar panels interfere with the signal.