I remember the feeling of being self sufficient, off grid and two miles off the closest main road with the winter storm HOWLING around the house, the wood stove crackling happily, and my wife and I playing Diablo 3 and yelling at each other happily... while everyone nearby was doing without power. Lines down everywhere. Some people were without power for two weeks. Meanwhile, the snow built up around the cabin, snow piling up past the windows as it also slid off the roof. My duties were to put on the snowshoes and go out to slide the snow off of our solar panels, bring in more wood, while she made breakfast, and used her hotspot so we could watch tv while we ate. I don't think I have ever felt more content and self reliant. I want that feeling back. I want the security and as a major bonus, I want to step away from paying the arrogant asses that I am currently having to pay.
If I could sell back the extra power I would seriously oversize. My son is about to retire from the military, and wants to build a house. So I may well more than double the size of the power system to supply HIM with power as well when he builds that house. Provided I can get the bugs worked out of my system...
The 15000 Watt Sun Gold inverter surges to 45kw, the 18000 watt inverter surges to 54kw I dislike the idea of maxing an inverter often, and hope that by going to a larger size that the lighter load on it will help it last longer. Often hopes and reality do not coincide, but its worth a shot.
So are ANY of you using a hybrid system, and of so what brand inverter are you using? The hybrid inverter I am looking at has connections for both solar and wind, while the Sun Gold inverter does not... I am ... Assuming, that running a seperate system means another charge controller being hooked directly to the batteries instead of going through the existing charge controller?
Welcome to Iowa, what part are you in? I read thru this thread and had to respond, it's an Iowa thing. I have power thru Alliant, and yes, they are increasing rates for several reasons, namely because coal generators they buy power from are shutting down those generators. Then by Cedar Rapids, the nuclear plant is being shutdown and closed. As they buy on the open market, they are forced to raise rates and the Iowa Utility Board allows it. However if you look at other states in the US, you will find Alliant isn't that high on rates, $0.15 per Kwh summer, $0.12 per Kwh winter. Surcharges apply for peak usage, they put out smart meters for a reason. Alliant is heavy on fees, just the way it is as they continue to have to upgrade the grid, years back there was no investment in the grid so all those poles, wires and transformers are really showing some age.
As to why your usage and resulting bill is high, you need to start auditing your usage. Switch to LED lighting, find energy efficient appliances. I'm amazed the new refrigerator here takes 1Kwh per day. It is cheaper to cut Kwh usage than build a system to match current Kwh usage.
Now, here is the thing with building a system in Iowa. With Alliant and many of the REC's (Rural Electric Coop) out there, well all now, you can only build a grid tied system to 80% of current usage with net metering. My brother bought a used wind generator years ago and at the time his REC would buy power from him at $0.10 per Kwh. This allowed the REC to meet requirements for renewables. What occurred was that REC merged with another from MN and all those agreements went out the door. Part of the reason for the merger was the coal generation they bought power from was slated for shutdown and that has now happened. With the merger, the REC had a different supply of grid power and it wasn't in their interests to pay someone like my brother when it could be bought cheaper. Shareholders (coop customers) want those dividends, even if it means they aren't energy independent long term. The opportunity to break those agreements was available with the merger into a new company, thus those agreements were voided. My brother now is on net metering. He banks his maximum net metering allowed production on the grid, then locks down the wind generator to keep wear and maintenance down. Speaking of maintenance, wind is very very maintenance dependent. Here in NE IA, we have large wind farms and I know people who work on them. You don't really want wind.
With grid tied, you will be required to get all the permits and inspections done. My brother was required to use only licensed electricians for his grid tied hookup, at the time our cousin was licensed. Fire marshal will inspect it and only then will Alliant hook you up. But you will also be required to carry insurance for liability, at least he was at the time.
It is more advantageous to go with load reduction instead of grid tie. Build a system where you bank excess production on your side of the meter with no ability to back feed the grid. Use the grid as backup power. I can tell you why you received such high estimates from contractors here. All are extremely busy, they also see increases in supplies needed for installs increase over 1000% on some items. I know earlier this year, you could not source a meter socket in IA. They just weren't available. As you want to go completely off grid, it will take some serious money to meet all your needs. Your usage is comparable to what my house and shop take on my acreage, with air conditioning running in both all summer. 2 freezers, 2 fridges, air compressor, welders, lifts and a well are the biggest uses. I run a full time business here and my specialty is vehicle air conditioning repair so the shop AC gets a workout all summer. I looked at grid tie a few years back with 80% usage generated and the cost then was $28K plus inspection. But I live in a non zoned county and several factors come into play when it comes to building here, no permits required. If you were to go completely off grid with batteries for the usage you describe, then it will take 2 inverters,very large bank and the PV array will probably double. The reason why is the weather in IA can be fickle, you get periods with little sun for extended periods. You get periods where 4 or 5 days of very cloudy weather will affect PV production. As you want off grid completely, this needs to be taken into account. If you went load reduction, the system would not have so many requirements.
Take up Alliant on the energy audit, it might be eye opening for you. If you have a shop for example, with halogen lights, then switching to LED will cut usage. And Alliant will help pay for it with rebates. It's really just returning the money they charged you for with their fees. After you get usage down, then design and build your own system for load reduction without grid tie feeding the grid. Over time, you can expand the system if desired to get completely off grid or cut grid Kwh to basically nothing.
