Glad to hear y'all made thru alright. I saw on the outage map at one time that Polk county was over 50% without grid power and was wondering how you were faring. Just some monster storms in Texas this spring. I lived in DFW area for 30 years and don't remember it being that bad. Hot, yes, but not that violent of weather. We got a few storms here over the last week and had some brief outages, but really didn't notice. I imagine there's a lot of folks in Texas getting real interested in solar right now.Better late responding than never?
It was a little windy here during the bad storm back when you first posted this. We probably had 75 mph winds but no significant damage. We did get a ton of rain over about a week there, something over 20 inches with a lot of local flooding. We fared okay on that as well, although some pastures under water. For the most part our solar held the line. I did have to run the chargeverter a few times when it rained with no sun for a couple days in a row.
But we got another storm with worse winds on Tuesday. The weather geeks said 85 mph winds. Having been through a number of hurricanes it felt like we had some gusts pushing 100. But we still fared well. A little damage to the gardens and a tree down at the lake house but it didn't fall on anything. All the panels were fine through both storms so we're back to making kws.
As for other folks around here, there are a lot of them suffering. Livingston flooded in town in places which had never flooded. South of us the rising water from dam release set new records so a lot of flooding there too. During Hurricane Harvey the dam release reached 110k cfs, which set a record at the time. During this storm it got up to 124k cfs, so considerably more than ever before. And the power outages in Houston with all the transmission lines down has been a little crazy. No fun to be without power for weeks when you're having heat indexes of 108F or more.
All in all, I'm going to say we were very fortunate. The grid didn't fail here like it did in Houston but it was great to be on solar, just in case it did.
I suspect you're right about that! I don't see myself ever being without solar again, assuming I have a choice.Glad to hear y'all made thru alright. I saw on the outage map at one time that Polk county was over 50% without grid power and was wondering how you were faring. Just some monster storms in Texas this spring. I lived in DFW area for 30 years and don't remember it being that bad. Hot, yes, but not that violent of weather. We got a few storms here over the last week and had some brief outages, but really didn't notice. I imagine there's a lot of folks in Texas getting real interested in solar right now.
I imagine there's a lot of folks in Texas getting real interested in solar right now.
Oh I'm all for propane, we have a 330gal tank down at the old house, and a 30K BTU heater in the house to keep it warm enough in there in the winter to keep the pipes from freezing. We don't live down there but try to keep it somewhat liveable.I had it before my solar project - but I do keep a small 3000w dual fuel Pulsar generator in storage along with 2X 20# propane cylinders. Originally had it as emergency measure to (slow) charge my EV if there was every grid problems, and it works all well and good. Now it would be double emergency backup if there was no sun for 2 or 3 days. I'd need to get a chargeverter from EG4 if I wanted to integrate it into my solar/battery setup though since its only 120V output
Propane never goes bad, burns cleaner and don't have to worry about rotating fuel every 6 to 12 months too![]()
Then point them to DIY Solar Forum!People always get really interested in solar and batteries after a big storm. Then they get a few quotes, look at their bank balance, pull out their pockets, look under the couch cushions, and come to the harsh realization that it is expensive
My system wasn't cheap (for me anyway), but I think it's worth it. I could see most folks probably going the generator route considering the costs.People always get really interested in solar and batteries after a big storm. Then they get a few quotes, look at their bank balance, pull out their pockets, look under the couch cushions, and come to the harsh realization that it is expensive. Or, they get sold some grid tied system that doesn't even do anything when the power goes out and then get angry.
This site is my little secret. If I told them about this place, they wouldn't be so amazed when I parrot the answers I get from y'all.Then point them to DIY Solar Forum!
I think Signature Solar are in a good position right about now...
I've heard that grid tied system story so many times it hurts. I feel sorry for people for being taken but damn, do a little research on your own. Not just solar but pretty much any major expense. I'm not trashing a grid tied system without battery. If you're just looking to save some money and that's what you want go for it. But I have gotten a number of calls from friends, often wanting my opinion of a quote. Not one time have those quotes included batteries, and every time the buyer thought that it would keep them powered up if the grid went down. Maybe the salesman told them that, or more likely the salesman allowed them to assume that. Either way, in every case I've dealt with when they found out how much batteries cost they backed out or went with a whole house gen. If I mention building their own you would think I suggested they build a rocket ship. Oh well, nothing I can do for em.People always get really interested in solar and batteries after a big storm. Then they get a few quotes, look at their bank balance, pull out their pockets, look under the couch cushions, and come to the harsh realization that it is expensive. Or, they get sold some grid tied system that doesn't even do anything when the power goes out and then get angry.
Yeah, generators always do really, really well after storms. I'm sure solar sales do very well also, but it's a much larger commitment and full of all kinds of snakes and con artists.My system wasn't cheap (for me anyway), but I think it's worth it. I could see most folks probably going the generator route considering the costs.
Yeah, I can imagine the frustration of getting grid tie solar power only to find out you have nothing when the grid actually goes down, unless you have a hybrid system with batteries.
Have you ever worked with any of this stuff?under something != bottom of it
also doesn't have the overheating issues our power lines do
I was looking at whole house Generac generators and you can get a 18KW unit for about $5K from Lowe's or similar. Of course that doesn't include installation, and getting a fuel tank put in, and other sundry costs. So grand total for all that would be what, about $10K?Yeah, generators always do really, really well after storms. I'm sure solar sales do very well also, but it's a much larger commitment and full of all kinds of snakes and con artists.
For my moms nearby house I installed a Generac 14KW at Lowes was $4200 with tax delivered to my door, plus around $200 for the battery and various gas line fittings. A local electrical contractor installed the transfer switch for $1000 with new breakers (I could have done it but I'm lazy and it was hot outside). Total installed price is around $5400. Would have been double+ if I went the easy way and contracted a Generac installer.I was looking at whole house Generac generators...
whole house Generac generators and you can get a 18KW unit for about $5K from Lowe's
It's such a consideration they're on their 4th change from ACCR to ACFR to AECC now to ACCC.. blah blahHave you ever worked with any of this stuff?
I have been a places you can not imagine working in temperatures that rival the hottest desserts on earth.( I would argue exceed but that dam wet bulb thing clouds the numbers )
In short
Temperature of a power line in free air is hardly a consideration compared to an armoured cable.
It’s all about the ability to shed excess heat and not the ambient temperature ( within these reasonable levels )
Yes, I bought a SophTrans 40A charger, bonus it has wifi based control. It lets me select the amperage rating to charge the car with (from 10A to 40A) I have it plugged into my inverter setup on a transfer switch, so worst case I flip a switch and back to direct grid. I don't need super speedy charging so I generally keep it set to 10A @ 240V, that way it doesn't suck my battery dry super fast. On a sunny day I can produce more than enough solar to offset EV charging live. Max I'll set the EV charger to is 16A if I'm on battery/inverter, that's 4000W right there roughly, still leaves room to run house basics/fridge/lights/computer/etc without going into overload status.Oh I'm all for propane, we have a 330gal tank down at the old house, and a 30K BTU heater in the house to keep it warm enough in there in the winter to keep the pipes from freezing. We don't live down there but try to keep it somewhat liveable.
We have a propane grill up here and use once in a while. I wish we had a big tank up here to run a heater. That electric heat gets expensive in a hurry..
Do you have your car charger on the inverter? I imagine it may be a bit much for one 6K inverter, unless that's the only load it's running at the time.
nobody said your wire had oil in itstuff you don’t even have an acronym for
No oil in the baby squid…
The wire is to copper partnobody said your wire had oil in it
good for you & it, what about it?The wire is to copper part
Add insulation, semiconductor, rubber….
Now you have a cable all part of a system
A very expensive one per foot too.
That is the real difference to cost of an in ground grid vs overheads.
That's cool. What kind of EV do you have?Yes, I bought a SophTrans 40A charger, bonus it has wifi based control. It lets me select the amperage rating to charge the car with (from 10A to 40A) I have it plugged into my inverter setup on a transfer switch, so worst case I flip a switch and back to direct grid. I don't need super speedy charging so I generally keep it set to 10A @ 240V, that way it doesn't suck my battery dry super fast. On a sunny day I can produce more than enough solar to offset EV charging live. Max I'll set the EV charger to is 16A if I'm on battery/inverter, that's 4000W right there roughly, still leaves room to run house basics/fridge/lights/computer/etc without going into overload status.
?You know it’s a good event when they bring in sleeping rack tractor trailers that sleep +200 guys, as it’s better than having crews travel hours to and from hotels each day.
That doesn't seem possible even if you stack them human trafficking style?
You're saying they're having 200 linemen sleep in a single conex?? I'm not getting what you're saying.
Yes and no, but the bulk of the issue with downed power lines is generally in areas where it would make more sense to go underground from both a safety and reliability perspective. It costs money to dig the ditch, but you already have the right-of-way. Everything new here inside the city limits goes underground. Putting back up a mile of High-tension wire is simple. Dealing with hundreds of power poles in scattered neighborhoods all over the place can negate the cost/time initial benefit fairly quickly.There are engineering issues with using underground cables for power distribution
That require a lot of extra equipment to compensate the lines for maximum efficiency
The cable is extremely expensive too!
?
You're saying they're having 200 linemen sleep in a single conex?? I'm not getting what you're saying.
Maybe they meant on a rotation of some sort.. 8 hour sleeping shifts.. then 16 hours fun work.That doesn't seem possible even if you stack them human trafficking style
It's expensive to bury it, I get it, but much of that is capital cost to the utility. There are all kinds of costs associated with having poles that are incremental and recurring, as well as the catastrophic stuff. Then you have the reliability angle, which is tough to put a price on. There will always be above ground distribution, it just plain makes sense in a lot of cases, it's fast, and relatively inexpensive.ground grids load break elbows pea gravel special transformers.
I’m not going to get into this I’m already in too far
Poles are much cheaper trust me
22' Bolt EUV -- used to have a 2017 Volt that was paid for and in mint condition, till a human piece of garbage ran a red light and T-boned me on my way to work.That's cool. What kind of EV do you have?
I see that there's still 200K without power in TX. It's like they seem to be getting it whittled down and bam! more storms hit. Guess the linemen are making some serious coin..
Bugger22' Bolt EUV -- used to have a 2017 Volt that was paid for and in mint condition, till a human piece of garbage ran a red light and T-boned me on my way to work.
It makes sense on a residential are when building new infrastructure.
Personally I rather be on the ground working on a pad mount transformer than in a bucket truck working on a can.
View attachment 218587
This is a really old combination of parts.
As long as your under 5000 volts it’s relatively easy to do cable termination.
This is not a 5000 volt installation, and it was not really done to todays standards.
But consider the costs involved in having all the parts and fuses in metal clad enclosers on the ground in switchyards, fences barb wire to keep people out…
Your hydro rates would be higher to reflect the extra parts and steps required to electrify your neighbourhood compared to a pole top system
Above ground power lines are ugly as sin. We really should consider aesthetics at some point. Some places is just plain Ugly with a capital U because of all the utility and public works stuff.Good possibility, but the town I am in has put most of the power lines under ground and the aesthetics alone makes it worth while.
Oh heck, I read your location wrong and mistook NE for NW Kentucky. We're in the very East part of MO, where that stuff picked up steam and headed towards KY, IL, and TN.
Don't get me wrong, having power was nice, cold showers not so much, but yeah, felt a tad bit guilty. Turned off all outside lights and pulled the curtains.
I have several generators
Good to know you aren't bothered by it all that much.22' Bolt EUV -- used to have a 2017 Volt that was paid for and in mint condition, till a human piece of garbage ran a red light and T-boned me on my way to work.