Andy was late coming home yesterday evening because Greg and Bernie had started installing our new batteries. The new batteries weigh about 200 pounds each, and there were six of them in each green container, so the guys needed heavy equipment to move them around.
Greg and Bernie were still working when Andy left, so we will presumably have more pictures tomorrow.
October 30, 2014
I look forward to tomorrow’s news!
🙂
Besides Greg, Bernie & this machine coming 60 or so miles to your cabin now, will you tell us in the end, how many million $$ this whole project has cost? (That’s a taboo subject, I know.)
You know you can tell me to quit with my negative remarks & I will.
I’ve never said Andy’s hobbies were inexpensive. The rule is I don’t worry about all the money he’s spending as long as (1) he’s happy, and (2) he brings me back pictures from time to time. I figure it’s an investment in mental and physical health and well worth it.
i’m beginning to see why more people don’t … make that … can’t ! … go green.
if it takes all this for a simple one or two room cabin… it’s not feasible for the average person with a family and a smallish income.
even if it saves them money after it’s all in place. it would cost too much i think.
and that’s too bad. because it’s a very important thing for the environment.
i suppose as it becomes more mainstream it will become less costly? i hope so!
Andy’s going green is a lot more expensive than what some people do. His solar heating project is so expensive because he’s trying to use the sun to heat the whole house. People can save money by just using the sun to heat their hot water — that’s a much smaller and more simple system.
And some people “on the grid” just have photovoltaic panels for electricity from the sun. They don’t have any (expensive) storage batteries. Up until now they’ve been getting credit for giving any extra electricity to the power companies, but that’s starting to cause troubles as more and more people do it. The power companies need to be able to predict how much electricity they have. They can’t afford to be dependent on whether the sun is out or behind a cloud.
The energizer bunny hasn’t gotten anything on those batteries!! :-)!
You’re right! 😀
Andy says the new batteries store a total of about 50 kilowatt hours of electricity. In our small apartment down here we use between 300 and 600 kWhrs a month, depending on the season.
We have solar panels that are hooked into the grid like you described. But I’ve always wanted batteries so we’d be able to use the power when the grid goes down! Lucky you!
We also have solar hot water heating… so we’re doing the best we can.
Enjoy those batteries!
Yes, storage batteries are great, but they’re expensive and do require some fussing. We bought the smaller ones as “training batteries” so Andy could learn how to use them without shortening their lifespans. Do you have a backup generator?
As you know, the cottage/cabin is miles from an electrical grid, and there is no cell phone reception up there. That’s a concern if Andy has an accident.