[ausev] What to do when the grid goes kaput

[Brian Lasseter]

On 5/21/07, Roy Holder <roy at holder3.com> wrote:
> yes, I need 4-5 kwh per day to drive to work. That leaves 10+/- kwh for the
> house..  Refrige, microwave, TV, and a few lights are no problem.
> I have 16 6-volt batts (old car pack still has some life) that I can use at
> night when the sun is down.
> I can charge at work too, halving what I need to charge a home.
> if there is no power at work, not much point in going there anyway.
>
> I have contacted Austin Energy for the Home PV rebate, and do plan on
> installing it late this year.

Austin Energy will not pay you anything if you connect up batteries,
and remove yourself from the grid.  (Just keep them in your garage for
emergencies.  The power grid as a battery has a cheaper life cycle
cost than batteries anyways.)  They install a meter so that they can
calculate how much solar you are generating.  They use it for bragging
rights, and for Federal incentives.

Through at least October 2008, Austin Energy will pay you $4.50 per
Watt of installed solar panels.  It'll cost you at least $6.00 per
Watt to install.  At such low prices, it makes little sense not to
install panels.  The rebate is limited to 3kw per meter per city
fiscal year (Oct through Oct).

If you do a rebate maximizing 3kw install, you are talking about
$6,000 of your own funds into at least $18,000 worth of solar panels.
The payback time is not bad when the city picks up 2/3 of the tab.

I installed my first 3kw of solar panels this past March, I'll be
doing my next 3kw of solar panels this October.  That will easily
cover my house and my car.  My house is not as low power as I would
like yet, so I draw 300kwh/month in the winter, and 1000kwh/month in
the summer.  That means the house uses an average of 600kwh/month, and
I'm hoping the electric car I am working on will pull less than
200kwh/month.  With my roof at 21° Pitch and 220° Azimuth, I generate,
on average, 400kwh/month solar power with a 3kw solar array.

Running an electric car on solar power is easy in the city of Austin.

-- 
TTFN,
Brian "Lasso" Lasseter

  ·  (512)736-1677  ·  AIM:digininja  ·  ICQ:2238123  ·  MSN:azoreg  ·
"No Sane man will dance."   -Cicero (106-43 B.C.)