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To: DoodleBob; Jonty30; Omnivore-Dan
Home solar user here. It provides 80% of my power year round (less in the winter months, almost everything I need the rest of the year). So for me, solar isn't a backup generator. It's my main power source, with the grid being my "backup".

But there are practical pros and cons. For example, DoodleBob is in New Jersey, which gives him different power needs than I have in Alabama. Plus New Jersey gets less solar. Lastly, when NJ needs the most energy is in the winter (though I imagine most NJ homeowners use gas or oil heating, so maybe not as much power needed). Unfortunately, in the winter is when you get less sun. Conversely in Alabama we use the most energy keeping our house cool in the summer --- which is when we get the most sun.

About emergency power after a hurricane, I don't get hurricane weather in the northern portion of Alabama. But we get tornados. Usually the next day after a tornado the sky is clear -- good for solar. Is that what it's like after a hurricane knocks out power? Or do you have days of rainy weather (read: little sunshine)?

When a tornado hits here it's usually in the late afternoon/early evening (in other words, my solar power has a long time to charge my home batteries before the tornado hits). Thus, if a tornado was to knock out my power I'm probably running on home solar/battery power all night anyway. Especially since most tornados are in the spring or fall (calm temperature weather: meaning I don't have to consume a lot of power running the HVAC and have plenty of power in my batteries for the home). So if a tornado knocked out our grid power I wouldn't know it except for my solar app notifying me that there was a problem with the grid (it often dings me when it detects "dirty power").

70 posted on 05/17/2024 5:55:28 AM PDT by Tell It Right (1st Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: Tell It Right

Sounds like you have a good solar setup, with solar powering the house during the day, and also charging batteries for use at night or blackouts. Many setups are not that sophisticated, and do not have batteries charging, and also may not work when the grid is down due to the grid restrictions somehow. I know of neighbors who have this kind of setup. Only works during the day, and when the grid is working. I don’t get it, won’t work for us, we need something like you have. Here, in N.J. with ridiculous ordinances, you have to have a seperate shed for the batteries, and it has to be some distance from the house. Initially expensive even if you have the property.


91 posted on 05/17/2024 11:46:04 AM PDT by Omnivore-Dan
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