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Off grid for 20K

lyledunn
Client building a new house quoted 20Kplus vat for DNO supply. Do you reckon you could go off grid for that?
  • 0
    We are experiencing a lot of short outages at the moment and have been for a few weeks, not enough to justify installing back up, but enough to leave a candle and a box of matches on the coffee table.
  • 0
    mapj1:

    Not just lead acid.

    There will be more to be learnt about getting the best out of various lithium cells as well - like not charging them to 100% if you do not need to.

    I note that Tesla and others have the depth of cycle and the charge cut-off voltages programmable, and offer an 8 year warranty ( reference) mainly by only filling to ~ 80% and avoiding deep discharge.

    It may be that in a few years time there is a market in 2nd hand vehicle battery packs with life left in them,


    Mike.




    In the longer term I agree, but in the near term I do not trust any type of lithium battery and would be most reluctant to have a large one indoors.

    In the near term, lead acid are IMHO the best choice for off grid homes, and for standby purposes in homes with grid service.


  • 0
    Meanwhile, fifteen years ago 

    http://www.reuk.co.uk/David-Cameron-Wind-Turbine.htm
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    The wind turbines have not gone down a storm 

    http://www.reuk.co.uk/wordpress/wind/consumers-disappointed-with-micro-turbines/
  • 0
    Sparkingchip:

    The wind turbines have not gone down a storm 

    http://www.reuk.co.uk/wordpress/wind/consumers-disappointed-with-micro-turbines/


    They are good for marine craft and can charge up a few batteries. Obviously vibration can be a problem. They should be mounted on vibration absorbing mounts or on a remote pole away from the house. I installed one years ago with support lines to prevent it blowing over in very strong winds. I had a Rutland Furlmatic that automatically rotated in very strong winds across the wind to prevent damage, rather than facing directly into the strong winds. I saw the same model had been installed on a mountain top in Scotland that powered a battery that supplied a T.V. booster relay to a low lying remote village. They are good for trickle  charging batteries.


    Z.


  • 0
    Those micro-turbines were often pretty useless, costing more to install than they ever saved in electricity.  Mounting them on a roof doesn't help - the wind tends to swirl around houses and wind turbines like a nice smooth flow to get up to speed.  That's why the big wind turbines tend to be installed in flat areas.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    I lived off grid many years ago, and it was nothing short of a pain in the backside, always having to check the batteries, using gas powered fridges, having to turn on a generator to use the washing machine, and we didn’t have half as much in the house as people have today. Recently my family in Wales have been connected to the grid after their failed attempt at trying to live off grid, unfortunately they didn’t carry out the proper checks and maintenance of their system and it cost them dearly, they got through two sets of batteries, two generators and two wind turbines, two is definitely an unlucky number for them.
  • 0
    Indeed, off grid power requires a certain amount of user input, it is not fit and forget.

    Friends of mine are off grid and very pleased with the results.

    They have 2 of the larger Rutland turbines, an imported wind turbine, and about 10KW of PV.


  • 0
    lyledunn:

    One of the reasons that prompted me to ask the question was to highlight the superb service that the grid provides.


    Imagine what would happen if we all tried to spin our own hair shirts, grow our own vegan diet, and compost our own doings. I blame Kevin McCloud


  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    It’s a shame they went about the PV feed in tariff the wrong way. There might have been a lot more roof spaces taken up with it had they gone about it differently.

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