Recent comments in /f/vermont

milukra t1_j4lzw6p wrote

Reply to seeking advice to buy a home! by thelizards219802

When my husband and I were shopping (in the last 2 years) we asked our realtor about this. She pointed out that for her, letters are ethically a no-go. It's too easy to wind up in a discriminatory place - like, hey - we're a nice straight family, or a nice white family, or a nice Jewish family so you should sell us your house. I thought this was a really interesting perspective that I'd never really thought about before, so I wanted to share! Good luck finding your home.

16

1DollarOr1Million t1_j4ly5d5 wrote

Reply to Off-Grid solar solution? by Impressive-Parfait18

Buddy of mine has 2 Tesla power walls and like 25 or 30 solar panels. He is still tied to the grid but that’s because he got the power walls for cheap thru GMP but they are allowed to pull from his power walls during peak times. That said if they were his alone I believe he could be 100% off grid with this setup. But obviously it depends on your exact setup. How much sun does your home get for your panels and how much power do you need on a daily basis.

You will still want to be tied to the grid as well, even if you fully own your power walls. You can sell the surplus power to GMP, but also during winter if your panels cannot produce enough power to charge your power walls,you can pull from the grid and still have power. And it will just consume some of the credit you have with the utility company. The only way to offset this need is to have extra panels, and extra power walls. But that means $$$.

1

Fun-Succotash6777 t1_j4lrn5m wrote

Reply to Off-Grid solar solution? by Impressive-Parfait18

As others have said, you would need an intense battery set up and probably a big overkill on the panels themselves to make it through Thanksgiving-Valentine's Day (or maybe more). A backup generator would be a less-eco friendly but more budget friendly solution. If you're only powering maybe a fridge, lights and a television, you're going to get a lot further than if you're also doing laundry, vacuuming, cooking with an electric stove/kettle/microwave, using a hair dryer, dishwasher and electric hot water tank.

I looked into doing a battery backup on my small cabin's solar install but both companies I got quotes from told me 2 Tesla batteries would only keep my 800 square foot place powered for 2-3 days with extremely minimal or no usage of the heat pump and none of the "extras" - keeping it set to 40ish degrees or using the wood stove.

I will say it adds insult to injury that I get charged an "energy efficiency fee" by Green Mountain Power on the total kilowatts I use INCLUDING what I generate :/

3