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Old 06-15-2010, 02:56 AM  
v4 media
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Originally Posted by BestXXXPorn View Post
Never but to support the power draw of my house during peak times, to really live "off the grid"... I'd have to drop $120k for a solar solution...

Since when does the utility company EVER bill you that much? Not to mention the interest you could have made on the cash if you weren't spending that much up front... It would take me 34 YEARS to rack up that kind of bill... add in repairs + the aforementioned interest and you're looking at NEVER paying back your investment to be "off the grid"... and when your power goes out... there's no one working but you to get it back on ;)

Don't get me wrong, I'd love for the numbers to add up. If they did, I'd be all over it!
Just allowing for inflation the price of power will more than double over that period.

and $120k fuck me how much power do you need?

Because I'm building the house at the same time as putting in the system, I can save a fortune by building south facing with wide low angle roofing to keep the sun out of the house in summer and warm it in winter. No heating costs as I have about 4 acres of forest. I've got AC where I am now but put it on about 2 days a year, where I'm moving is cooler, so no need for it, I'll just go jump in the river to cool off.

I'm building three separate systems, 2 solar/1 wind so if anything goes wrong with one I can switch over and still keep lights/fridge running, but will grab a small generator just incase.
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