Central Valley, CA checking in

krobertson

New member
Joined
Jun 28, 2019
Messages
9
Hello from California's Central Valley!

Some background... we got an 10.14kW PV system on our house 3 years ago through
SolarCity. Overall we've been pleased, but do regret using SolarCity some,
mainly to have better control of our data and choice of equipment. I wasn't
paying too much attention for a long while, even letting the gateway to report
data to them be disconnected for like 6 months.

Last year, we took the plunge into EVs. My reservation for a Tesla Model 3 came
up, we became addicted, and decided my wife also needed one. She was putting 20k
miles/year on a giant Escalade, so got a Model X and our savings on gas more
than pays for the upgrade.

At that time, I started getting more interested in monitoring our energy usage,
knowing where it was going, and cross referencing solar, the grid, and how much
the house used itself.

I had put in a reservation for a Tesla Powerwalls and got the call to do our
system design back in November. We were quoted ~$15k for a 2 unit system
(~27kW).

A Powerwall (of some kind) is definitely in my future. I am not a fan of PG&E,
especially in our area. Rates stink, and we're on the edge of a rural area and
tend to lose power multiple times a year. The Tesla units offer a nice package,
but like with SolarCity, part of me wants more control.

I have a variety of hobbies, including 3D printing and electronics, so DIY is
right up my alley.

Main thing holding me back is sorting out uncertainties, like permits and all
that fun stuff, as well as the investment and validating my approach and math.


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So far this year, we've been trending pretty well. We are definitely using more
from the grid than sending its way, but that is primarily because of the
cars. We are on time-of-use though, so send to the grid in part-peak and part of
peak (our panels mostly face east and some south), so we aren't sending to the
grid at the best time.

Here in the summer, it regularly hits 110F for July-August, so even now when
we're generating 50 kWh a day right now, that can get eaten up by the ACs on the
right day. I'm looking forward to next month to see how much the AC ends up
using.

My goals with the project are basically:

1) Have fun
2) Learn some stuff
3) Save more than I spend (eventually, but not that far out)
 
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