What backing up your home with Tesla’s battery might be like - The Washington Post

Not on its own, but paired up with solar panels, it could keep the house off the grid at night.

The math just doesnt work for me. 10KW @ $3500 to save ''25%'' works out to be about a 19.3 yr payout for me.

Solar panels usually have a 20 yr warranty, HF excluded Im sure.

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

I was just offered a few acres out in the country so I could build a cabin if I wished. Water and septic tank are included in the deal and since all of this is free I was thinking about spending some money building a wind generator based on tech from the 1920's.

These systems operated off of windmills and were called 'windchargers'. Old windmills around here and in Kansas are cheap, and if it were tied into a generator that charged up a bunch of salvage Prius batteries.....

Anyone know if this is practical or just goofy?

I would guess the biggest challenge would be finding an inverter to convert >200v DC to 110v AC.

All that takes is money. Just like the rest of the system.

It is also possible to run the entire place on 12V DC which is what the old Windchargers did. The homes that used this system back in the 20's were usually built before electrical items were available, at least in far west Texas. Therefore the wiring and lights and everything were installed from the ground up so they would all work with each other.

Big power gobblers, like Refriges and washing machines were run on propane and gasoline.

Today systems like this are stand alone with a propane power generator standing by if necessary.

Not cheap, but played out over twenty years....

And you never lose power to an ice storm or tornado, both of which are common here.

Considering the cost of a stand by generator this could be an option.

I could see building a cabin and using two of these plus solar panels for a real off the grid house.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

It would need thicker wiring due to higher amperage. But what about a 120V DC system?

Many modern electronics have switching power supplies, that would likely operate as well on DC as AC. Same with lighting. Incandescent lights would work fine, and LED ballasts are switching power supplies. Things like kitchen appliances use universal motors or brushless motors which are happier on DC than AC.

The only thing that won't work are large power tool motors and things like shaded-pole fan motors. You'd also need more robust switches to prevent arcs, since voltage doesn't pass through zero 120 times a second. Remember that many major cities had DC mains power till the 1950s. Actually, one apartment where my father lived in NY had 120V DC outlets until the early 1970s, at least.

Yup, there's a lot to consider. I would not do this on my own because even though this thing would be in the middle of nowhere it still has commercial power to the site, so I would want a totally off the grid system but still have the option of hooking up if I wished.

Maybe it can't be done, but it won't hurt to look into it.

And I want to thank everyone for their suggestions.

Mountains of proven 'how to's' via google.

12VDC to 120VAC and bout any combo from there

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

I haven't been to KS in the summer months, but if you can avoid the need for A/C in the summer, then it should be very doable. Living in S.C., A/C is a must and that gobbles up juice like crazy. Heat can be burning wood and there are a bunch of sources on burning wood, systems, et cet., and that is not killer expensive.

As for juice, and having looked into this for years, it all depends upon consumption. Folks have lived for centuries without burning one kilowatt and did just fine. It all depends on how much juice you "need" to burn. You can heat your water by fire if necessary or solar power. LEDs burn almost nothing. Depending on how frugal you are with juice, your production may be super small. My kids still haven't turned off a light without being reminded ... lol

Calculate the absolute necessities of your life, then determine if those items can be powered by something other than juice. You'll see that actual juice consumption is pretty small once you think outside the box.

^ like.

The whole trick is calculating in AMP hours/day. All deep cycle batteries are rated in amp hours. That gives you storage requirement.

Double what you think you need in deep cycle batteries. Double the solar to charge them.

So 10 watt bulb @ 12 volts is 0.83 amp. (Amp = watts / volts)


10.83 amp x 12 hours a day (scared of the dark) = 10 amp hours a day.

So a 20 amp hour battery is needed. (Double it)

Say your shortest day of the year is 10 hours.

So you double it again for charging (overcast day)

So you need 40 amp hours in a day. Divide by 10 for an hour. 4 amps.

4 amps = W/12

W = 48. So a 48 watt panel will charge a 20 amp/hour battery and keep your light on all night, to keep the boogie man away.

What do you get?
Boom.


You can step up your voltage if you need more juice farther away. Bigger systems run 48v. Just wire 4 batteries in series, positive to negative. 24V is a big advantage over 12 though.

Its actually really cheap and easy to build a solar panel from a kit. Just takes time to solder strips across and pour material around them.

You could put up a small wind turbine just in case. They can be inexpensive if you make your own pole. At least 30' up. 2" pipe will do it, if you steak it with rope. Trick is having two, one with 5 blades and one with 3. They charge at different wind speeds. One may work 5-15 mph, and shut off above that. Another can handle 15 to 40 mph.

The problem comes to storage. You may get a cloudy day and only get half charge. But it may not be windy for weeks. Depends where you are. Wunderground.com has good tools to look at wind history. And then look at averages, and output graphs for your turbines.

Honestly, I can live fine off 120 watts and 100 amp/hours, but call me a dirty hippie. If your water comes with pressure thats great. Otherwise diaphragm pumps are great. Sureflow makes one with a speed controller/pressure sensor that is slick. Cycling on and off is your worst enemy. Takes a lot of energy to kick it on, and its harder on your system.

Simple solar hot water heater. Buy one (boo) or imagine a big picture frame with irrigation tubing wound up in it. Lay it on the roof. Google will show you.

Most important is avoiding AC. It robs power to convert. You can run an AC converter for your TV, personal devices etc, but isolate a DC system for your lights. Go wild watching TV and run out, but still have power for important things.

A propane generator is usually best for emergencies. The fuel doesnt go bad. But they dont do as well running for extended period of times. They just start every time.

Ok im just gonna stop myself. Lol. But feel free to PM me. Ive done plenty of off the grid living. With less than you have there(no water or sewer).

FWIW, virtually all of the people who went with off the grid 12V in remote parts of eastern Wash found it economical to do so because they were a few miles or more off the grid. I forget the fees for hookup but I seem to recall low four figures per mile. Maybe I'm way off not sure.

Doesn't mean there aren't other reasons to do so.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Hot water's easy in sunny climes. Our beach house in Mexico has a 300 gallon black plastic tank on the roof. Pressure isn't blasting strong but so what? Hand-held shower wand with an off button. Even in the winter with high temps at about 70 degrees the water gets so hot you can't bathe in it without mixing it down.

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

Propane frig solves the refrigerator/freezer issue. Lehman's Non-Electric store sells them I think.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

A lot longer than that. $3500 is just the battery. Nothing to do with the inverter and install. According to the article linked HERE

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow