Energy Tariffs

[Oldgreybeard]

70% soc!

Hot water full charged, battery fully charged, car fully charged, now exporting a bit to the grid

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[openspaceman]

[
It certainly brings into focus the increasing value of all those harvested kWh's we generate at our homes across the full year. Not to mention various FIT's and Ripple too. Regardless of how market forces and politics drive the price of energy I genuinely think myself very fortunate indeed and will continue to invest in RE projects for the remainder of my life.

Too right. I just wish I were as clever as some of you lot so I could manage to do more.

[Stinsy]

Too right. I just wish I were as clever as some of you lot so I could manage to do more.

Like most things in life, it isn't as complicated as it might seem. Building your own solar install involves a lot of detail but each part is pretty simple to execute. Some of the design considerations require experience/knowledge but this forum has lots of that...

If you've got a good spot for some panels get 'em up!

[Oldgreybeard]

I'd second what Stinsy has written above. Broken down into parts none of this is very difficult. I find the mechanical stuff most challenging, for example, and don't really have a problem with wiring. Others may be happier with the mechanical stuff and find the wiring a bit more of a challenge. The great thing about a place like this is there is pretty much bound to be someone that has done what you want to do already, so advice is usually forthcoming, unless it's something very oddball.

[SafetyThird]

At the time I started working through ideas for a zero energy home, in the late 1990s, everyone I knew thought I was a bit of a nutter, including my wife.

Oh that one I know very well. My journey started at age 15 (I'm 56) when I did a project on alternative energy at school, which totally captured my imagination and has been one of the things I've stayed connected to for the past 40 years. I had catalogues from all the Scandinavian kit house builders, the nascent solar industry. With the birth of the internet I connected through newsgroups on alternative energy and off-grid building with people all over the world.

My dream was always to build my timber framed, off-grid house in the mountains somewhere, I guess it still is Life took several different turns and I've lived in several countries but 10 years ago we bought an old stone farmhouse in Devon and it's been my project to make it as efficient as possible without losing it's character. The day the solar panels went on, 7 years ago, was one of the most rewarding of my life, my first big step in home-scale renewables.

We have new neighbours who have, over the past two years, converted a run-down barn into a beautiful, modern eco-home and it's been so much fun to talk with them and help them a little in their choices of how to make their home as efficient as possible. Maybe one day I'll build from scratch but, for now, bringing an old, cold, damp and draughty house into the 21st century has been thoroughly rewarding.