Let's Talk Solar

Solar power on the grid, solar power for your house, saving the planet with electric vehicles, yada, yada, yada. Let's talk about it.

Dec 29, 2022

Solar Power on the Grid

The notion that that we are going to use wind and solar to replace fossil fuels and nuclear energy to power the grid in toto is utter nonsense. There are fundamental problems with wind and solar, as the Europeans are learning firsthand. The first problem is that wind and solar are intermittent, which is to say that the wind doesn’t always blow, and the sun isn’t always shining. In fact, since Sep 22 in our location the sun shines less than half of the 24 hours each day. To generate wind power we would have to clear large swaths of forest, or put up a mast over 130 feet tall; that’d be a no, we’re not doing it. The second problem is that wind and solar are not dense sources of energy. What does that mean? That means you have to concentrate and store energy somewhere, even when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, to have power at all when the reverse is true. How is this done in Creation? Solar energy is stored in trees and tall grass prairies in the form of carbon. Simple, yet elegant. At a grid level, which is to say the nation state, these United States, we have zero capacity to store solar or wind energy. Can wind and solar contribute to our grid power capacity? Absolutely, and I expect that share of energy production to grow, not because it’s cost effective, it is not, but because its use is massively subsidized by you, the taxpayer. And neither is it “environmentally friendly,” as its proponents claim. A key problem with both solar and wind, is the relatively short life of the equipment, relative to say a nuclear power plant, and the then-necessary disposal of turbine blades and such for wind, and the panels (and batteries for small-scale systems like ours) for solar.

Solar Powering a Home

By now it should be clear that I’m a skeptic of solar and wind power as total replacements for fossil fuels or nuclear, and for more reasons than I have discussed above. But that’s not the decision Geri and I are facing. The question we are facing is should we or should we not power our home with solar energy? In my 2022 Aug 12 Newsletter #180 I listed my requirements:

Must be able to provide power long term, which I would put at 2 weeks or longer, up to 12 months or more (this requirement rules out anything running on a fossil fuel if the grid goes down long-term)
Must provide enough power to maintain our heating and potable water systems, and refrigerator and freezers for food preservation; these are primary needs
There are a number of secondary needs, including lighting, the clothes washing machine, computers and such, but the most important of the secondary needs would be electricity for food preparation devices, and I would probably add the clothes washing machine to the "most important" secondary needs category
And to state this explicitly, Air Conditioning is not a need; maybe in Phoenix, but not here, and it is a huge energy hog

With those in mind, let me share with you my internal calculus regarding this decision.

So, that first requirement, “Must be able to provide power long term, which I would put at 2 weeks or longer, up to 12 months or more (this requirement rules out anything running on a fossil fuel…).” At least 62% of electric power generation on the grid comes from fossil fuels. Which got me to thinking, the cost of these fossil fuels is beyond our control, and it seems likely, given the political climate, that the powers that be will continue hellbent on making fossil fuel use more and more expensive. Anyone noticed the price of gasoline lately? Not only then are we insulating ourselves from a long-term grid down scenario, regardless of how unlikely that may seem to be, we are also insulating ourselves from an increase in energy prices.

Where we sit in the woods, wind power is not an option; besides, it’s noisy and I’ve come to hate noise with a passion. A steam engine driving a generator would work, wood-fired, but that would require constant tending year-round, and I don’t need any more chores.

What we have selected is a Sol-Ark 12k solar generator, and all of the incorporated gadgetry; panels and mounting, inverter and charge controller, batteries, wire and switches, and so on. It manages the entire power system based on programmable priorities; grid power, solar power, battery life, and the back-up generator, if I have it in operation. We will set it up to prioritize the use of solar, while maximizing battery life, with grid power as our first back-up, and the 7,500W generator as our last resort. In short, this system should reduce our grid energy use to near zero, certainly in late spring, summer and early fall, but hopefully year round. And Geri is happy to know, that includes powering the air conditioning.

Including the impact of tax credits, thank you very much for your involuntary support of our project, the system should pay for itself in about 10-12 years. Perhaps coincidentally the solar generator and batteries are guaranteed for 10 years. When we did this math 6 or 7 years ago, the payback period was 85 years, I kid you not, and that did not include periodic replacement of panels and batteries.

Of course you know me by now, I have to sketch it out on paper to see what’s going on.

It’s a big decision, and a costly one up front, I won’t lie. But, it will also eliminate some negative cash flow (reduce our electric bill significantly), from day one. And, it will provide me with some peace of mind; backing up electricity has been our weakest link. Let’s face it, electricity changes everything, and I do mean everything. We take electricity for granted, and should not; like all of our other centralized systems, food, city water and sewer, and natural gas in particular, we have become, in large part, totally dependent on the reliable operation of these systems. I choose not to trust the powers that be, with what is, make no mistake, our very lives; just ask the Germans as they head into winter with no Russian natural gas on tap.

Procurement of the System

We purchased our system through Practical Preppers, and I am very happy with the work done by Scott and Lori Hunt pre-purchase, and the promptness of the deliveries post-purchase. We received everything except the solar array ground mount within two weeks; the ground mount I picked up myself from Sinclair Design and Engineering in Albion, Michigan, avoiding the costs of the delivery.

Installation of the Ground Mount Anchors

The solar array is 41 feet wide and 14 feet tall when assembled; it’s basically the size of a billboard, and designed to withstand winds of 100 mph. Having sailed in my youth, I can tell you firsthand that the force generated by 100 mph winds on 574 square feet of sail area is immense; hence the need for very substantial ground anchors.

We made installation of the ground anchors just in time, before the ground froze, on December 1st. I documented installation of the anchors in a Rumble video, Solar Array Ground Mounts. Three 13 ft long posts were installed, each in a hole 2 feet in diameter and 6 ft 6 in in depth, and filled with a cubic yard of concrete; each of those anchors weighs 4,050 lbs, for a total weight of 12,150 lbs. Now we wait.

Next Steps

Assembly of the Solar Array. As I write, we have reached Day 28 since the pour, so the concrete is now cured and ready for assembly of the frame that will support the solar panels, and installation of the panels.
Landing the “Power Shack.” We have ordered a 8x10 ft shed from a local Amish builder, which should be ready for delivery soon. The Power Shack will house all the gadgetry, including the charge controller, inverter, batteries, and other components.
Assembling and wiring the system. Aside from 100 feet or so of trench between the Solar Array and the Power Shack, it should take less than a full day to assemble and test the system.

I see no reason why we can’t have the system up and running no later than the end of March. Stay tuned, I’ll be sure to document the steps in words, pictures and video.