No pics today. Just a quick note to let you know we finally came to terms with the local electric company. They offered about 1/2 off on installation of new service so we jumped on it. We got our meter pole set this past weekend and got a cut-off/breaker box installed as well as the meter base. Driving the 8' grounding rod was the hardest part. My 2 lb hammer was barely up to the task and my arm took a beating for it. That will leave us with 92' of line to run to the house. Should be able to get that done with one day rental on a trencher. We also ordered solar panels this past week. We got (6) 260 watt panels. These will be grid tied to offset our electricity usage. All we should be left with is the service account fee. That should run about $240/yr. Not bad for having access to reliable and quiet power. I love our generator but I will be very excited to retire it to the roll of backup power. It cost $40-$50 per weekend to run and it was very loud. It will be so nice to sit in the quiet and enjoy the sounds of nature! It will also be nice to leave the fridge stocked and running as well as enough heat to keep the place from freezing through the winter. I absolutely can't wait 'til we get to move out here full time. One step at a time, right?
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday! - Jay
Thumbs up! Congrats on getting the first steps in place for grid power and for DIY'ing both the 8 ft grounding rod and the trenching. Love that you are going solar right from the start. We went 100% off-the-grid with a battery-based solar system. Had so much fun doing it that we started a biz to help others go off-grid too. "Off Grid Guys [dotcom]." I definitely respect the grid-tie. It makes sense for convenience and actually is better environmentally too b/c your panels are always producing clean energy. When our batteries are topped off (which is most of the time) the solar panels aren't actually producing more than a trickle.
ReplyDeleteSorry. I missed the comment or would have replied sooner. Thanks for the encouragement! It's been a long 2 years but we can actually start enjoying the fruits of all of the labor now. We've still got a ways to finish everything but it warm and comfortable for now. :) With the electricity flowing smoothly, our biggest challenge now is water. We carry in 3-4 5 gallon jugs each day we're out here. Our goal is to secure an agreement with one of the neighbors to share their city water which runs $50/mo for your initial 6,000 gallons. Hopefully someone will be willing to split that bill with us. We have a meter at the front of our property but I have a problem with paying $600/yr for a few hundred gallons per month. We'll see in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for the info on your web site. I'll check it out. Enjoy the holidays! ~ Jay
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