Going Off-Grid at my New House!

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[@jonkrispeterson6678]

Great video, and congrats on new house. It’s interesting to see how things are in SoCal compared to FL. I have had an 8.8 kwh system with 2 Tesla power walls for just under a year. I am creating about 15% more power than I use. So it is not a huge money maker for net metering. 7 months got $96 credit. However, the Tesla system uses weather info, to fully charge the batteries if there is a tropical storm or hurricane warning. So last fall when IAN was approaching, it was cloudy for a few days, and I wasn’t generating much solar energy, the system automatically filled the Powerwalls and kept them full. When the grid went down, my lights didn’t even blink. I put he house in conservation mode. Unplugged anything I wasn’t using. I kept the fridge running, plus the microwave AC and coffee maker when needed. We were without power (in the city) for almost 5 days. Never lost power. I didn’t have to sit in long lines trying to buy gas for the generator. I was able to charge everyone’s phones, provide ice, and even keep adult beverages cold to share. My wife and I feel it was one of the best decision we made when we bought a house in FL.

[@fredspva]

For your clothes dryer, you can consider heat pump based dryers. We switched to a Miele a couple of years ago from a pure electric one and could not be happier. Power need is so low that the new one uses a regular 110v outlet, closed off the air vent to outside. So efficient!

[@bartjanmoser8491]

Totally agree with Frederick, we also use a heat pump dryer. It consumes around 750Watts or 1.5kWh for a machine full of towels.

[@nielsvandenkieboom5034]

Our AEG heatpump dryer also works great. I was trying to see what I needed to fully deplete my 3,8 kW solar system on a sunny day: Bosch Washing machine AEG Dryer Philips Coffee machine Off-brand water cooker Daikin A/C And I still had a few hundred W in surplus!

[@MikeDillardShow]

Hey Ben, we took our home off-grid a few months ago in TX. 35KW of panels and 90KWH of battery storage using the “HomeGrid” system, Sol-Ark, and Lithion Batteries. Feel free to reach out if you want to compare notes.

[@BenSullinsOfficial]

Love that, they make great stuff and I believe are based here in San Diego!

[@scut1179]

Does the HomeGrid system work with an existing solar system with Enphase microinverters?

[@MichaelSmith-px1ev]

Sounds like a massive house and property for those solar and battery numbers. Another angle is to look at your usage of power and maximise that first.

[@CanvassData]

@MikeDillardShow Do you have a video on the install?

[@MikeDillardShow]

@@CanvassData For our private mastermind customers yes, but nothing public.

[@IronmanV5]

There are heat pump, a.k.a ventless, clothes dryers as well as heat pump water heaters you might want to check into. Those would be a quick project that could be tackled while you are finalizing your PV and battery plans. Nice house.

[@ianburton5624]

I was thinking the same thing. It would be interesting to see a comparison between the gas dryer he has now and an all-in-one washer dryer with a heat pump.

[@uritamminga1]

Yeah great suggestion! They suck moisture from the clothes by condensing it out of the air onto cold radiator baffles(? not sure what to call them). My brother lives off grid in a treehouse and has this kind of dryer. Apparently it works great!

[@ChessMasterNate]

They don't get clothes super dry, but that just damages the fiber anyway. Not damp...just not staticky dry. They also take a bit longer. If it is a big deal, get 2. They also tend to be smaller. That will probably change...Americans want bigger appliances than the Japanese. Makers want to stay in the standard dimensions, but you can't have a 7.8 cubic foot capacity and a good heat pump in the same volume. They need to just make it taller, like it had a pedestal. They could probably still have a half drawer in the bottom. Who wants to pull out the full length drawer anyway?

[@maxlambinoz]

We have just gone heat pump dryer in Australia. Fantastic but different. They don't toast your clothes and, in fact, don't set out to generate heat. The mechanical operation does generate a little heat but it is modest. They are clothes dehydrators in essence, not clothes cookers. Gentler on your fabrics but a little slower to complete a cycle. This is not an issue in practice. Very energy efficient and very much part of the "Stop burning stuff" and "Electrify everything" solution. I am always staggered at how much energy North American houses use. My solar makes 5.04kW at peak and we still send most of it back to the grid. Still watching the evolution of battery prices down under.

[@elainebradley8213]

I hang my clothes outside or on racks in the house with a back up never used drier. But the heat pump version really appeals to us. We are interested in solar + batteries ( no money , just dreams ) and will be following your journey with interest.

[@pmafdahl]

Good luck with the new house! Looking forward to future videos showing how efficient you can actually make it!

[@WINTERMUTE_AI]

When I moved to my desert property, i had the option of paying $10,000 to run a line to my house, so I could pay them every month for the rest of my life, or spend $10,000 on 5000watt panels and 23,000 watts of LiFePo4 batteries... So glad I chose the latter... I have to run my generator on snow days, but its not $800/mo. :P

[@BenSullinsOfficial]

Amazing!

[@owenashcroft8167]

Induction is great, switched to an induction hob about 18 years ago and never looked back, when we moved to a new house the gas hob fitted was one of the first things to go

[@azorglub]

Is the house insulated? If not, should be the first project. Cheapest energy is the one you don't consume

[@pvmagnus]

Hey Ben they have heat pump dryers now. You can do it! The gas dryer is precisely the appliances you shld try to replace with low emissions one bc it's one of the biggest emitters!

[@davidbeal6925]

I've heard of these. I'd love to hear some information about how efficient dryers are.

[@emanibarber7936]

I was just going to comment this. The heat pump ones (they use them in Europe) are smaller in capacity, and run longer cycles, but are apparently easier on clothes (lower temperatures) and since they don't generate heat (much like the heat pumps in tesla Model 3s) saves a ton of energy. You could also look into the heat pump Water heaters too.

[@davidhunter4617]

We switched to a Miele heat pump clothes dryer last fall. Smaller than most US models, and requires a bit more weekly care to vacuum the plinth filter, but not only does it not consume much electricity itself (runs off a 15A @ 120V circuit vs. 30A @ 240V for our old dryer), it also doesn’t vent to the outside, so you’re not throwing away conditioned air. Just has a small water outlet that goes in the drain same as the washer, and it condenses the water out and tosses it down the drain. Between the unit’s reduced energy and the conditioned air’s energy, huge savings.

[@davidbeal6925]

@@davidhunter4617 Thanks! I had little doubt they'd beat out an old electric dryer for cost efficiency. I'm hoping Ben will do this in the end and compare cost to running a gas dryer. I'm not sure if I'd switch because power is so unreliable here. I would have to put in a home battery first for sure. But that's something that is on my list.

[@prerunnerwannabe]

2-3000kWh? Holy smokes... I assume the bulk of that is coming from powering your Rivian and Model Y, right? Either way, it would be worth looking into efficiency upgrades for your home as well (assuming you haven't already) because that would save you money in all sorts of ways.

[@hmurchison8123]

And a swimming pool. I don't care if it's a hot tub or a swimming pool it's going to be reflected in your energy for heating or pool pumps.

[@tharais]

@@hmurchison8123 Most people don’t hear their pools in CA. Even larger, commercial installations. The weather in most of CA doesn’t require it and, it’s always been way too expensive.

[@MarcusFryTheQualityGuy]

Look into heat pump dryers! They use very little electricity! Some even plug into a regular outlet they use so little

[@BenSullinsOfficial]

Will definitely check!

[@i6power30]

You are so lucky to be living in an area with around the year sun. If I lived in California, I'd sun dry my laundry most of the time. I live in Canada, and sun dry my laundry in summer, and only use laundry in winter or raining. And definitely get rid of your gas furnace, and replace it with heat pump, better yet, reversable heat pump / AC in one unit. that will save you a lot of gas bill.

[@etdebruin]

Loving your videos Ben. I remember when we were both working in the co-working space in San Diego.

[@daviddarnell8898]

Heat pump clothes dryer and water heater, instead of gas or electric heat. Plus heat pump clothes dryer doesn't have a vent, one less hole in your wall insulation!

[@Ric_Double]

My dream is to be self sufficient and off grid some day. Right out we have a chicken coop that we just finished and soon we'll have chickens so we can have our own eggs (protein). Next on the list a garden setup next to it for our own veggies. Another big project would be a grey water setup to reuse the drain water (from baths/showers/washer) for plants/gardens. I'm also looking at redoing my roof and adding more panels. Possibly getting batteries too as well.

[@SyberPrepper]

Heat pump water heaters work great on solar and would be a good replacement for the gas water heater. Also, you might add mini split heat pumps since they run well on solar systems vs the huge startup amp draw on regular whole house heat pumps. Just some thoughts.

[@ChainringTours]

Switch your gas dryer for a heat pump one. They are not much more than a standard electric one but they use about 1/3rd the power. We run a guest house and it's paid for itself within a year with how much it gets used.

[@jeremyp3630]

I'm glad more people are showing how a regular home can have its energy use covered by solar. I have a 13.7kw system which powers the house, 1 electric car, a pool with a heat pump water heater and a hot tub. I still had excess solar credit so this fall I installed mini splits, rather than use the natural gas boiler. The last major thing to do is a heat pump water heater to replace the gas water heater.

[@jasonwidegren3211]

I love this project! The Franklin battery is my #1 interest, but I am curious about the whole process.

[@Maquiz89]

I'm actually starting pretty much the same plan for my house excited to see how it goes. I'm in California too so gonna try to get those plans in for solar before April 1 didn't realize you could get the plans in but not start construction to get NEM 2!

[@hhcosminnet]

In Romania, clothes dryers are not so popular. We hang them and let the air do the drying. Me, not having where to hang them but indoors, I use an air dehumidifier. I hang the clothes on a rack and let the dehumidifier do its magic. It would work better if I had a smallish room for drying the clothes, but it works anyway in the living room. It uses 160 watts pe hour, takes little space and I use the resulting water to water the plants or put it in the washing machine to wash clothes.

[@b25mitchel]

If you install the Rheem hot water heat pump, make sure it has a vent outside for winter. Mine makes the garage cool in summer but bitter cold in winter. Still worth it, as it is about 4X lower electricity cost than a traditional resistance heater.

[@officialjeremiahrussell]

I'd defintely say the battery project and true up panels should be first. Buying my first home soon and although I'm in the solar indistry. Always nice to see your favorite youtuber install it lol. Also as well make sure you have a good amount of offset for the extra panels your adding so that in the future if your electric consumption increases you can have the capacity to comp with it. I say that because after NEM 3.0 goes into affect, if you uprade your system now and then add more later years down the line, it'll switch you to NEM 3.0 which sucks. Amazing videos, can't wait to see more new house content! Cheers!

[@jamiegwozdzicki6079]

I recently renovated our kitchen and removed our gas range and went induction after using the 2 burner ikea induction tabletop and haven’t looked back. I’d also highly recommend the heat pump dryers as they work really well and are a good size too and I didn’t know that gas dryers were a thing! We definitely don’t have them here in the U.K. we’re totally off gas now (we have a ASHP for DHW and heating) and had the gas meter totally removed. I’m literally getting quotes for solar and batteries now we’re fully electric so doing basically the same as you as I want to reduce our energy demand from the grid as much as possible. The only downside is we don’t have the Californian sunshine here in Yorkshire! Getting the solar and battery would be the first job I think for you guys. Once your producing, you can reduce demand and improve your system from there. Panels are so cheap compared to everything else these days throw as many up as you can!

[@brembodream]

We have vacuum tube solarheat system (installed 2007). I guess this is more effektive to heat water, and water based heat system in your house. But a air/water to heatpump might be better, but put strain your solar / battery electricity system. Solar electricity you can use for all purpos, solar heat you can only use to heat water. In Oslo Norway where me and my familiy lives, we allways had cheap electricity, until now. So we are planning a Villiant air to water heatpump to assist our solar heat system over the cold winter period instead og electricity. The Villiant with propane as a media instead of r410 (or other media), it can lift to 63celcius over normal 55, and that is good enough for us to for both hot water and heating. Love your content, and looking. Forward to see these videos. Greeting from Oslo Norway😊

[@nielsvandenkieboom5034]

Agree with induction, want to get rid of our Miele gas stove as soon as possible. Not just because gas is way more expensive, but also because cleaning an induction stove is much easier! Just wipe it off instead of taking the whole stove apart to get into all the small parts.😂

[@davidbeal6925]

I'd like to see you revisit the water generator in a few months. Seems there were a lot of things that reduced it's efficiency. I want to know if it improves much now that you have it working at its best. Plus the summer/winter differences.

[@MichaelLee-ne3tk]

Hey Ben, Why did you choose Franklin Batteries? can you create a video on why you chose a Franklin Battery and the installation process, etc?

[@clintonbarfoot8191]

(Energy) storage first. Then generation. Then and meanwhile, reduction.

[@frank118]

Really cool. Look forward to the videos.

[@tupezeamarion2209]

Really nice home, congrats 🍾🎉

[@alexajo]

Thanks for this .

[@PetrusB83]

I also have a "hybrid house". For your water heating look at a system that takes excess solar and powers an electric immersion heater in your hot water tank. I have the Eddie from my Engergi and it dropped my gas usage by at least 50% in Germany of all places where we don't have as much sun as you have in California. They also have a smart car charger that you can set to only charge of you have excess solar called the Zappi. I think managing your energy usage is just as important as how you generate it.

[@clemslee]

Love to see the install of heat pump HVAC and heat pump water heater

[@ChristianHappel]

Wow! You need 2000kWh per month? Yes, I know you have and need an AC in Southern California. But for some perspective: We have a 160sqm house with an additional 80sqm basement (half used for work). And we need 8000kWh per year! That includes one Tesla Model Y and heating and warm water for the entire house - no gas, it’s all electric using a heat pump. We are a family of 5 living on Germany who used to live in California for a couple of years.

[@ChristianHappel]

In Germany nobody had a gas stove. Most of us are on induction like you plan to now, too. Oh, and most of us don’t have or use a dryer at all. That of course saves a ton of energy alone.

[@douglee2438]

Look at ventless dryers. They use a heat pump to remove moisture from the air. They are very efficient

[@dmir2]

There are also heat pump water heaters as well that use way less energy than traditional electric water heaters.

[@johnkim2632]

Heat pump, DC motor ceiling fans, and window&door weatherization. HVAC uses most energy in a house so start there.

[@Dave4D]

Hey Ben, would love it if you would explore in-line water heater (gas or electric) vs. a tank water heater. Do you save money and have endless hot water with in-line or are you better off with a tank water heater?

[@JohanNordberg]

Dryer with heat pump do not use much power. Usually 1-1.2 kWh per run.

[@Thomas_Acharya]

What about reducing usage through heat pumps and insulation?

[@Pimpmedown]

a lot of new stuff for me but those induction plates are crazy. my sister got one like 3 years ago and everyone was so blown away that every family member (we are a huge family) got one since then. really really really recommend that to everyone. at least try it somewhere!

[@Luke-J]

If it makes heat, use a heat pump. Hot water, drier, space heating [EDIT: and pool heating!] (your existing AC should be able to cover your heating needs). Insulation, the more insulation you have, the less cooling you need. People often think insulation is about keeping the heat in, but it will also keep the heat out and lower your AC requirements.

[@shiva027]

Agree on the induction stove is best, i saved a lot on switching

[@wakeup1461]

We brought our home in Ga and put Solar up it cost us cash 35,000 for a ground mount!!! I am trying to figure out how much solar ground mount would cost now!!! We have 34 solar panels!!! Great Video!!! I recommend you move to a rural area!!!

[@jessicakirsh]

Thanks for sharing this, @Ben Sullins!

[@ShepIP19702]

Is it better to electrify everything first so you have an acurrate measure of load nefore upgrading your solar system? That way you could avoid possibly undersizing your solar and having to do an add on later. But considering you are trying to beat the NEM 3.0 clock, maybe take a rough guess at the future loads and try to bake that in to your solar project

[@arymu007]

Start with the panel config or reconfig of the existing panel along with the MPU (Main Powe unit)...the breaker panel.

[@stevedutcher3875]

Battery storage is a great topic!

[@stevesherwood1791]

I'd love to know your expected ROI on these projects. The cost of solar panels, batteries, electrician costs, permits, maintenance, inverter replacements, etc. If the goal is to mitigate your emissions from the home then you nailed it. If it's cost savings ... 🤔. Cool projects though! Good luck...will be watching

[@jmd1218]

Get a heat pump dryer! Get an Frigidaire induction 30" stove. Bought it off Amazon doe about $1200 with free shipping. GREAT stove! I switched to induction 30" stove and would NEVER go back to NG stove!

[@kapdolkim1914]

Insulation. When I lived in San Diego I was stunned by the lack of insulation in older homes. Not sure where you live but heating and cooling is fairly cheap in San Diego because of the great weather.

[@BilalSattar]

great video! would love to know what needs to be done for me to add a plug to my house to plus a battery backup in.

[@MrTiger0002]

I'd like to see home energy efficiency audit first. In particular, blower door air leakage test. Every home should at least be a bit tighter than average and compare to 'ideal' home. This way, the core home efficiency is certain. Otherwise, trying to be off grid in a poorly constructed home is never ending battle.

[@BenSullinsOfficial]

On it...

[@tedmcdaniel2951]

And regardless of how well constructed the house looks, you have no idea how tight it is without a blower door test. A friend of mine bought a 1990's house that looked rock solid. The guy who ran the blower door test after he moved in kept asking "are you sure there isn't a window open somewhere?"

[@nigelgoldsworthy354]

Here’s a thought. You live in California, why do you need a drier. Hang clothes outside to dry or inside, with a dehumidifier when the weather is not suitable. That’ll save you a ton.

[@davidwpoon]

I’m curious for an existing house how someone might go step by step to tackle drafts and insulation improvements within existing walls and ceilings so that you don’t have to use as much energy to heat and cool.

[@jsasu.3]

I can’t believe your electric bill is that high! Wow. We live in Florida 3500 sqft. Pool and 2 Teslas. Our bill is roughly $350-400 every month. We have heat pumps for cooling and hot water too. LED lights everywhere in/out the house. But we are looking into solar/batteries from Tesla.

[@Yanquetino]

Best wishes in implementing this plan! I'll be most interesting in hearing the results with your different battery storage. We've been powering our home and EV on sunshine for over 12 years now. It seems like such a risk to invest in such systems up front, but… they eventually pay for themselves after just a few years. Moreover, you're helping to mitigate the climate crisis. Big thumbs up! 👍

[@abc123fhdi]

Induction requires compatible cookware vs. a regular electric range. Or you can use iron hot plates to cook on non magnetic cookware. Does the acqufant just make drinking water or it will make enough water for hot showers and watering your lawn?

[@BlackstonianTRD]

From the video look like your neighbor is ahead of you. It’s a great idea. If you already has solar I think you are exempt from NEM3.

[@BooBaddyBig]

If you want to replace the dryer with electricity, you need to look into dehumidifiers. They use an air-con cycle to suck the water out of the air from the humidity from the clothes and then recondense it. Normal gas dryers just evaporate the water and vent the steam, and that makes them SUPER thirsty on gas. You can get standalone dehumidifiers and just hang the clothes in a small room next to them, or I believe you can get dehumidier based dryers. Dehumidifiers are usually slower, but SO very much more efficient.

[@spsheridan]

Definitely need to tackle the solar and battery installation first to keep yourself on NEM 2.0 because, you're right, NEM 3.0 sucks. Your interconnect application needs to be submitted by April 13, 2023, so you have less than six weeks to get your plans prepared and submitted.

[@alanmcinnes1111]

Ben! You live in Southern California. Why not take advantage of solar and wind powered drying? I’m old enough to remember when my parents put the laundry out on a clothes line to dry. I guess too many people have been seduced into spending big money on electric or gas dryers and the attendant monthly operating costs.

[@tharais]

Simpler is always better than the next big thing. The difference between education and experience.

[@benkanobe7500]

I would like to see your battery system to power your house at night or if the grid goes down prior to eliminating all your gas appliances.

[@BecauseTesla]

You have a beautiful home, congrats. I'm interested in solar and home electrical storage, so I'll be taking notes when those videos drop.

[@chestersound80]

Hey Ben! That's awesome you have powerwall that will be installed. Can you share if you have information if the powerwall fails? Would you be able to run from the grid directly or have the powerwall serviced before you can get power back?

[@ocker2000]

Last year when gas prices hit record highs I stopped using gas for cooking and bought two of those same exact same Ikea induction plates. Together with another great electric gadget for the kitchen I used a dual airfryer unit. Result, massive reduction in energy cost from gas and a modest increase in my electric use. But as a guide, focus on the reduction of energy use using LED lights, behavior change in leaving lights/devices on, update to lower energy use appliances (like a dryer that uses a heat pump). Then insulation from solar heat using heat reflecting paints on your home, rockwool, etc. Then finally how to put together your own powerplant. Add solarpanels over your driveway, or solarpanels in the floor of your driveway and electricity storage. I like your water generator experiment. But be aware there are many more manufacturers who make such machines, small and large ones.

[@billking3334]

I have an 10kw solar system and thought that I would have to upgrade it but we get a lot of sun in Texas. I have a 30kw harris battery and a solarc switcher that works a treat. We have “free nights” for electric so I charge the battery every night and run off solar during the day. My electric bill is about 15 dollars a month for a 5400 sq ft home. I cannot go “off grid” but it has saved me a lot of money and paid for itself. Look up the solarc switcher and Harris battery. Pretty impressive.

[@1diggers1]

That's going to be a cool project to watch, Ben. I'm in Clairemont and just pulled the trigger on a modest solar system with a battery. I've been watching a lot of stuff on solar to get more informed, been enjoying your content and perspective.

[@ramblerandy2397]

An excellent quick video. Ben, I used to be a subscriber of many environmentally aware channels but I did a big cull and yours got caught. But you're back with this one. Good luck with your plans. Let me also mention Heat Pump Tumble Dryers. They consume way less than an electric resistive wire [quarter or a fifth.!] drying system. Just in case you didn't know that - bet you did. Looking forward to more of your videos.

[@NeilBergman]

We have investigated adding battery storage to our home to work in conjunction with our 24 PV panels a couple of times and the payback period for us here in Fresno CA was just way too long. It didn't make financial sense. So I'm very interested in your battery storage solution and project.

[@ciciedee5474]

Emporia Vue. When you start looking at the energy usage in your home you will be amazed at what uses the most power. My dryer uses a tenth of what my home office uses per month. My number one user is HVAC. My number two is office. Number two used to be water heater. Went tankless. Good luck with the new house. I also live all electric. My only choice. No gas available in my area.

[@markreed9853]

As someone who's worked in electrical retail sales, a heat pump drying may be something worth looking at as they are a lot more efficient than condenser dryers though here in the UK gas dryers are not really a thing here anymore.

[@johnl.7582]

I didn't know "gas dryers" were a thing! We use heat pump electric dryers which have the dual benefit of efficiency and very low operating temperatures, albeit they're slower.

[@BenSullinsOfficial]

have you looked at how much energy they take? My research shows quite a bit...

[@johnl.7582]

@@BenSullinsOfficial About 3kWh for a 10kg load, I think.

[@kdkd693]

@@BenSullinsOfficial 10 star energy consumption on my LG WWT-1710B is 122kWh/year (cotton, normal,once per week usage 17kg). Great result on clothes, although programs are slow at 2+ hours. Condenser/heat pump washer dryer tower.

[@michaelhorton6166]

I wouldn't go less than 3x solar if you can help it!

[@janksienzyk785]

Ben, there is such a thing as a heat pump dryer. It does not use much energy at all. Want to save still more? Line dry, also better for your stuff. And, for folding you will need to touch every item anyway. 2000/month is crazy high. We use 4000/year. Everything is electric but the car, the four of us live on 2500 sqft and we see -10/+40 Centigrade over the year. By the way, we run 3-5 freezers/refrigerators, one thereoff an excessively big one for wine. I love your videos but I do not get my head around why americans seem to think every appliance needs to have ten times the consumption it has in Europe.

[@eatit314]

Hey Ben, you could get a heat pump clothes dryer - if you haven't thought of that. They are very common where I live but apparently not so in the US. I did some measurements and found out that one load of my dishwasher uses about twice as much power as one load of my washing machine and my washing machine uses around twice as much power as one load in the clothes dryer that has a heat pump. Excited for your project!

[@danieljw1359]

Great video!! Not yet a homeowner, but I definitely want to do a similar "bulletproof" for my future home. I would say definitely go with the electric dryer and as others have mentioned there might be other options that can serve the power-draw better. Or, worst case, you air dry your clothes in that beautiful SoCal sunshine lol also, regarding heating/cooling, maybe consider smart vents that you can adjust remotely or adjust automatically depending on what rooms are occupied or need adjustments. That way you zone your AC unit rather than heat/cool then entire home all day

[@alfs3]

I’ve been watching a reliable solar channel on here for a while and they’ve also been talking about Franklin v Enphase v Tesla so curious why you went with Franklin but they are supposed to be pretty awesome!

[@randomjasmicisrandom]

Damn, you use more electric in 2 months than I do in my 3 bed UK house in a year! But then my house has enough room for 7 solar panels now, and if I want another 3 to catch evening sun, so not even close to being as big.

[@aabhisheks]

Hey Ben, how’s the wind situation there ? Can you go with wind and solar hybrid especially with vertical stabiliser on wind part to have consistent power output … can you crunch the numbers as well on the size required to offset a solar panel there and I am assuming it would deliver power during night as well.

[@BenSullinsOfficial]

It’s not consistent here, but there is some wind. Might look into it later

[@rubidot]

I want to see that new induction stove.

[@MikeSTGL]

Would like to see Solar panels first . What happens when Cal. and electric company decide everyone goes to the 3.0 ?

[@brittennz]

Ben, cant you do without the londry drier? Their are electric driers which are nased on heatpumps they are muchmkre efficient

[@anthonypelchat]

Heat pump dryer, water heaters, and AC, though central heating may not be needed in your area. Propane fire place and grill to help you get fully off grid from gas lines. Don't go with instant hot water heaters. They use a ton of electricity at the time of use and will require more batteries. Tank hot water heaters are effectively cheap batteries when it comes to heating water. If you want instant hot water, use smaller hot water heaters for those rooms. One thing that I'm curious about is more with water replacement. Fresh drinking water is very important of course, but going through options to get off-grid from water lines could be extremely helpful. Wells may not be possible in your area, but rain water collection along with less clean dehumidifier type options and a large holding tank could be possible. If nothing else, you could at least replace grid water for the pool and yard with that.

[@bimblinghill]

It's kinda funny how Americans love their dryers. Use a washing line!

[@ilfrich]

1) Add proper insulation (roof, windows, walls) and use techniques to avoid direct sun exposure to walls/windows (shade-cloth style) 2) Dry your laundry on a laundry line. You get so little rain in California, there's no reason you could not dry all your clothes outside. Also is better for the fabric (maybe avoid direct sun exposure, like in a gazebo)

[@garrycollins3415]

In the old days we had a clothesline to back up the dryer. Very efficient.

[@marcusnichols5595]

When you sold your last place did you capture any added value from all the improvements in the sale price? Heat Pump clothes dryers and hot water tanks are a thing. Excess PV storage in water heater tanks. Some are thinking about using reject heat from A/C's to heat swimming pools.

[@skylerwilliams]

Switch HVAC to heat pump. Heat pump water heater(s) might be a good idea as well. I'd stick with the gas dryer as a lower priority conversion. Looking forward to more on the battery storage you chose & why.

[@BenSullinsOfficial]

Definitely a go on the heat pumps / mini splits!

[@wio2189]

@@BenSullinsOfficial I'd love to see an implementation of a sand battery if you're willing to tinker a bit. Seems awesome.

[@BenSullinsOfficial]

Looks like it's commercial only?

[@wio2189]

@@BenSullinsOfficial Thanks for the reply. It's definitely early stages and why I said it's tinkering. Other than that, how about Phase Change insulation? Would be huge for your climate. Cheers

[@jrmccarthyv]

Induction swap - very relevant and may be mandated in many states soon. Healthier air, better performance … and not a known topic for many. For example I can’t find a 48” model to replace my gas cooktop, also what is involved in running power to kitchen, reduced ventilation requirements too

[@BenSullinsOfficial]

In the planning stages now, more to come!

[@tharais]

The new elec circuit to your kitchen and required panel upgrade is likely to rock one’s world. Especially in in hyper expensive CA. 😮

[@richardcoughlin8931]

I’d like your next video to address the issue of batteries. How many did you decide to buy? What influenced your choice of brand? Who is going to install the batteries? What does the permit/approval process look adding batteries to an existing solar system?

[@kevtheobald]

The battery backup for the home is what I am most focused on. I am in California and want to know about the electric trading platform that PG&E has been testing with Tesla. I have seen people claiming they are getting $30-$60 a day from it. With those kinds of numbers, it would be a smart choice to install the backup system. It still seem logical so that during peak pricing periods, we can draw on the backup batteries versus paying the peak pricing for grid energy. Would love to see a deep dive on the battery system and electric trading platforms.

[@francois908]

Would love to see what size System you go with , as I’m in Nor Cal similar house and size 2000sq ft max that fits on the roof was is 12kw system to take advantage of Sun from SE to SW of Roof and have quote from system that Has LiDAR and able to have a production guarantee as PG&E bill is around $800 a month as well as Gas prices jacked up. And using around 2000kw per month I have been getting quote for all different system to be switch to electric as well, Water heater, HAVC and everything from Gas . I have all quotes out as well would love to compare as well if you have similar numbers, 30k Solar , 30k for HAVC and Insulation , 10k for Water, heater and rest . 70k to be Francine’s with PACE Loan on Home Taxes attached to home paid over 30 years Let me know if you have any other numbers and options to compare better I also have bunch of different quotes if like to review thanks

[@kevinwhited984]

Congratulations on the new home! I’m looking forward to the videos on all the projects coming down the pipeline. Personally, I’m really looking forward to see what you do with your water-heater & furnace, assuming you have one. I’m in the Midwest and have been electrifying my house it since I moved in 5 years ago. My last gas using device is my furnace and would like to upgrade my standard electric water heater to HPHW so I’ll keep a look out for your vids on those projects. Good luck!

[@MikeServis]

I live in an all-electric manufactured home park in So Oregon. I have and electric stove/oven. What's the difference between induction and electric? Is induction more power efficient?

[@RogerWilco1]

Heat Pumps are most efficient electric heating. I know there are heat pump water heaters, and I think I saw a heat pump washer (heated the water) but I wonder if there is a heat pump clothes dryer?!

[@terrya6486]

I have been off grid in central California for 5.5 years now. In a 3bd 2 ba house. With a Chevy volt. I have 21000w of panels 56kwh's of Chevy volt batteries with 18000w of inverters. Now that my system is paid off it's time to bump up my batteries to 70kwh's still with the chevy volt batteries. That should make things easier for those week long storms.

[@BenSullinsOfficial]

amazing!

[@john-carlossanabria3449]

I think you should get. Heat pump for the house heating and cooling. That should drop your bills considerably. Probably do a solar pool heater as well! Heat pump water heaters are nice also!

[@kdkd693]

In my new home, we went all electric. 20kW solar - 3 phase for EV charging Heat pump hot water tank - we got a $1200 rebate for heat pump version Heat pump pool heater 17kW (2.3kW draw) 6 x split system AC heat pumps for cooling/heating individual living areas Heat pump condenser dryer Induction stove top - easy to clean as top doesn’t burn spills, better control than gas, was inexpensive $250 from Aldi Battery BYD 19.3kWh DC coupled with Fronius hybrid gen24+ inverters I almost went off grid in the build, to save the $11.5k grid connection charge to run longer lines. But I estimated I needed $40k more batteries to do off grid properly (we have frequent small grid outages) Regarding your rebuild, I would recommend all of the above technologies, (whilst retaining grid access, just in case). With your huge energy usage, I’d look to halve that first. Seems excessive. Add as many panels as you can, facing east and west is now best (to minimize your own inverse duck curve), as panels are cheap now and last. So a minimum of 20kW,more if you have roof space . No one ever complained they installed too many panels.. My rule of thumb for battery/panel sizing (with operating a big off grid motorhome LFP setup over the past 6 years) has changed from 1:2 to 1:3. So 20kW of panels, 60kWh of battery. Recharge time in summer of 3 hours gives some leeway for cloudy/rainy days. Fully Off grid is much more difficult than 95% (hence paying a nominal fee to keep the grid connection). My 2c