Huge progress on our off-grid solar project at Everstoke

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It's been six months since the last update on our big ole off-grid solar project at Everstoke. Things are moving, just took a lot of digging!
Solar panels (specific panels I used are sold out): signaturesolar.com/shop-all/s...
Ground Mount: signaturesolar.com/eg4-bright...
Wire: signaturesolar.com/500-ft-12-...
EG4 PowerPro ESS: signaturesolar.com/eg4-powerp...
Generator: www.lowes.com/pd/Westinghouse...
Smart generator switch: amzn.to/4bcc8Wh
Solar Assistant: solar-assistant.io/
Main breaker panel: www.homedepot.com/p/Siemens-P...
#bluetti, #bluettiac180, #BIueToBLUETT, #BLUETTIPrimeDay, #PrimeDayDeals, #AmazonPrimeDay2024

[@SignatureSolarEthan]

Hey, I'm Ethan with S2's affiliate team. Just wanted to say, wow nice job!! It's looking great. Love the video quality!!

[@antonioCsilveira]

Love these videos. Thanks for sharing your Journey. I am also a geek for home automation and for understanding the data and how things work. Very cool to see how much progress you have made at Everstoke

[@bkxc]

Thanks so much! Glad you're digging it

[@CJinsoo]

probably half the cost of providing electricity is for stuff that doesn’t vary with how many kwhs you use. Your average monthly usage is very low compared to rest of USA,but typical for mild CA climate. So the average rate per kwh for you will be very high. things like distribution lines, transmission lines, transformers, customer meters and service do not depend on energy usage and their costs don’t vary with energy usage.

[@B1KER]

Sounds like quite the rabbit hole you've gone down. It's always just as equally fun as intimidating doing these types of projects.

[@bkxc]

Yep! Lots of learning and lots of little mistakes along the way, but the system has been bulletproof for months now!

[@boblatkey7160]

I lived off grid for 25 years and one thing I can tell you is don't go cheap on your generator! It will become a huge sour note in your life come winter.

[@user-hg2tk3xj9y]

Please do update videos every once in a while like this...

[@bkxc]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@wg2060]

That was extremely interesting. Thanks. Hoping to head up there in a couple months

[@bkxc]

Love to hear it!!

[@RookieStyles]

Wow. That's awesome B. Keep strivin'.

[@bkxc]

Thanks!!

[@heywood165]

You should link up with JerryRigEverything and do a collaboration. Your electrics would be sorted with his help, guy’s a legend!

[@bkxc]

Yeah, he's awesome!!

[@andykordsmeier]

Sweet setup!!

[@bkxc]

It's working!

[@snat6299]

The solar systems in FL last about 10 years and needs repairs after storms and insurance is higher due to solar systems on the roof and covering them for replacement. Just a few experiences to think about depending on where you live, Thanks for your info.

[@bkxc]

Everything gets beat up hard in Florida! It's so much better to do a ground mount if you have the room!

[@nostr8ghtlinzs596]

the old the solar panels are, the less effective the become.

[@boblatkey7160]

Yes, at 0.5% per year. It's not a particularly big number. I have panels that are 20 years old and I can barely tell the difference. I just keep them clean.

[@stephenbrickwood1602]

The grid is a massive infrastructure. $TRILLIONS to finance and also needs $100BILLIONs in cashflow. $30,000 tells that the grid is expensive. 5cents feedin vs 50cents supply kWh tells you the grid makes dirt cheap electricity expensive. And grid electricity is the smallest part of energy used. 15% of all energy used. 100% grid electricity energy is economically impossible. No grid electricity, rooftop PV, and a Battery Vehicle parked 23hrs every day and all night will kill the National Grid cashflow.

[@zahadou]

the sound of the mozzy swatter was like Bullet Points in a Power Point presentation

[@bkxc]

Hahaha!

[@scottshelley7668]

I was just there last week. Everything looks great. Those biting flies though...

[@bkxc]

Awesome, love to hear it!

[@eric_adams01]

That's crazy that you only use 300Kwh a month. I normally use on a hot day around 112Kwh.

[@bkxc]

Wow!! Big house or terrible insulation?

[@kjracz15]

I should get a new mosquito racket soon. Old one's just not crisp enough. 😂

[@bkxc]

Hahaha, gotta get them VOLTS!

[@dee2ski]

Oh man, living in AK my mosquito racket game is on point! ..it's all about the "executioner" brand

[@bkxc]

Hahaha, I will look into that!

[@taj-ma-haul9094]

Ha, I've been Energy Independent since 2020 and I can tell you general stats, like during the summer I use 8-12kWatt/hours a day and in the Winter about 6kWatt/hrs a day - but I haven't done any calculations about the cost of the system. 6kWatt/hrs of Solar, 28kWatts of Battery Storage and a 12k Solar Charger/Inverter - all of that cost me $14k. Since I began, I've made more than 2 megaWatts...

[@bkxc]

That's awesome!

[@shaun_canada]

Great video and well done on the install. If your experience is anything like mine, you’ll be removing some of those arc fault breakers in the future. Lots of phantom tripping.

[@bkxc]

Hahaha, we shall see! Very possible

[@douglasreed5518]

No payback

[@user-hg2tk3xj9y]

Where I am, if they still have a line in, even if I use no watts from the Grid, I am still charged line fees, I have a feeling if I was net metering and grid tied with my solar they would also charge me transmission fees to "Store" and "Return" any power. I am happy with my solar, but my bills will never zero out unless I remove the "Grid" line to my house, I pay just for the backup at this point.

[@user-hg2tk3xj9y]

I have done Construction for over 30yrs, and I have never met someone like you, I would hire you in 2 seconds flat.

[@user-hg2tk3xj9y]

Run water pump for 2 mins and see how much it produces, then see how much energy the pump uses in 2 mins, you can calculate your water usage based on power used by your pump approx.

[@bkxc]

Yep, no matter what they'll charge you if the grid is hooked up! Thanks for the kind words!

[@user-hg2tk3xj9y]

In Illinois they use a gas tax to fund roads....just waiting till they shift that over to electric bill when people go EV...just a matter of time....

[@user-hg2tk3xj9y]

A word to the wise, once you have it all up and running....unless you have an issue an update will fix....do not update...

[@bkxc]

Haha, good point about the updates!

[@Axr24have]

Le me tell ya man…. You get an EV, all power consumption is measured in kwh. You will find out pretty quickly how kwh works. It is the volumetric measurement for electricity use. In a conventional car fuel use is measured in miles / gal, (L/100km metric) an EV will show kwh/100km. Basically the same thing.

[@bkxc]

Yeah, it's so cool! Seeing the real time power output is sweet

[@paulmofyourhand]

Can you elaborate on the mud mixer also? Thoughts and comments on how well it does?

[@bkxc]

I think it has been awesome. But I have never done a big concrete job without it. I can't even really wrap my head around how we would have done it up on that hill with a little cement mixer thing and have to scoop everything out. Mud Mixer seems like such an easy way to do it. We have to keep an eye on the moisture level and make sure the dry mix keeps falling through.

[@NoOneIsGoingToSaveYou]

Kinda new to this channel were you in the USMC? Like MTBing Adventures? And is the dude in MTBing Adventures related to you?

[@bkxc]

I was not in the Marines! MTBing Adventures is just a good buddy!

[@baddriversofcolga]

I would set the generator to come on at 5-10% battery as LiFePo batteries handle deep discharging just fine and you're just wasting gas/money and polluting with the last 20-25% if you use the generator.

[@bkxc]

When we only had four panels the difference between 25% and 10% power was about 30 minutes, haha. Not much of a difference.

[@thisfinitelife]

Woah! 42c?! I'm at 12c/kwh here in Texas...

[@bkxc]

It's pretty crazy!

[@matt_metcalf]

St George shout out! ❤

[@bkxc]

Land of the cheap power!

[@matt_metcalf]

​@@bkxc I would love to do PV but it just doesn't pencil out when rates are between $0.065 - $0.074 / kWH

[@maplic]

I bought the bluetti ac180 for 658 dollars USD. Amazing deao

[@bkxc]

Yeah, that's a pretty sweet deal!

[@boblatkey7160]

That's cheap hobby gear, it will not last if you use it and cycle it every single day in a home.

[@bobmonztr]

If you have to use a generator without a chargeverter you can get steady 60hrz, but turn off any surge appliances while charging, surge causes the gen to low freq then high freq when it catches up. I won't buy a chargeverter after the extra panels and change a connection next month I don't think I will ever have to use my Gen again, just there as a backup. If you ever move those panels and they are bi facial mount them vertical, I cleaned snow once as it melted from the top haven't washed the panels since sept, down about 20w, pv2 my 2790w array 3400w with snow, in summer with no white rock to reflect 1800w, 460w heavy rain to 780w in clouds 500w at 6am, summer production is down but it really doesn't matter when there is 16 hours of daylight, Unless you are grid tied. If anyone has to buy a gen, dual fuel and a 1000g tank could run a gen for over 2 months at 4 hours a day, it's a good back up if natural disaster happens. I have a 400gal, I can get over 380kw from a tank, before I swapped the faulty inverter. After working on solar power for a month anyone can look at a 175w appliance and know in 2 secs 4.2kw per day. When buying solar R.O.I. always happens but should anyone even consider that when they buy a 50000$ car that is worth 5000 in 10 years. Never mind ROI you should worry how much power will cost in 20 years. That battery is kinda expensive, I bought 48kw for 9600usd, Lead carbon sealed, non-spillable, -30c to 60c, discharge to 30% but can go lower, good PSOC 30 TO 70%, 97% recyclable, maintenance full charge every 30 days, no bms, equalizers, or heaters needed there just heavy 12v250 170lbs, not for mobile applications. Just run the inverter on lead acid with charge rate changes (57.8/55v). LC 51.6V is 100%.

[@bkxc]

Yeah, I definitely agree on the ROI and the way people spend on a lot of things like cars that depreciate fast! Thanks for all the tips and info!

[@bobmonztr]

@@bkxc I am retired and bored, sorry my comments are like a novel. I try to share it all. A lot of times the comments are for others cos the posters like you are informed. Panels got cheap, same price as my 465w in 2023 2024 gets me 605w.

[@thim8009]

The one major cost is batteries. I'm not sure, but I don't think they will last 15 years. It's pretty cool, though.

[@bkxc]

Most definitely, I'm curious to see how they go. But I think the batteries are more important than the panels!

[@pereirano305]

Did you merge the smart gardener channel with this channel?!

[@bkxc]

Hahaha!

[@Axr24have]

Ouch! Mine (in BC) is $0.11 - $.014 a kwh.

[@bkxc]

That's pretty good!

[@underthedrone2735]

Now you're cooking with natural gas. Oops. Wrong metaphor for this context. Now you're styling in tall cotton! Dang, did it again. Seriously, it's obvious a lot of work went into this project. I'm sure it will service your property for many many years plus when it's time to replace solar panels, the hard work is already done. Are there any specific parts or circuit boards that are known to go bad occasionally? Often enough to keep some spares on hand.

[@bkxc]

Most of this stuff is very new and it's going to be some time before we start seeing the malfunctions. But there are pretty good resources on Reddit, the DIYSOLAR forum and Signature Solar customer service. Hoping for years and years of smooth saving

[@Tschesslee]

So funny. In germany we have a law that you need to built solar on your roof if you redo it... And most people do it even on old roofs. We pay 28ct/kwh and even than its a no brainer.

[@CJinsoo]

no brainer? sounds like there isn’t a choice.

[@Tschesslee]

@@CJinsoo there is. Solar for water or power is your choice. And I got it on my old roofs as well as it pays itself

[@CJinsoo]

@@Tschesslee Thanks for that clarification. When customers go solar for water, what is the backup? On it paying for itself, I a do not dispute that outcome. Easy to set up program for solar such that the net energy payment rate, or install incentives result in quick payback period (5 years or less). But in the USA, that short a payback is the result of a very large subsidy embedded in the payment rate. It results in shifting costs to customers without solar. Don’t know anything about the programs in Germany.

[@bkxc]

Surprised California hasn't passed that law yet!

[@boblatkey7160]

@@bkxc California just screwed everybody over! Now you pay $.30 for power coming in and you get about five cents for power going backwards out to the grid. So the best thing to do is get your own batteries and live within your own means.

[@roost3r]

Whoda thunk it would just take one dude discussing solar without giving the audience the 3rd degree about saving the earth, and instead giving real, usable knowledge that would get me excited about solar. Nicely done, BKXC! Looking into Bluetti thanks to your recommendation!

[@bkxc]

Fantastic to hear that! Being your own power plant is the coolest thing to me!

[@dangeroustoman]

Don't forget to add in any extra fees if you are borrowing the money or using a credit card.

[@CJinsoo]

it’s not a good idea to over size the system that much (1800 vs. 300) which is why it is taking so long to payback. also, all those extra kwhs that the over sized system creates, are sent to the grid, so you are actually using the grid even more as you send net 1500kwhs to the grid. but maybe you said you were storing the excess in that little battery?

[@bkxc]

Yes, I agree it's a bit oversized if I was actually doing it for my house. One of the big things is that that winter changes everything. Much less daylight, much more overcast. It'd be really interesting to see how much less power I would be making.

[@CJinsoo]

@@bkxc Thanks for this clarification. It makes more sense for Everstoke as you should have higher energy usage when it is in season. Maybe DOE or NREL publish maps for solar radiation that could be of help. But I don’t recall if they are published for season, and they may be just an average for the year. If it is rated at 1800w AC, then it’s probably 25% of that rating that can be counted on year round. A wild guess on my part but 15-20% of the rating for winter? But that still doesn’t tell you how many hours in the winter it will produce at its max rating. Not being much help here, but it8s just a lot fewer hours.

[@ericcarlsonweb]

I pay for youtube premium so I don't have to watch ads, but now everything is just an ad. Gonna have to rethink that one!

[@bkxc]

Channel dies tomorrow without ads. You'll get your wish by the end of the year I think!

[@ericcarlsonweb]

@@bkxc point being I'm paying a hefty subscription fee and that should go to the content creators to create great content without a substantial part of that content being more ads. but greedy corps = can't have nice things. nebula maybe?

[@bs838]

Jesus why do people still live in CA. That price is robbery. Here in NC is a flat 0.11/kwh

[@boblatkey7160]

Because I like to live around people that are intelligent and good looking and the pay here is excellent and you can't touch it. Plus, it is absolutely beautiful here, haven't locked my house in 20 years and I don't even know where the keys are.

[@nanshe3x]

@@boblatkey7160 lol. Chef’s kiss.

[@boblatkey7160]

Bluetti is cheap hobby gear, there is no way on this planet that it will last for years when you cycle the batteries every day in and off grid living situation. Good luck with that! Same thing with that cheap ass generator. You'll be lucky if that thing last two years before it blows up.

[@oogie-boogie]

I would never put solar on my roof.. that just me

[@bkxc]

Yup, I agree, if you have the luxury of a backyard the ground mount or even a pergola would be fantastic.

[@rekamniar]

This channel is getting a lot cooler. Do you plan to trim the trees around?

[@bkxc]

Yeah, we've got about 5 million trees to trim or cut down