OFF-GRID tech: This Texas Ranch has it figured out...

Matt stops by Shield Ranch to learn about how Positive Energy helped take this massive campsite completely off grid. Watch to see how they overcame multiple hurdles to provide a great way for kids to get immersed in nature.
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[@alansnyder8448]

Thank you for doing this. I'm very interested in "off-grid" technology.

[@valeriebeauchemin1178]

It’s great! My shed has been completed and it turned out nice looking and sturdy and it is way better than the sheds that many of my neighbors had put up. Of course, I'm pleased with the outcome and this Ryan’s kzbin.infoUgkxGZedDTcDfgD7fG_uU4esfx_EgxzlY2_1 Plans was extremely useful to me as a guide.

[@Drsivric]

Congratulations on 1 million Matt! More solar and out of the box building the better Sir

[@fochdischitt3561]

If a train derails, shut the rain collection down...

[@buildshow]

Yeah. Seriously

[@nelsondisalvatore9812]

That profile pic goes perfect with this comment

[@dangoras9152]

Matt im jealous there tanks are bigger than mine and we only have 42 panels off grid is awesome and its not for everyone.. On good days we run on the panels instead of batteries now were fixing to get those mini split that run on just solar panels during the day instead of us using our batteries the house im building now will be way more efficient everything is all 2x8s cause they are cheaper than 2x6s last year.... Keep it up brother maybe u can come to the mountain and see what we built and when I tell u how much we spent it will blow ur mind its not a lot....

[@Jordan-tq2jc]

I live way up high in the mountains in Colorado (so I don’t need air conditioning and we heat our house with a wood stove so I don’t need an insane amount of power). I learned how to set up a full off grid system and took my house off the grid last year. It’s pretty easy to do honestly and if you do it yourself, it’s not 50k+. I completed my system for about 13k… still pricey for me, but not insane.

[@Arc-]

Outstanding video. Appreciate the interviews and inside look at these off grid systems that show how far we have come and what options are out there.

[@buildshow]

Awesome. Very welcome! Sounds like I should do more like this.

[@wjthehomebuilder]

Building a 4,400 sq ft house that heats with a single 15AMP heat pump really has me looking into solar. While considering going off grid, this video shows what would truly be needed to go down that path! I think Charlie said 4x more solar would be needed without that backup generator! Wow! Great thoughts! It's hard to keep in mind those cloudy 10% days while designing!

[@ShortVersion1]

We run off ASHP and have Solar/Batteries. We could be off grid in Colorado March-October. While the sun offsets nearly 80% of our energy, because of batteries it offsets 99.8% of the cost. A lot of people go way ham on "off-grid" but there are extremely diminishing returns for that last bit of power. If there ever was a Winter storm where we lost power, I would just charge from the grid for an hour or so at a time when the power comes back up. I don't think I'd ever add a generator, since it would sit unused. All the cloudy months where we don't make enough power, are made up for financially by the sunny months.

[@travelfeet]

If your base load power requirements are that low, it's not hard to 4X your solar and storage since you'll need so little to begin with. A 4400 sq ft house probably isn't a great starting point for lowering overall power needs though.

[@Unite-4-Peace]

@@ShortVersion1 even in a metropolitan Colorado Springs we lose power many times during the winter. Not for long but it does happen, so at the cost of a few hundred dollars it is not a bad idea. What I am having trouble understanding is how do your batteries offset costs as compared to grid tied, net metering setup? Especially if you have to replace them every 5-7 years.

[@jmacd8817]

​@bible-sucks Moat current tech battery options are LiFePo4 (lithium iron phosphate) and they last a decade or more. The cost of batteries has dropped a bunch (not as much as panels, but getting better) so it's getting more and more accessible.

[@robertdiffin9136]

And you didn’t flinch when you hit the cattle crossing 👍

[@bojangles_bonjangles8000]

Cool video! The solar must have been installed 5+ years ago. Just for reference 194 panels @ 64 KW means each panel is 330W. And he said 60-cell. You can get a 400W 72 cell panel with the same footprint today. Which means less panels, less space or same amount of panels, same space, more output! The technology only keeps getting better, but it’s due to plateau soon. Technology will exponentially grow in battery storage.

[@mitchdenner9743]

He said 198 panels not 194.

[@mattbrew11]

No. 72 cell panels are not the same as 60 cells. And 72 cell panels have existed for a decade. These were chosen to match with the inverter design voltage and strings.

[@attainconsult]

great project would love to see more detail on the systems off grid is getting more and more popular

[@TofuInc]

It seem like a lot got cut out of this video unfortunately. I would have liked to see that power room with all the inverters and power panels. The batteries are neat but they are just batteries after all. I would have been interested to see how the rain water is routed, how they are handling the first flush aspect, pre-filtering, etc. for that large of a system. It really seemed like the way those panels are mounted were far from optimal. Really interesting project!

[@solarwizzo8667]

Good to see, that ranchers go sustainable in the oil and gas dominated state of Texas. Myself I work on my own conventionally built New Mexico stick house to become sustainable. Grid connected solar with battery backup and 100% rain water useage already in place, working on EARTHSHIP-style greenhouse with grey-water recycling, thermal mass heating and potential food producing indoor planters right now. Thanks for the insights, Matt! Love your shows!

[@larrybell4599]

Thank you for sharing this awesome camp!!

[@jaysizzlegman7621]

This was a truly wonderful episode, Matt! It gave me so many ideas for my woodland Homestead! THANK YOU!

[@dylanrobins6332]

Best episode in a long time. Love this type of content

[@goofyroofy]

Matt, if you havent done already, would love to see you do a video, or series of videos, on off grid building methods, cob, earthbags, rammed earth, earthships, super adobe, solar greenhouses etc. and use your modern build ideas and see how these off grid methods really stack up and if theres a way to combine new with old. There's a lot of hippy-dippy ideas out there that once the rubber meets the road dont always work, and being able to use tools from modern construction would be cool for example using backhoes, excavators etc. to mix cob, etc.

[@GravityUnlimited]

Second on this! Have definitely been looking at a lot of different building methods recently, and have been super curious about if there are any modern building techniques that are being studied around rammed earth/earthship/earth shelter style buildings.

[@elainebradley8213]

I agree. So much is out there! A bit overwhelming!

[@coolestrock2008]

What i liked the most is Positive Energy folks being very practical and saying "off grid" and "coasting through an outage" have very different budget profiles! My take away is bbe resiliant by being capable of going off-grid, but still be connected to the grid for backup

[@greggshaw7936]

Can you be connected to"the grid" and disconnect to go off-grid? I thought that was the problem in California when all the "grid connected" homes didnt get power when the system ( grid ) went down..maybe that was in Texas when winter storm hit?

[@SolarTechFL]

I live off grid and we love it. I designed and built everything from the ground up. Nice system they did great work

[@kfffisher]

Fascinating and Inspirational! Thanks!!

[@BradVaughn]

This would be the dream - having a custom build that is off grid. Great video.

[@buildshow]

Thanks Brad

[@TucsonDesign]

I remember a couple years ago seeing something about evaporative toilets, but I didn't think there was a commercially viable product yet. Even Google can't seem to be able to find it, so DEFINITELY: please let us know the brand. Also a clarification that most pit/vault toilets have almost no composting going on because they don't have the proper mix of material or aerobic conditions. A true composting toilet involves more labor or a much more expensive automated system. Hence the interest in these evaporative toilets :)

[@bkkposterboy2]

I’m also interested in who makes those toilets? Thanks

[@bkkposterboy2]

I found the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/an3VhpZmeJypjZI enviro-loo.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/EnviroLoo-Brochure-22.pdf Of course its in Johannesburg South Africa and i dont see any US distributer…so typical

[@16jocko]

A very valuable session, a lot said. I am at the start of a solar - battery project on my home and I have had some of the same questions addressed here. Need more of the same.

[@steveddavis]

Really great and informative video. Love seeing a high output/storage system!

[@brianbridgeman5698]

My favorite video so far!

[@methanial73]

The best way to design off grid in my opinion is to have a small room with all the amenities you need and then the rest you can cut off to save power. That way it is beyond your basic needs and will always be able to provide them.

[@CalifLove]

Great content...lots to learn!

[@tompreiss5010]

You need to have a episode on the EG4 miney split AC with heat pump in 9/12/24,000 BTU. It has a DC compressor and has a MPPT solar inverter so it can run directly off 3 or more solar panels and a AC to DC inverter so it will run on 120v or 240v AC automatically. A very simple way for people to get started with solar and in Texas AC cooling is haif your electric bill so it will save a lot of money, reduce peak electric and no expensive batterys to deal with. The EG4 is also incredibly well priced. 👍 👍

[@buildshow]

Sweet. I’ll look that model up!

[@BrandonDoyleMN]

Very interesting, thank you

[@zachwak]

I love this!

[@trevordavis2760]

So in Germany you can already install solar onto your home, both for electrical and "water". You can sell the electrical back into the grid (which is why you need a business license due to the income). Most people know how much they use for a 24+hour period and they buy a battery pack to handle electricity at night OR they use the grid to handle everything and just receive a check for the solar power they put into the grid and pay for the electric they use. For water, I have four panels (I have a large home) that heat the solution in the panels. In the basement there is a split tank. The solutions heats the tank (up to 55*C) for useable water and radiant heat. I also have a fire place that can burn wood or coal which heat the rooms in is in and the water going to the tank. The tankless heater is the computer for this system and sends heated water to where it goes. Very efficient system. Next time you are in Germany for the build show, check these systems out!!

[@wildtwindad]

I am surprised that some form of vertical wind turbines (much quieter and can be low elevation) were not included in the grid footprint/architecture.

[@travelfeet]

A green energy podcast I listen to had a commenter say that anyplace you'd want to hang out outside probably isn't a good candidate for wind generation. A broad brush for sure, but this place is specifically for hanging out outside, so it seems probable that it's not a regularly windy place.

[@dontbanmebrodontbanme5403]

As someone with a septic system, I LOVE the idea of the evaporating toilet! Oh man, that is so cool.

[@bkkposterboy2]

I found the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/an3VhpZmeJypjZI enviro-loo.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/EnviroLoo-Brochure-22.pdf Of course its in Johannesburg South Africa and i dont see any US distributer…so typical

[@kiohaha]

What is the company behind the loo?

[@robertrusso877]

Seems like the place to be when the apocalypse happens. Great video, Matt. Keep this kind of content coming!

[@kschleic9053]

The ideal scenario isn't a nation where every home is "on its own", but instead homes are connected neighbor to neighbor in a bi-directional manner. If your panels are producing more than your home is using and all your storage (batteries, thermal storage, potentially even green fuel production in the future) is full, then your extra power goes to your neighbors directly. If they don't need it, maybe it goes on to their neighbors, and only if no one in the neighborhood needs power does it get sold to the larger grid. Edit: a great discussion about exactly this, given this week by Tony Ceba (kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5muoWSunqiBb6M:30)

[@stratigary]

Love the idea of community micro grids!

[@kschleic9053]

@@stratigary exactly... The grid of the future is a web of interconnected community microgrids.

[@jameskarrie298]

The problem is when every house has solar and nobody is using electricity at noon.

[@stratigary]

@@jameskarrie298 you store excess in batteries and then export to the larger grid if necessary.

[@davidmcfalls]

most of the plants we design operate in the manner you describe: Grid interactive but with varying degrees of resilience when needed. In this case, cost to run the PEC grid to the Pavilion became a significant design driver.

[@mackfisher4487]

Thanks Matt, thought provoking From the kids back to nature perspective however, I kind of like the 1950s self-reliance from a minimalist approach.

[@quickboost]

I would be interested in learning more about how the cedar post "rainscreen" is designed.

[@user-jy6vd3uw1m]

Matts loving the poop dehydrater. 💩 big fan.

[@johnbeckwith8313]

Excellent presentation! There is a lot more than just mounting solar panels on the roof to have reliable power 24-7. Impressive battery backup system. Now tell me the total cost for the system

[@drewgoodman7932]

60 kw solar at $2 per watt - $120k 200 kwh battery at $500/kwh - $100k It’s probably safe to assume that an average to large home with a 200-amp service would need half of this and come in at around $110k. This price will likely fall more than 50% by 2030.

[@tstanley01]

You should do a series on picking good sub contractors for home owners looking to do renovations...a lot of us would love to bring some of these new technologies into your older homes...

[@michiganengineer8621]

Lot's of great information here. One question for the Shield Ranch and Positive Energy people. What do you do during those periods of high production/low consumption for the power? Seems to me that would be a good setup for a "sand battery" to deal with "waste" solar electric generation after the batteries are topped off.

[@ssoffshore5111]

Typically dump the energy into heating DHW, or some type of electrical or thermal battery. Charging EV's is a great dump load as well. I suspect bi-directional EV's will become common in the coming years as well (so the energy put into the car can also be used to feed the house).

[@travelfeet]

I wondered this as well. I didn't hear them mention what their base consumption was, just referenced the commercial kitchen (and presumably large food storage/cooling) which I bet makes up most of their daily usage. If they had large enough cooling demands, they could dump the extra power into a chiller to make ice for later cooling. I have heard large buildings do this, but I doubt that is needed here.

[@Iprofessshirk]

As a off-grid solar expert, hats off to Charlie for his excellent explanation of the system design strategy & technologies involved in the solar system. I'd like to make one clarification @19:00 Matt, asked if the solar goes to the battery first before being used...Charlie was correct in his comment about the SMA inverter not being "grid-forming", however, their power is provided for use by the system on the main AC distribution lines. So is the power from the battery inverter....so those AC lines are like a big bus that power flows on. What makes the battery inverters special is that they are capable of taking power from that bus (to charge the batteries), or feeing power onto the bus (discharge the batteries). But to better answer your question Matt - yes, during the day, when solar production is high, the power you are using around the camp, is being supplier directly from the solar, and the batteries are charging simultaneously.

[@dreednlb]

5:34 Asks for a tour, then proceeds to push the guy out of the way and conduct the tour himself. 😂

[@mitchdenner9743]

🤣

[@LawrenceDeVoreJr]

What company supplied the evaporative dehydrating toilet system?

[@peterkazmir]

Nice drone shot of downtown Austin waaaay in the distance at 22:35

[@RockHudrock]

❤ let’s git goin’! 🇺🇸

[@157-40_T]

Perhaps being a true nerd is your calling. I am one too ! Lol 😊

[@brianzachary2526]

Can you do something on what a residential rain water collection system would look like? Especially for a cold climate where you have to think about pipes and containers freezing.

[@beepsnbangs]

Embodied carbon trade-off comment was really important. I appreciate hearing it.

[@mattgirgenti3595]

I enjoyed this one and well on the path to "Journey to self reliance" 2 questions. 1. What is the brand of the toilet? Very interested in that for a new property cabin solution. 2. How does the efficiency work of the SANCO2 versus something like the Rheem heat pump water heaters in a conditioned attic? Seems like same concept in smaller package with easier install.

[@travelfeet]

I'm no expert, but the Rheem units I have seen are all in 1, so the installed location pulls heat from the surroundings and will cool the space. The Sanden units I am familiar with are splits, exactly like a mini-split heat pump/AC units (essentially the same thing), so the water storage tank can be inside and the the other half outside connected by a lineset. I don't know about the specific efficiency ratings of the two, though I think the SANCO2 are rated higher, perhaps depending on specific models compared.

[@raymondpeters9186]

If you put a heat pump pond loop in the water tank you can produce heat and cooling for the buildings there is a huge thermal storage in the water tanks

[@dosadoodle]

I'd be curious what the specs would be for a solar + battery system to allow a city block to be (mostly) off-grid. Basically, the block could serve as an energy island when the grid goes out while generating a large portion of the energy it uses on rooftop solar. Given the very high electricity prices of San Francisco (where I lived previously), it might be economical at this point to do a block-sized microgrid that can run off-grid (or feed back power to the grid) on most days. One big and new challenge is an agreement by everyone on the block for how to price electricity sold from one home to another within the block as well as for the "rent" for battery storage.

[@jimyeats]

That would vary vastly on what sort of “city block” it is. If you’re talking about a dense city block, that will have between around 750-1400 people in it, and that is a 100m x 200m area. The average US household uses about 30kW’s per day, or 30,000 watts. So that’s around 7kW per person a day. So lets say that you have 1000 people per block, at 7kW, so a total of 7,000kW needed every day. You’re batteries and solar panels need to be oversized, so lets say - and this is very conservative, a battery bank capable of - at bare minimum - 21,000kW hours, and a solar array of 2,100kW hours. So that would mean at current over the counter prices you would be looking at an array of about 5,200 panels that are 400 watts each, at around $250 dollars, so about 1.3 million dollars plus installation cost, so lets say 3 million. You will need your batteries, and those will cost - using lithium - about 17 million, plus installation, so lets just say 20 million, plus all your components, so another 5 million minimum. So…for a bare minimum solar and battery array for a city block to last a day or two would be about 30 million probably, just using common prices. That isn’t taking into account government kickbacks or commercial discounts, exc. Plus, its still likely well under what it would really be, as the labor estimates are way low. Size wise the panels would take up the entire available theoretical roof space due to spacing needs, and in reality there likely wouldn’t be enough actually available space. Now, if you’re talking about a city block such as small town America, where there are about 16 houses or so and maybe 50 people, that’s a different story.

[@dosadoodle]

​@@jimyeats Those are good considerations on the variability for the possible case study. Here are some arbitrary parameters for a residential block: - 70 homes - 250 people - Total daily power consumption is 2MWh - block size is 100m x 200m - Latitude is same as Los Angeles - Assume climate allows for 3h of sunlight per day, on average, during the winter. Suppose we're not worrying about perpetual off-grid capability and are just looking for capability for the average winter day to be off-grid. Back-of-envelope calculations (sanity check would be welcome): - We'd need ~30 solar panels per home. - If we needed to store ~1.5MWh for overnight, then we're looking at an equivalent of 100 power walls. - Total cost is ~$3 million to create an incredibly energy-resilient city block. - If we assume an average energy bill drops from, say $200 to $50, that's a $2k savings per home, or $140k for the block per year. (This is the shakiest part IMO and will be very location-dependent due to pricing/consumption.) A mortgage on $3 million is close to $140k, so this might be economically viable today.

[@BrettBreeden]

@@dosadoodle Perhaps commercially viable, but then consider that you would actually need buy-in from everybody on the block. Only way I see that happening is that it is done by a developer and then the buyers are subject to some sort of covenant. Doing it with an existing block probably could never happen.

[@dosadoodle]

@@BrettBreeden I don't think a full block is necessary to make it work. Even just a few neighbors bundling together can result in a total cost reduction that's substantial for all of them. Benefits will taper off as more neighbors are added - diminishing returns. One complication of larger numbers is more abuse of the shared resource. I think to really get it going, a shared cost agreement that is partially based on actual usage would be required. Not sure how much neighbors want to deal with that, so... I do agree this would be more viable as a commercial operation. It could be one that competes with the big utilities, basically strategically and somewhat surgically taking over their most profitable/high-rate customers. San Francisco would be a good candidate city for this, where rates are stupidly high and a lot of people there also hate PG&E.

[@designbuild7128]

Trade offs. The operative word(s) in applied technology and building industry trends (and many other disciplines).

[@lorijohnson9654]

I love seeing all the newer technology used in home building. While I was watching the show, I thought of Syria, turkey, Ukraine and Haiti Where so many have been displaced due to national disasters and war.

[@skipsaunders5974]

I'm not sure if you look at past video comments....but perhaps you'll see this??? I've a question about soundproof room preparations and I've not seen it answered in any of your videos (nor from anyone else either). What is the best way to mount electrical boxes inside the soundproofed room?..... Everyone says place putty around the boxes, but this is described for boxes that are secured to the wall studs for the adjacent rooms. How are boxes secured inside the soundproofed room when that room has MLV over the studs, hat channel clips and hat channel over the MLV, and the two layers of 5/8" sheetrock separated by green glue compound between the sheets?. With all this soundproofing structures, the distance from the inner wall of the soundproof room to the studs is over 2 inches.... so how are the boxes secured?

[@CRsolar]

We also do off grid OR GRID tie solar CRsolar . TEXAS.. keep us in mind Matt! Why not try us on some projects. Big fan of your show! Seems you have many ideas i like also. What happened to the 3d house in Georgetown video? Watched and now can't find it.

[@CRsolar]

Matt I dont think this is your number - but still will call you sometime. have a blessed day.

[@alansnyder8448]

Now my questions. My goals are NOT to be carbon neutral necessarily, but instead to be able to build in a remote location away from the grid, and to have multiple sources of energy to run a house from. So that means a solar panel to charge a battery system with a generator to back it up in the winter or during rainy periods. I'd like to have a design that could go on a plot of land in say Michigan where I have family, or Florida or Texas where my wife would prefer to stay in the wintertime. It also means I want to have appliances that consume less energy. I've not done the research on this, but I like the idea of having some things run on DC direct from the battery without the loss of converting to AC. For example, getting a powered DC refrigerator that might be used on a boat. And it definitely means all LED lighting with DC power. Has anyone built a house with DC wiring? Is any building company thinking about this, for things like sub-panels or running wiring that has run for both AC and DC distribution? (I'm going to guess not)

[@silverbackag9790]

It’s been done for years. A quick Google search would be better than a long comment on “the sponsored post buuuuuuild show.” Not as popular as it once was since solar panels became much cheaper and DIY lithium iron phosphate batteries became a thing.

[@ausguy4385]

In Australia it's easy to have enough pv to cover usage with battery. Total cost in Australian dollars is 18k. It's what I have... but unfortunately due to government rules.... I can't disconnect because power does pass the house 🫣 but in power outages will not even notice any more... Power outages are becoming worse the closer to 100% renewables... Why the grid has no base power able to cope with high loaf jump when everyone's AC etc is one and cloud's come over or wind dies down...

[@ericlebarron]

Cost of entry means most people won't be able to do any kind of solar. Barring that, I think net-zero is attainable, with battery backup to provide some resiliency during outages.

[@NIAtoolkit]

16:15 This is equivalent to a 50 kW Tesla Powerpack with a capacity of 210 kWh that costs just over $100k

[@harmonj3]

Can you tell us the name/brand/model of the evaporative toilets used here? I want to research costs and options...thanks

[@MrButuz]

Funny when I was clicking play I was thinking this looks like a serious system I bet it uses SMA inverters - hey presto not an enphase micro inverter in sight when the going gets tough and the power really matters. I am even going off victron lately my Multiplus is a noisy buzzy whiney blue thing - I think a sunny island will be my next purchase.

[@inomad1313]

“How far in the future is this?” “Speed is a matter of money. How fast do you want to go?”

[@AlchemistInvesting]

Did they have a treatment system for the raw rain water tanks (e.g. chlorine, ozone) ? I would assume over time those would get nasty.

[@Kosmonooit]

kilo kilo kilo...those 4U battery packs are probably about 4-5 kWh each. You also need the genset as a fall-over, cloudy rainy days the batteries just wont go the distance and need to be recharged. Generally it will be run in bursts to charge up the batteries. There is a middle ground between off grid and backup energy systems, sometimes known as Energy Storage Systems.

[@AgilityVision]

What was the name of the toilet?

[@sputnik94115]

Here is the case for "overbuilding the solar" part of the equation. Less battery needed kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKTRnIOCoMtkl9E

[@kiohaha]

That loo, what is it? I think I make out envars on the lid as Matt lifts it up to peek inside (how he didn’t throw up his breakfast is a mystery while looking at the poop collection lol😂) but google isn’t helping with that company name. It sounds like he said evaporated loo but also said it turns to ash which means it’s a incineration loo. But since it’s all outside I can see this as being a great idea. I can only see online individual incineration loos. Just need to find company and ask more questions

[@kiohaha]

Found a company video explaining it kzbin.info/www/bejne/an3VhpZmeJypjZI

[@kiohaha]

It’s called enviro loo waterless toilet system

[@bryanprehoda]

It’s 800 volts … Matt is about 3 inches away from touching and guy is far away as possible and he designed it lol..

[@GreenTechFusionRenewableEnergy]

Hey Matt when you connect to the electric grid at anytime, its against the law to “disconnect” anywhere in the USA. The key is to not connect in the first place. If you have connected, the min you must pay utility is the meter or monthly connection fee which is all over the place across TX and USA. We can connect a typical compound like this with a battery from a crashes Tesla! Looks like they have plenty of solar for future growth there. Looks like they are using Grid Tied SMA inverters and must have a smaller Off Grid inverter somewhere to trick the Grid Tie inverters into running. Prob cheaper than Sol-arks is what we sell.

[@kschleic9053]

The talk about that midway through the video... The panels have microinverters that look to the battery inverter for their waveform signal. The term they use is "grid forming inverter".

[@davidmcfalls]

Shield Ranch has an ELM Blue Heron 100kW BESS throttled to 76.8kWac to act as grid source.

[@jameskarrie298]

It's not illegal to disconnect from the grid, just don't pay your bill. They will disconnect it for you.

[@ssoffshore5111]

"when you connect to the electric grid at anytime, its against the law to “disconnect” anywhere in the USA." So you're saying if I have grid service, it's illegal to use a transfer switch/disconnect to disconnect from that grid and then run on your own off grid system while the grid service is tied to the residence?

[@kschleic9053]

@@ssoffshore5111 in most places it's illegal to live in the property if the power is turned off due to either service cancelation or failure to pay the account.

[@raymondpeters9186]

Pumicecrete is by far the best building material on the planet Pumicecrete is a mixture of pumice cement and water mixed and poured into a set of reusable forms walls are poured from 12"to 24" thick pumicecrete is fireproof termite proof rust rot and mold proof and has a high R value and good sound attenuation solid poured walls means no critters can live in your walls Pumicecrete can be built for a fraction of the cost and time and pumice is one of the few building materials that can go directly from the mine to the job site ready to use without any additional possessing and zero waste Google all the walls of my house are made of pumicecrete

[@BenShope]

I want to know the total budget of this project. Super cool but it looks pricey

[@kaylaquinney8746]

What is the name of that Evap toilet system?

[@skillsrobles]

whats the name of that above ground evaporated poop system? Might be good for homes in the country instead of using in ground septic.

[@kiohaha]

Wanted to know the same thing. Tried reading the name on the lid as Matt raised it up to look inside but only figured out envars. But no hits on google with that

[@kiohaha]

Found a video explaining it kzbin.info/www/bejne/an3VhpZmeJypjZI

[@DG-og8pz]

Who makes those solar incinerator toilets?

[@vanscos]

Curious question: one of the issues the masses have been slow to adopt solar power solutions is the high cost to “free” energy. I’m not sure about the commercial units (panels and batteries) used in your video but, residential systems have been about a 10 year break even point before the “free” energy pays for itself. I addition to the decade long break even point; the other big issue has been the lifespan of the panels and batteries. The solar cells break down over time and even if exposed to 24hrs of daylight only operate about 75% of their efficiency compared to the initial install date. As far as the batteries go, we all own smart phones and know lithium struggles after 5 years. All that being said: how does this commercial micro grid address those issues and has technology come far enough to make solar off-grid an option for northern climates where 3-4 months (winter time) we have overcast skies. I live in Michigan and solar is only viable for your RV or garage lighting due to the issues listed above.

[@kathyhamre6521]

I live in Saskatchewan and have had a solar system since mid 2015. My solar panels have a 25 year warranty. I have no batteries so all my power is sold to the grid and I get credit for any amount over the amount that I use (net metering). We expect to break even on our investment in the solar system about 3 years, so your 10 year break even point is fairly accurate for us. The break even could be sooner as power rates are going up. But we mainly went solar to encourage our province to invest in more sustainable power sources instead of burning dirty coal to make power. For the past 4 years we have paid nothing for the power we used. This year we had more cloudy days, even in the fall, and we will pay for power for two months, until the weather improves and our panels can produce more. Overall we are very happy with our system, though a battery for storage would be nice.

[@ToxicSpork]

I wonder how that rainwater collection is going to work when Central Texas eventually goes six months without any rain like it normally does every few years

[@BrettBreeden]

That was my question. There's always some sort of sun, even on cloudy days. But you could go without rain for a very long time.

[@Hidy_Ho]

FYI, a lot of camera movements are noticeable (in interview shots) in this video. Getting dizzy watching on a large screen TV.

[@moutrap]

7:15 the inside of this thing needed to be shown for science

[@d8niel77]

I've got a 7,000 square foot house that I built all icf construction I have inground pool and heat I'm running my whole house off grid with 10kw solar panels and 30 kw server rack battery bank I'm even charging my ev vehicles on the sunny days I have a Tesla and a lightning

[@allon33]

Rich person's airbnb, all you need is rich city folk.

[@dsawyer8]

Looks well setup. However chlorinated water is essentially poison as well floride. Would not allow either. Filtration is more than enough.

[@Eric998765]

I would love to hear why they went with lithium battery backup instead of an iron nickel system. The latter is better in every single way except they take up a lot of space, but this property seems to have plenty of that.

[@kimle01]

Wind Turbine would help out at night with wind.

[@TERRORoftheLORD]

I cannot believe that you talked about the toilet but never showed under the lid!?

[@MongoosePreservationSociety]

What's the water heater yall are talking about??

[@davidmcfalls]

in North America, www.eco2waterheater.com/product-info

[@drewgoodman7932]

Grid-connected homes wanting to install solar from 2023 and on will need 10 kw pv + 30 kwh battery due to net-metering ending, this will be the standard. Today it costs $35k, in 2030 it will cost around $15k.

[@mattbrew11]

Drew you are out of your element as evidenced by multiple posts

[@drewgoodman7932]

@@mattbrew11 how/where am I incorrect?

[@drewgoodman7932]

@@mattbrew11 please let me know where I am wrong about this. I am trying to learn.

[@mattbrew11]

Matt if you want to learn about solar you should have me on. Ive sent a few emails. I own a business thats installed 60,000 residential systems and 3000 commercial. Also, please get tesla powerwall out of your brain. There are FAR better batteries out there with safer chemistries.

[@steveb365]

That solar PV and battery system easily cost more than twice the price of my 130 year old home and will last a quarter as long, if that.

[@m2lookmtn358]

Okay, yes I like this a lot and "solar and rain literally fall from the sky" but Lithium and other necessary minerals do NOT. Footprint by not having to run powerlines: Great. "islanding" Great. Self-reliance: Great. But please don't anyone tell me this is "green". I can give examples if I need to. How are the minerals mined? How long do the batteries last and what happens to them when they are at end of life? I don't believe they're going to be land-filled are only 2.

[@ShortVersion1]

It's very green. Less CO2e than if he had a concrete driveway to the house.

[@drnoizewater]

It’s viable right now.

[@RogerWilsonTodd]

I noticed you put that toilet lid down. I think I know why.

[@avelardez]

Interesting, how do you treat rain water to be drinking water? What is being put into the water to make it drinkable? Does not make sense.

[@mitchdenner9743]

You obviously didn't pay attention to the video.

[@TheSmbTechy]

Should have used Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries instead

[@BradleyFordAus]

Camera guy needs to get in there more. Missed the toilet, missed the poo machine, didn't want to walk in the room at the beginning...

[@ph8632]

In the first minute, I noticed you are driving a Chevy truck. What in the world are you doing? I guess if you trade it out every year (like rich folks) it might not leave you on the side of the road.

[@Zickafoose2024]

Not going to show us inside the poop container!? Come on!

[@drewgoodman7932]

75 kwh battery + 25 kw solar + 20 kw generator is the mix needed to take standard homes off-grid. 2023 it costs $100k, in 2030 it will cost $50k or less.

[@mattbrew11]

Which means that anyone that can afford it should do it now

[@drewgoodman7932]

@@mattbrew11 I’m pretty sure you’re using irony here but I’m not smart enough to follow; please explain.

[@mattbrew11]

@@drewgoodman7932 solar panel cost has essentially flatlined and cost for generators will climb as carbon taxes continue to escalate. Batteries will go down by ~35-40% in cost but high quality LFP batteries last 15-18 years. Moving forward now locks in 2/3 costs that at absolute best are flat yet still quality for tax credits. 7 years of use has value vs waiting

[@drewgoodman7932]

@@mattbrew11 pv prices will fall 70%, batteries will fall 80%, profit margin and price for installation will rise. This is where my 50% price reduction comes from.

[@mattbrew11]

@@drewgoodman7932 PV prices are not going down another 70%. Id wager my experience as a solar business owner since 2009 on that. Module pricing has actually climbed the last year. The manufacturing processes have matured and scaled.

[@loganwallace911]

There is no such thing as "free" energy. Depending upon the asset, the operating and maintenance costs can be 10 -12 times or even more than the initial capital costs or building costs over its lifecycle. So all these solar and water systems will need ongoing money to keep the systems operating optimally and of course will have to be replaced after a period of time at which point they will be obsolete and need to be redesigned. As much as running the power line would have scared the landscape for a time, it would quickly recover and you'd have a much been a much more cost efficient build I'm sure, especially if it was run underground. I get that this wasn't the point of the project, but I'm betting the initial capital cost and ongoing O&M costs will be higher than a conventional build.

[@sundancer442]

Not a chance. Dinosaur thinking.

[@SJA-ox3hs]

You can take one thing out of this video Greta, ain’t happening in your or my lifetime unless you have a 💰 🌳!