We are 'all in' with Tesla and Electric

[CnSDroz]

Got our Model S in September and quickly installed a Charger in the garage.

This week the house went solar with our Tesla powerwall helping after sundown.

Loving the car and the overall experience! Other's feeling the same?

 

[Falkirk]

How big is the solar system? I've gone the opposite route and have solar now installed for 9 months, waiting for Model 3 next!

 

[TheTalkingMule]

This is my plan as well. Overbuilding my solar array just a hair, then buying storage, then a Model S/3.

I'm not sure what argument anyone could make that this won't be the preferred setup moving forward. I'm going to get all that for less that I pay now for electricity and mediocre gas transport, plus this new setup is 100% American made.

 

[AB4EJ]

Good to see others getting on this bandwagon; I posted about my elaborate project here.
Unfortunately in my case, my power became more expensive with the solar system than simply buying power from electric company due to "capacity reserve fee" which completely wipes out any savings. Alabama wrote the book on how to kill solar power. Anyway, someone pointed out to me that "conservation is not the same as saving money," which did give me a perspective - I am generating about as much power as my Tesla needs, plus a hot tub, so I get some satisfaction from it. And who knows, maybe someday, policies will change (not expecting this in my lifetime, but you never know)...

 

[TheTalkingMule]

Policy will change a lot faster than you think. Look at Nevada, they were the poster child for anti-solar corruption. A ballot initiative just went through there to break the current monopoly and effectively end the war on solar. These utils seem to have all the power, but people quickly realize they're all getting screwed, revolt, and meet little resistance.

 

[vinnie97]

This is my plan as well. Overbuilding my solar array just a hair, then buying storage, then a Model S/3.

I'm not sure what argument anyone could make that this won't be the preferred setup moving forward. I'm going to get all that for less that I pay now for electricity and mediocre gas transport, plus this new setup is 100% American made.

In a similar situation, but I am underbuilt unfortunately (2013 installation) and still stuck in a home equity loan for the solar array I have now. This is exacerbated by the fact that I have since switched over to an electric tankless water heater and heat pump (formerly using NG). Add in a Model 3 in 2018, and the energy deficit becomes even more dire.

 

[miimura]

In a similar situation, but I am underbuilt unfortunately (2013 installation) and still stuck in a home equity loan for the solar array I have now. This is exacerbated by the fact that I have since switched over to an electric tankless water heater and heat pump (formerly using NG). Add in a Model 3 in 2018, and the energy deficit becomes even more dire.

I've never seen an electric tankless heater that made sense from an efficiency standpoint. A hybrid tank water heater that mostly runs on a heat pump is the most efficient electric that I've seen. If you have to use tankless electric heaters then they should be used to boost solar thermal hot water.

 

[vinnie97]

I like the idea behind on-demand. The less hot water you use, the more electricity you save.

The other solutions you mention, while they may be more efficient in the long run, add more complexity and upfront cost.

 

[neroden]

The question of whether to use tankless point-of-use on-demand or heat-pump hot water is down to how much water you use.

If you use hot water rarely and in small quantities, tankless point-of-use on-demand makes a lot more sense, because you only heat up the water which you're actually using. Any tank-based solution keeps heating up a tank and pipes which then sit, fester, and cool, and are then reheated again.

If you use lots and lots of hot water, a heat pump makes a lot more sense, because it's more energy-efficient at heating the water. But the heat pump systems are slow and require a tank. So you'd better be cycling the water out of that tank fairly regularly.

I'm currently hoping to do a hybrid, with a tank-based heat pump solution for my laundry and on-demand for the bathroom faucets (which are at the far end of the house, and where cold water comes out of the tap every damn time I turn it on).

 

[TheTalkingMule]

There was a lot of talk in the SolarCity thread(RIP) about using hot water storage to to shave or shift your peak solar production. I'm contemplating my next renovated urban industrial homestead and love the idea of having massive hot water tanks to store solar energy in the fall/winter/spring for radiant floor heating the joint in some "smart" fashion.

In a similar situation, but I am underbuilt unfortunately (2013 installation) and still stuck in a home equity loan for the solar array I have now. This is exacerbated by the fact that I have since switched over to an electric tankless water heater and heat pump (formerly using NG). Add in a Model 3 in 2018, and the energy deficit becomes even more dire.

For some bizarre reason I don't even have my solar array up yet, but when I do it'll be supremely compartmentalized and flexible enough for upgrades and future storage options. I'd love to know more about what can be done to "future-proof" my home energy/solar setup. Guess I'll be forced into that research very shortly.

 

[Topher]

massive hot water tanks to store solar energy in the fall/winter/spring for radiant floor heating the joint in some "smart" fashion.

Massive hot water tanks are unlikely to be the best solution. Seasonal storage is best done with some dry and exceedingly cheap storage medium. For example, a well-insulated house (passive house level) can be heated with a storage volume of sand equal to the footprint of the building, and eight feet deep (in my 7500 HDD (65F) climate).

Thank you kindly.