Electricity
MAKING YOUR OWN POWER !
Yes, we can, yes, you can, in fact We all can make electricity, BUT (and that's a big BUT), keeping it, is as hard as holding on to your spending money, when you're standing in a candy store. Difficult to say the least! Many tell us they want to make electricity and sell it back to the power company, (more on that below), but most realize that - if your structure doesn't need too much, you don't have to make too much, their HOME Energy Systems Cost, is far less than the perceived systems that are actually required, and then no attempt to sell excess electricity to a utility company is needed.
1.) Most rural locations are operated by Electric Membership Corporation's (EMC's), and they normally only pay about 4 cents or less on average wholesale per kW and they charge on average, 4 to 8 times, what they buy electricity for. Doing the math, my company normally sizes the system to be stand-alone (off-grid), so it has batteries that last on average 100 years (when the right ones are client chosen). These are called Nickel Iron NiFi batteries, and they cost a "butt load of money", but they last longer than everything else, we have ever seen, so we don't suggest any others here. They sell in many capacities, normally from 100 amp+/- & up systems, and in 2.4-volt cells to craft 12 volt to 48 volt plus systems, is common in off-grid. With the freight from China right now, you're looking at about 10+ grand landed cost for a system today, to get a normal 10 kW system delivered to your door, in the lower 48 states, (WW-3 not withstanding!). Rest your mind easy though, as there's new tech coming that will eliminate these batteries from such desires, in the way of a hydrogen generation system with a P. E. M. (photon exchange membrane) coming (if governments don't delay this technology any further), for the worlds power production on a small scale, such as individual home power that will allow one to pass hydrogen through the membrane and produce power at the time its needed and to pass that back through in the opposite direction to make more hydrogen for later needs and scaled up large enough, one will never need much of a battery system just adequate storage of hydrogen gas. Storage is where the government gets in the way of this technology, as that liquid metal hydride is the best storage device, but that's also what is used on nuclear missiles and bombs to keep all cool during movement and their storage, thus it's currently not a material available to be sold to the open market. a new series of batteries that operate on salt water is also being developed and some of the first commercial installations have been placed in Europe in 2024 and as this becomes the norm it's about the least expensive substance to build batteries from, certainly if compared to lithium costs in their mining production and eventual disposal, so look for this to come withing the next few years to the market. In the meantime, plan for as little power production as is possible to live comfortably and, in our opinion, forget selling power at wholesale to any utility!
2.) Mount the actual solar panels (bi-solar sided) that you may need to generate your quiet power production, as close onto the ground as possible (for the easiest servicing), build racks you can reach and move manually or add tracking devices $$$$, that can track the sun as that Earth only receives the majority of the day's sun, between the hours of 9 AM - 3 PM, plus you're getting older daily, and ground mounting is easy to reach to clean, maintain, and it's cheaper too and you don't want to climb up on the roof and work on anything, in bad weather no matter what age you are and that's when it always goes down.
3.) Our systems designs are often smaller than you may find in conventional homes, this is because our home designs need about 50% less electricity to operate, than the conventional structures do, so you save money. This makes our only possible answer to: "how much will it cost?" is: "it depends". If you build a conventional building, you will always need Lots More Power, so we suggest for those adding an off-grid power system, to those conventional homes, just have a small system, perhaps only to run the lights and some fans that you may need for a few days when a big storm comes through, and maybe add a few batteries for the ref. too, for a few hours a day, so perhaps a 3500 watt system might do the job needed in that small situation and a couple 100 amp batteries, of 12 volts maybe wired 24 volt of the best deep cycle batteries you can afford, will do that, and then at about $2000+ dollars and a small generator to back up the solar, in case the solar blows away in a storm is a wise small system. You will want 4 of the 12-volt batteries to develop 48 volts for those larger systems. (12-volts takes a minimum of 1 battery, but it overheats easily from simple uses and requires larger more expensive wiring). With solar panels, batteries controller, inverter, racks, wire, breakers, etc., figure 25 to 40 grand (PLUS) installed for you for a conventional home system to have enough power to run those conventionally built homes, BUT with a Georgia Adobe HomeTM system, many can get by with a much smaller system, certainly costing under $5,000+ (all depending on the buildings custom needs and most are in the $2500 dollar range), all because small systems are all that's normally needed, for our buildings designs and that just cost less to create.
For tax savings questions, all situations are different, so please go ask an accountant! We hear American's can still get up to a 30% tax credit in 2024 if the system is fully installed before Dec. 31, 2024, so this could be helpful, and your accountant will know what you need.
4.) Batteries? They last forever, if you die young. This all really depends on your experience level, the quality of what you buy Etc and we touched a little upon the replacements for batteries above.
What about replacement cost in the future? Well, More, Lots More as there's only one government that doesn't regulate lithium mining strictly and they are in CHINA, so a monopoly government controls the world supply and thereby the end costs to the rest of the world, so add lots of zeros to the replacement cost and disposal costs!
We ourselves are not importing from China right now due to our policies of buy it here and look at the freight costs now in 2024 due to wars in the middle East, this makes importing unaffordable. Nickel Iron batteries, (can be again and were previously built from American materials 100% but are today almost exclusively only available from CHINA). We like them for lots of reasons, some of which are above in this article and they are what Thomas Edison, actually invented himself, in the early 1900's (perhaps the only thing, he actually invented?), but they are the best battery available, if you can find some.
Raw Lithium used in most companies deep cycle lithium batteries, is today 07/08/2024 at a spot price of ($91,500.00+/- per ton), so very costly (lithium batteries are mostly made of nickel too) and these batteries only last 4 to 8 years, all depending upon the experience of the system operator, but plain Nickel Iron NiFi batteries, may very well last hundreds of years, (we the people just don't know yet, but many of Edison's original batteries, are still working batteries today). His original patents are available FREE Online, so you or some smart inventor and manufacturer, should just build them & sell them, as Edison did, inexpensively!
5.) Solar panels last about 20-30 years on average, (or at least they should if they don't blow away, get hit by something), but --- they have parts called diodes, that may only last a day, a week or years?
Most solar panels last a long time, all without any real trouble but they don't always produce the same wattage for all their years of service. Be sure and have some replacement diodes on hand and a soldering gun to install them with, plus always ground those panels well, as without this, lightning will wipe out a panel array, or a diode, in a second!
EMP Attacks are the first strike weapon, that will be used against people, when WW#3 starts.
When you run out of power and you can't draw water, cook, stay cool or warm, you may not live long, that's the beauty of EMP's, it allows nature to take out populations, so the ground is still inhabitable, by the yet to come invaders. Equipment fails (for example if your area is hit with an E.M.P. attack or the electricity flow just stops as it does in Ukraine, (they only get power provided to them from what's left of their power company lines, at 4 hours a day right now). We also plan for the worst and pray for the best. Attacks such as EMP's or terrorism upon the grid can come at any time, by not by incorporating EMP protectors into our buildings design would be a grave mistake and disservice to our clients, so we add it. This is just like the old adage of taking water with you on a road trip, it can save your life and backups, your equipment too.
Study up on the options (double bi-faced, single faced, high watts, low watt solar panels, small inverters small generators so as to have several for backups and so on, make your system complete and hardened, then divisions of systems into two systems or more, sometimes is a really good plan for the home system, in case of lightning striking one of them, that's not protected or shunted for reserve (at least you have the other system) and then if you're ready to repair your system yourself, when lightning strikes or whatever GOD sends strikes you are prepared, because your family depends on those comforts.
Friendly neighborhood electricians can be expensive, and, in an emergency, most are not coming right over, as they do get swamped. Replacement cost always, will depend upon lots of factors, including emergency pricing, so nobody knows what that can be. You likely won't need the panels in 20 years, just due to new tech changes "that may get released as noted above" but, then again, in 2023 NASA said: "there is no such thing as Aliens from outer space", and in June of 2024 NASA told us there's a 72% chance of an extremely large asteroid hitting Earth in September of 2024, (read in here E. L. E. extinction level event) so a coverup about a future power system, is very likely in this environment and the Solar array, maybe your friend for life.
GENERATORS
Yes! You Want One, Or Two, just in case!
As it turns out we can make electricity faster, than we can store it as "electricity". Storing power as other forms such as in water weight, maybe (lifting that weight to turn a generator etc.), or storing energy in Thermal Mass such as in your new building or even apart from the structure, in a large SAND BATTERY (Google that one), is quite promising to those in need of storage devices, that cost vastly less than electric storage batteries, then again, it's work, and it's still somewhat (for Sand and other methods) experimental, so proceed at your own caution and expect some expense, that you don't have with standard off-grid electric systems. Georgia Adobe also builds fuel systems for the making of Wood-gas systems, biofuel systems, alcohol fuels, methane gas, diesel and gasoline from waste products, and more, so please consider how you will fuel your generator, if the stuff hits the Fan. When you plan for yourself that's on you, and we do this for our clients too.
Guess what, if you live where the PSC - Public Service Commission requires you to tie on, the local Utility Company has to bring electricity to your home meter base, and in most places of the Western world it's a lot cheaper to electrify a home this way than creating an entire off-grid system especially if you have a conventional home sized need, (Permits required too), but mains power, is still cheaper per Kilowatt, than off-grid costs to build and then you could build an off-grid system and it's Better to have your own, is what we think.
More on this subject will be posted later and is throughout our website (look at the tabs at the top of the page for a selection or on the drop-down list if you're on a mobile platform for those pages). Call us at 706-363-6453 (M - F 10 AM - 5 PM) for needed Equipment quotes and be prepared to pay in advance with your order, through bank-to-bank transfers, as that our suppliers (the few that are left in business in this mid-2024 economy) want their money up front that way too these days too, and credit card charges are at least 3-5% extra, and bank transfers are only $18. to $20 each, currently at most banks, so this is less money out of your pocket (OOP) and for us all.
This is only part of how we design and build Georgia AdobeTM, Earth sheltered, passive solar, passive ventilated "REAL" Rammed Earth Homes, (Read About How To Build With Rammed Earth In The List Of Pages HOW TO Topic Pages That, We Provide Here On This Website) that can basically heat and cool themselves, make their own water, power, gas sometimes, grow lots of food and are generally paid for, when built as we plan and consult to our clients, to build for themselves, upon the day one moves in. Call us to get started, before you need it!
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