Ah, thanks ALEC..... I had heard that SRP was doing that.
On the inverter issue, you're going to need one designed for use both with batteries and grid tie... Or one just for batteries if you go completely off grid. Either way, your current inverter will not work. For one, it can't mAke any voltage on its own, so you need SRP to make voltage for you--all it can do is make current. Outback and Schneider currently have ones that can work with batteries and the grid and are starting to be able to use lithium technologies (still 48 volts nominal --any higher is very unlikely due to NEC for houses). If you want to completely off grid (what SRP and others are pushing us towards) then magnum is a good brand. Sma also makes some off grid ones (different than their grid tie only ones. This whole topic will be a big issue in the coming few years so you will not be the be the only one researching it. Many of the manufacturers are working on new schemes to let you go off grid in areas where net metering is taken away or standby fees are rising-- I expect to see a lot if new products in the next few years. Z Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 21, 2014, at 1:24 PM, Ben Goren via EV <ev@lists.evdl.org> wrote: > > So, I have my roof covered with solar panels. And Salt River Project, my > utility, is threatening to at least triple monthly "basic connection fees" > for solar "customers." > > I've decided that's not an option for me. Before I pay such Danegeld, I'll > get a bunch of batteries and drop off the grid entirely. (And I wrote as much > in a letter to SRP's CEO.) The rate increase is still in the proposal stage > and there'd be a period of some years before it'd go into place for existing > "customers"...but, still, now is the time to start planning. > > As I see it, I have two main reasonable options for the battery: nickel-iron > or something discarded from an EV. > > Nickel-iron would either be expensive to purchase or a significant investment > in time to make, but it should last forever. > > A few surplus / used / whatever EV batteries would presumably be much > cheaper, but have a much more limited lifespan. > > Part of me would be inclined to go the nickel-iron route and never have to > deal with it again. > > Another part suggests to do things as cheaply as possible, even if it only > lasts a few years, because battery technology is improving so rapidly. > > So...can anybody offer any suggestions? For example, what to expect to pay > for EV batteries that're no good for use in an EV but still hold enough > charge to be worth putting at the back of a closet? > > I'm assuming the battery output will go into the DC input on the inverter I > already have for the PV panels, and that, in turn, means that I don't have to > worry about matching voltages from different batteries. That, for example, I > should be just fine getting a surplus Leaf battery from here and a Tesla > battery from a wrecking yard there and so on until I've got enough amp-hour > capacity for my needs, and that I can add and remove batteries later as the > fancy tickles me. Is that a valid assumption? > > Anything else I should consider or start thinking about? > > Thanks, > > b& > -------------- next part -------------- > A non-text attachment was scrubbed... > Name: signature.asc > Type: application/pgp-signature > Size: 801 bytes > Desc: Message signed with OpenPGP using GPGMail > URL: > <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20141221/aab757b4/attachment.pgp> > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA > (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
