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Solar

Texas Solar Projects

Project One - 2016

Our TX solar projects have come in several phases... First came the installation of a suitable roof (garage) for the solar panels since the cut-up nature of our house's hip roof would not provide for enough room given the power requirements necessary for the size of the house... And also to ensure the solar panels were positioned for the best solar efficiency (due south and as close to 30° tilt as possible yet still be able to walk on the roof for cleaning the solar panels)... Due to the power requirements for the house (which is full electric with no gas or propane), 39 Sunpower 335W (SPR-X21-335-BLK-C-AC) Solar Panels (13.065 kW) where installed...

Project Two - 2022 - See Important Update Below!!!

The second project came when our electric company (Pedernales Electric Cooperative) decided to alter the return on my initial solar investment by changing from paying for the net electric used to paying full price for all power used and only compenstated wholesale for the power generated and sent to the grid... The result is that I now have to generate 174% of what I use in order to get to net zero... So, as a matter of principle, I decided to store my excess power to use locally and minimize power to/from the grid by installing 3 Tesla Powerwalls... And the side benefit, to help justify the cost, was now having backup power from the Powerwalls in the case of a power outage...

Project Two Important Update - 2024 - DO NOT Buy Tesla Powerwalls

On July 18, 2024 there was a strong storm in the area and the power went out, including backup power from the Powerwalls... After 6 months of trying to get the problem investigated and a warranty replacement, Tesla (the $1T+ company) chose to screw a retiree over warranty replacement of 3 Powerwalls claiming a lightning strike... Their own data, that they submitted to me as evidence, showed the nearest lightning strike about a mile away... Also note that the 3 blown Powerwalls were inside a grounded metal building whereas the Pumphouse Powerwall, about 300 ft away, was inside a small wooden building and survived... Their support and escalation process was abysmal and they simply passed the responsiblity off to the insurance company (minus ~$8K deductible)... So, I'll stress again DO NOT buy Tesla Powerwalls as I don't feel they stand behind their product and it appears to be a very poor design as there are no replacable internal parts/modules... It the classic case of a $14,000 Powerwall protecting a $100 fuse or module by blowing first!!!

Project Three - 2023

The third project came about realizing we had backup power for the house, but not for the pumphouse that is on a different meter (due to the evolution of the property by the previous owner)... As the name implies, the pumphouse houses the well pump and pressure pump for the house... It also serves as the entry point for our internet connection and therefore was deemed an important consideration for backup power during a grid outage since we all work from home... So, I added another Powerwall and a ground mount array of 6 Sunpower 425W (SPR-M425-H-AC) Solar Panels (2.55 kW)...

Project Four - Ongoing

Now, having this experience with grid-tied solar systems, I find the following problems:

• The electric company only pays wholesale for the power from your investment... So, while you can offset your power use, you're now only getting paid wholesale for your excess power... Effectively, this means you can no longer use the grid as your battery and you're not getting any offset for providing power to the grid during peak usage...
• The electric company does not allow charging your Powerwall from the grid nor signing up for Time-of-Use (TOU) Rate Plans... I should, at the very least, be able to use grid power for whatever I want, including charging my powerwall for backup situations... You can currently only (automatically) charge from the grid when you have Storm Watch enabled and the weather service issues a storm alert for the listed "servere weather events".
• Tesla does not officially support charging the Powerwall from a backup generator... The issue here is that a backup generator consumes fuel no matter what the load... So, to optimize that fuel usage, it seems appropriate to charge the Powerwall at an appropriate rate to maximize the efficiency of the generator output and fuel consumption, and then be able to use that power as required from the energy stored in the Powerwall...

So, in hindsight, I may have considered using a different home power/backup system where it can be connected as a home "appliance" with the ability to be charged from the grid, solar, and/or generator... Using this scenario, in conjunction with TOU rate plans, means you could charge at the minimum TOU rate and then use that power throughout your day/evening... And, you can have a backup generator option for situations where grid power may be unavailable... I started experimenting with Bluetti products for backup power for my internet connection using their early home backup devices and portable solar panels...

Previous Solar Projects

While in CA, I did my part for the environment by having a Solar System installed by Regrid Power (which no longer exists). After the initial installation, and before PG&E replaced my old mechanical meter with an electronic one, I took a short video of my Power Meter running backwards. I also published some monthly snapshots of my power output.