Eureka!!!

[Patti]

I like this idea. It is very do-able. The Honda EU2000iA runs on a couple gallons of gas a day and can be converted to also run on propane and natural gas.

http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/25/learn.asp


A basic off-grid system consists of a renewable energy source, which generates DC power, a battery bank that stores the DC power, and a Xantrex inverter. Our inverter is the intelligent center of a renewable energy system, seamlessly converting DC power to clean and reliable AC electricity for your needs.


The off-grid system pictured here is a solar electric hybrid system that offers additional automatic features. It consists of solar panels, a battery bank, our top-of-the-line Xantrex SW Plus Inverter/Charger, a charge controller that manages battery charging, and a generator.

When the sun is up, the solar panels generate power to charge batteries and provide electricity. At night, the Xantrex inverter/charger automatically runs your electrical equipment from your battery bank. The generator provides additional back-up battery charging capability for extended periods of cloudy weather. The Xantrex inverter/charger can automatically start the generator and initiate a recharge cycle when the battery bank is depleted, or a load is too large for the batteries to support independently. You can even have a connection to the grid should you want to use utility power.

Xantrex manufactures a complete range of power products to suit various budgets and electricity requirements. From complete power systems that come ready to install from our factory, to components that can be integrated into a system by one of our expert dealers, Xantrex has a system to meet your needs.



1. Honda EU2000iA - Super quiet generators
2. Bank of batteries
3. Solar panels
4. Xantrex inverter/charger


This would be done by feeding a Xantrex inverter/charger with a Honda eu2000 and/or solar panels. The unit would provide power through the inverter, and charge the battery bank at the same time with any left-over available energy. So, in theory you could run it a couple of hours every day for the heavy loads (washing clothes, etc) and top off the battery. Then throughout the day run the small loads off an inverter with battery bank.

It would be hard to get much more efficient than that.

What do you guys think?

[Bumper]

A friend of mine has a solar array which feeds the grid all day while everyone is out of the house. Here, electricity is cheaper in the evening and on weekends. When they get home from work, they obtain their electricity from the grid (after their meter has been in reverse all day). The rates they sell at are higher than the rates they are charged so they actually have an extremely low electric bill. On top of it all, the system cost him very little since he had federal and state tax credits and Arizona Public Service. Unfortunately, most of the tax credits have been lifted or drastically reduced. APS will still give you a credit but still costs you a lot of money to have one installed now. You might want to check your State and see what credits, if any, are offered....

[PointnClick]

Depends what your objective is... are you planning to live "off the grid", looking for juice in a 3-week power outage after a tornado, or sustenance in a Mad Max world...? Gas can get real rare, real fast. There is a reason nearly all "big" back up generators for hospitals and office buildings are diesel... plus, you can make diesel. I'd sub out the gas gennie...

That being said, I think anything off your electric bill is a good thing... being in the breezy midwest, you should look into a wind turbine over solar. I got several good links, if ya need 'em...

[PointnClick]

Isn't Xantrex a herpes drug...?