Run Whole House on Wimpy Generator?

[renunergy]

I put together an emergency solar powered, 12 volt system to play around with solar. This is in preparation for the 15Kwatt grid-tied system that I’m currently putting together. The 12 volt system uses 2-Renogy 200 Watt panels connected in parallel to a 12 volt Solar charge controller, a variety of 12 volt batteries and a Renogy 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter. This puts out 120 vac single phase. The home system in the US generally used 240 vac that is split into 2-120 vac lines that should be evenly divided amongst the house’s outlets. In order to drive your entire house, you need to measure how much current you’re using. If you drive both 120VAC lines with the same 120VAC output from your DC/AC inverter, you have to make sure this is less than the current the inverter is rated at. So for my Renogy inverter rated at 2000 Watts AC, that’s 120 vac at 16.666 Amp. Converting this to DC, we get 12vdc at 166.66 Amps. After being overly confident I ran my Tile Saw with the Inverter and blew the Renogy’s internal fuses even though I had a 250 Amp fuse between the battery and Inverter. I discovered that the Renogy’s 10 - 25 amp automotive blade fuses were soldered to the circuit board. I ordered some fuse holders and 5 new 50 Amp blade fuses to repair and it has worked fine ever since. So do your measurements and calculations and if it didn’t rain so much in Oregon, I would suggest using used solar panels.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by renunergy

. So do your measurements and calculations and if if didn’t rain so much in Oregon, I would suggest using used solar panels.

I have energy monitoring installed, so I know exactly what I'm using on a second by second basis.

3.3 kW is my peak if I'm not using AC, but I can easily avoid that by not using my oven, or staggering big loads. I just wouldn't use my oven in a power outage and stick to microwave and range.

[freebeard]

...if it didn’t rain so much in Oregon, I would suggest using used solar panels.

That keeps them clean.

[redpoint5]

True, they look brown by late August. As of now, I'm able to get max output for the few seconds the sun breaks out because of the constant cleaning and cool temperatures.

... that said, I kinda think cleaning is only worth about 5%, surprisingly. They look like a sheet of dirt, but apparently most of the useful light still reaches the array.

[j-c-c]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Excellent house, maybe, but plenty of corners are cut with appliances and fixtures. They'll put in a single speed air handler because it saved a few bucks, even though you could save hundreds over the years having a dual or multi-speed blower. You'll get the lowest efficiency AC and furnace. You'll get 15 amp circuits instead of 20. Hot water will take an eternity to reach certain faucets because they used the least amount of pipe possible to string around to all the faucet locations. They'll use laminate flooring, which is absolute garbage. You'd be better off with a nicely colored and finished concrete, which I still don't like. You'll get wooden decks and fences which require maintenance a minimum of every 2 years, and will still fail in 15 years. You'll get overmount sinks everywhere because it's easier to install than a much more functional undermount. You'll get noisy and inefficient bathroom fans because they were $5 cheaper than something better.

Are houses still being built with RJ-11 jacks? How about coax jacks? At minimum, new builds should have a cat6 jack that runs from where the cable/internet enters a junction box, to the center of the house at the middle/lowest floor, because WiFi isn't going anywhere.

If I were building a house, I'd have conduit running to all the rooms so I could add anything I wanted in the future easily. PVC costs next to nothing and is super easy to install. Crawling around in the attic when it's 130 degrees up there, trying to drill a hole down and hoping you found the small gap where the wall studs are is insane.

Nice tips, I would in my dream house outlaw any conduit smaller than 3/4".
My last house when still married, I installed all Hubbell 15/20A 120V Hospital Grade lighted nylon receptables. Don't ask what they cost. And lots of lightning arrestors (Florida being the Lightning capitol) Would also likely install an interior wifi connected hot water heat pump, to cool/dehumidify the garage.

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

If I were building a house, I'd have conduit running to all the rooms so I could add anything I wanted in the future easily.

https://www.reddit.com › r › exmormon › comments › fdde7j › elevator_shafts_in_the_slc_temple
Elevator shafts in the SLC temple : exmormon - reddit.com
Some have suggested that in the Salt Lake Temple, shafts were provided for elevators and spaces left throughout the building for electric conduits and heating ducts even before these technologies were known. Angell Sr., however, certainly would have learned about elevators, which were just coming into use at the time of his 1856 visit to Europe.

Power over Ethernet or Ethernet over power?

Power over Ethernet
Power over Ethernet, or PoE, describes any of several standards or ad hoc systems that pass electric power along with data on twisted-pair Ethernet cabling. This allows a single cable to provide both a data connection and enough electricity to power devices such as wireless access points, Internet Protocol cameras and voice over Internet Protocol phones. Wikipedia

Power-line communication
Power-line communication carries data on a conductor that is also used simultaneously for AC electric power transmission or electric power distribution to consumers. A wide range of power-line communication technologies are needed for different applications, ranging from home automation to Internet access which is often called broadband over power lines. Wikipedia

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Power over Ethernet or Ethernet over power?

I've got Ethernet over power devices; they are somewhat hit or miss and always fall severely short of maximum speed claims.

I'd go cat6 to at least get me to 10gbps when that becomes important. I've been running outdoor security cameras and they are powered by PoE. My custom house would have those details included.

Even if the cables become outdated, they become convenient fish tape.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

If I were building a house, I'd have conduit running to all the rooms so I could add anything I wanted in the future easily. PVC costs next to nothing and is super easy to install. Crawling around in the attic when it's 130 degrees up there, trying to drill a hole down and hoping you found the small gap where the wall studs are is insane.

Not to mention how dangerous it is to crawling around in the attic of a house built in a half-assed way, which also is the case for McMansions such as the one where a Brazilian TV host had an accident in 2019 and died some days later.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Not to mention how dangerous it is to crawling around in the attic of a house built in a half-assed way, which also is the case for McMansions such as the one where a Brazilian TV host had an accident in 2019 and died some days later.

I have a crack in the ceiling of the entryway from me slipping off a truss. Fortunately just a crack, and not a hole. Falling 12ft onto hardwood floors would not be kind to my body.

[freebeard]

I had a crackhead upstairs neighbor who was crawling around in an attic space right on the lath and plaster. He fell through my living room ceiling, got up and walked out the front door. Didn't say a word.

The danger crawling around in engineered roofing trusses is inhaling the blown-in insulation.