TalkBaja.com » Baja Mexico Forums » Off-Grid / Solar, Wind or Generator?

Just in time for the holidays!

Chava and crew did a great job getting all the solar panels up and the system was first tested on Christmas eve. It was a big expense but the flexibility of now having two, separate/parallel systems really is nice - especially on these days of winter when solar production is down and energy consumption seems to go up (we spend more time indoors). We split the loads up based on our normal energy use here and that helps keep both main battery banks charged. They are never below 90% in the early AM, even on these winter days.

Even with all the construction going on with up to three different crews of guys onsite, power tools running and normal house usage, I haven't had to run the generator yet. We are producing an average of 14-15 kW per day and I expect that to go up as the days get longer. I can now begin to put my woodshop together as we just got all the cabinets installed.

I know - need to get some updated photos on my construction thread...

That's some "power" generation ya got going

Coincidentally I spent all day Friday on the roof adding an additional 750 watts of panels. I had security hardware on some old panels I removed. Believe me they were secure. I lost the tool to undo the bolts. Spent half the day grinding the security bolts off. My new ones use a different tool, this time I won't loose it!

Funny how you use more power in the winter, for us, we use much more in the summer when it gets hot. It's amazing how much power ceiling fans use, and we have them on 24/7 when it gets really hot.

Originally Posted by BigWooo

I had security hardware on some old panels I removed. Believe me they were secure.

Let me show you our solar security system (X3). Much simpler...

Originally Posted by BigWooo

Funny how you use more power in the winter, for us, we use much more in the summer when it gets hot. It's amazing how much power ceiling fans use, and we have them on 24/7 when it gets really hot.

One of the advantages we enjoy about living on the northern Baja Pacific side. We have one ceiling fan in the house but rarely turn it on. We can't even keep the windows open at night in the summer months as it just gets too nippy here...

We still have to put the dogs in the back before Chava'a guys will come in each day. They tell us the dogs make them too nervous to work...

good dogs!

I wonder what the typical size for solar systems is on houses in baja? 14-15kwhr per day doesnt seem like it would be enough. I live in a rural area in poway and am on Solar (on-grid solar), well, and septic. Even in Jan my system generates about 31kwhr per day avg, and in june/july its around 50kwhr per day. We do have a pool though which uses a lot of electricity. But just running the house is about 30kwhr a day at least, and we don't really run heat or air conditioning much at all. Both my wife and i work, if we were at home more I think use would go up from there.

I would think running an avg size house requires at least 30kwhr a day with a pool, maybe 23kwhr a day without? Doesn't that mean to charge your batteries your systems have to consistently generate at least that much per day, even in the dark months?

-Roger

Originally Posted by Uzun

I wonder what the typical size for solar systems is on houses in baja? 14-15kwhr per day doesnt seem like it would be enough. I live in a rural area in poway and am on Solar (on-grid solar), well, and septic. Even in Jan my system generates about 31kwhr per day avg, and in june/july its around 50kwhr per day. We do have a pool though which uses a lot of electricity. But just running the house is about 30kwhr a day at least, and we don't really run heat or air conditioning much at all. Both my wife and i work, if we were at home more I think use would go up from there.

I would think running an avg size house requires at least 30kwhr a day with a pool, maybe 23kwhr a day without? Doesn't that mean to charge your batteries your systems have to consistently generate at least that much per day, even in the dark months?

-Roger

Actually you have to generate more than you use due to the losses in the charging system and the charging efficiency of the batteries. We have a 3,000 sq. ft. home in Loreto and use about 13 - 15 kwh per day in the winter and about 20 - 22 in the summer. No pool and all LED or CFL lights. Standard appliances (Energy Star). We don't really conserve electricity at all and that's our measured usage. Older pool motors do use a lot as does AC. We do use a 1 ton minisplit during summer months for about 6 hours a day. Seems like your usage is a bit high, maybe older motors/appliances and lighting might be doing it. Maybe the electric company is ripping you off.

14-15 kW seems to fit us pretty well. My batteries are usually in float by mid to late morning.

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

14-15 kW seems to fit us pretty well. My batteries are usually in float by mid to late morning.

Were quite a bit less, but use will definitely increase when we move into the main house

That is super cool.
I do not see a lot of solar here in Nayarit, which is surprising to me with the tiered CFE rates!

Well, a lot of people boogie to cooler climes when things warm up.

If I do get to the point where I purchase someday solar will be one of my first priorities.... or, I may be on the verge of hooking up a rental for multiple years and I may drag some of my solar over from baja just to run the meter backwards during the day to offset some of that tiering..... vamos a ver!

Originally Posted by soulpatch

That is super cool.
I do not see a lot of solar here in Nayarit, which is surprising to me with the tiered CFE rates!

Well, a lot of people boogie to cooler climes when things warm up.

If I do get to the point where I purchase someday solar will be one of my first priorities.... or, I may be on the verge of hooking up a rental for multiple years and I may drag some of my solar over from baja just to run the meter backwards during the day to offset some of that tiering..... vamos a ver!

bad news on the rate-tiering... CFE purgatory. Once you hit the top tier you stay there, even if your usage goes down the next month. At least that's' my understanding- since ours never goes down a tier for me to check.

Woooosh, I can tell you from personal experience.....when you exceed the magic number of kWh that you're placed in CFE hell for one full calendar year before CFE figures you might have learned your lesson!!! When my now 95-y/o mother was down here for 2 years, I spent a LOT of time following her around turning off lights everywhere!! And this is the same women who yelled at me when I was growing up, "Turn the lights off when you leave the room!!"

My kWh usage hit 700 (10.93 kWh per day) for December 12 - February 13 for the first time since last February!! I'm the opposite of general usage, my usage is more heavily driven by lights during the longer, darker winter months that it is by A/C during the hotter summer months since my place is foam block construction & I very rarely feel the need to use the only A/C unit I finally installed in the master bedroom.....& it was humidity more so than heat that finally drove me to install that unit after a full 2 years in this casa. I do use a ceiling fan in whatever room I'm in during most of the summer.

Building in foam was well worth the difference in materials cost because it definitely helps to maintain a comfortable interior temperature range year-round. I can still be comfortable during the coldest months by wearing jeans & a fleece top. I have yet to feel the need to use my small space heater in during the 5 years I've been in this casa.

I admit that I do make a conscious effort toward conservation.....without feeling deprived.....but I sincerely doubt that I could get my usage up to Uzun's daily usage even if I ran the pool pump 24x7x365!!!! But that's a plus in my book since I wouldn't be able to afford to pay the electric bill if I was in that usage range year round, let alone for one month!! The rates in the "penalty-box" are just too brutal!!

BG, do you have an idea of your approximate cost outlay for the solar & wind technology you've installed? I know that I got 3 quotes for minimal (1-2 interior lights & refrigerator) solar back-up for power outages like during/after hurricanes & to heat my pool during the winter months & all 3 quotes came in right around $25,000 USD!! That was far from being a whole-house system

Originally Posted by longlegsinlapaz

BG, do you have an idea of your approximate cost outlay for the solar & wind technology you've installed? I know that I got 3 quotes for minimal (1-2 interior lights & refrigerator) solar back-up for power outages like during/after hurricanes & to heat my pool during the winter months & all 3 quotes came in right around $25,000 USD!! That was far from being a whole-house system

With my latest purchases/adjustments I am probably in the $25-30K range, hardware only. Chava and I have done all the labor ourselves. Not only does that include dual/split systems but I also have purchased backups for all my charge/diversion controllers and inverters. I won't need to make a run for the border in panic mode should anything happen. All of this is backed up with a 6.6kW generator.

Breaking it down, the cost for the second part of my system was much less, as the price per watt for solar panels has really dropped in the last 18-24 months. I found a much better, local supplier for the batteries who gives me a great price and I also scored some great buys on eBay for the MPPT charge controllers and inverters. It does make a huge difference if you buy all the hardware yourself vs letting a contractor make the purchases.

Did their quotes include any technical info like total panel watts, battery storage capacity in amp-hours, inverter output in watts (normal/surge), etc? With that information I could probably give you a better evaluation.

Whether on grid or off grid, if you consume say 30kwhr of electricity in your house on avg, you need to produce 30kwhr of energy per day from your wind/solar systems to keep the batteries charged, or somewhat more than that, correct (any less and you eventually run out of battery power or have to use your generator to make up the diff)? It seems like folks down in baja are using a lot less energy than I am using up in San Diego.

BG, my builder (aka, the defendant) failed to give me (aka, the plaintiff) the actual quotes, so I don't have the info you asked for.....& in all honesty.....beyond the fact that solar energy comes from the sun & is converted into electricity & stored in batteries & wind gets converted into electricity is is stored in batteries.....something tells me I wouldn't have known what questions to ask or how to read the information on the off-chance that it was detailed!! But I do remember I gave my builder my CFE usage history to prove to them that the low amount I was asking for a quote on was accurate! GAWD knows whether or how he passed the info on!

It's pretty much a moot point at this point in time for a bunch or reasons.....it should have been installed as part of my initial construction, rather that jury-rigged after the fact! I was just curious.....and I did remember that you bought your own materials & were heavily involved in the installation.

Trust me, after seeing your solar security system, I won't be trying to sneak up on your roof to filch 1 kWh worth of equipment.....day or night!! Not even with T-bones in my pockets!

"my builder (aka, the defendant)"

We only feed our dogs human meat so they won't be interested in any of the cuts you'll find at the local butcher.



I truly believe that having a solar system will make a lot of sense in the coming years as I only see the cost of energy going up. There was a massive overproduction of solar panels in response to the wave of subsidized system installs in the US and now you can buy panels for as low as a quarter of the cost compared to just a few years ago.

Plus, the added benefit of building a system with sufficient battery storage to make it through any black/brown-outs will give you peace of mind and extend the life of your sensitive electronics.

I bet that if you bought all the material yourself and just hired someone to install it the cost would go way down...