Solar panels / solar roof ??

[Jeddak]

Kubota 10kw diesel generator connected to an "emergency sub-panel". It powers all the essential loads, everything but the AC and my wife's indoor pool. Has an auto transfer switch with auto start. Cost with me doing the entire installation was about $7500. I got rid of the factory enclosure as it leaked and there was no room for maintenance and built this gazebo around it. Dead quiet too. I also installed a gravity feed day tank as the engine would lose prime and fail to start otherwise.

We have run it for as many as 13 days straight on two occasions (hurricanes) and the 60 gallon tank still is only half full.

I have enough diesel in storage for it to run at full load for about 3.5 years if necessary.
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What's the shelf life on diesel fuel?

 

[jeep78]

What's the shelf life on diesel fuel?

Nowhere near the unlimited shelf life of propane.

But it depends on how the diesel is handled and filtered.

 

[WinstonSmith]

A solar set up on a properly built home (phius) with a propane generator back up and a 1k gallon propane tank is a good way to go. The new batteries are 16kw. If you can swing the investment and have the goal of relying as little on the grid as possible and being covered in an emergency it's a good answer. That solar will really stretch your fuel reserves. A 20kw generator will burn about 1lb fuel every hour.

 

[Squiddley]

The panels should last about 20 years,the battery back up about 10 years.

 

[jeep78]

The panels should last about 20 years,the battery back up about 10 years.

The panels lose efficiency every year, as do the batteries. You need to allow for that in your design and buy more than you think you need.

 

[killerv]

A majority of panels in the states came from overseas, Asia, mostly China. We all know how long China items last. Trump put some tariffs on them and now some are being made here.

We actually just sold some land to a solar power company and had a lot of questions when they were actually wanting to lease it instead. About 10 years before they have to be replaced. You gotta think, these things sit in the sun and elements all day long. Its crazy how quick they can get these things put up. They had a 35 acre field, cleared, level, etc, panels installed in about a month, maybe 6 weeks.

 

[moosensquirrel]

This makes way more sense than solar. If you do not have a nat gas hookup, this is dang near as good.

You do have biobar , I hope.

I use lucas oil, and have not had a problem in 15 years. I used bio bore in my boat when I was sailing in the tropics back in the70's. Algae in the fuel was a big problem then. I test run it at full load for at least 2 hours each month. I am at the dead end of the power line and we have had enough power failures recently that we did not have to do a scheduled test.

 

[lmitch]

I am in the HVAC field and I have seen many new houses in which homeowners are installing gas generator, instead. Sounds interesting, because even if power goes out, you can whether have natural gas or the big propane tank, I think!

The owner of the house under construction still wants to use solar as backup power. So we will be installing the solar panels, battery pack, inverter, and transfer switch. He is aware of the limitations to the system so we stubbed up a gas line should he want to install a generator in the future. Solar contractors believe that in approximately 5 years most systems will be installed without the battery backup. The battery for the system will be your electric car.

 

[diacnik]

in

 

[StuP]

The battery for the system will be your electric car.

That sounds so practical, right ? Most people don't have a spare car to leave parked all day when the solar is generating. At night, who would want power in their house, and be able to go somewhere at the same time ? More like sales BS to me.