Blue States' crusade against gas engines

I like this concept:

Nuclear “batteries”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/s…o-carbon-free-energy/amp/

One thing I have noticed that is going on right now here in California and I would bet is also happening in other states that impacts this push for going to all electric vehicles. Here in California the utilities are doing everything they can to try to reduce new roof top solar. They keep pushing for changes to the way net metering works that makes it less and less desirable to spend the money to install a system - These utilities don't want roof top solar because they can't own it, and they are doing everything they can to keep people reliant on them and their grid, even since I installed our panels 5 years ago they have changed it for newer installations and I have been reading lately that they are now pushing for even more changes.

I actually worry about what would happen if I were to buy an electric car and wanted to rely on charging it at home - - When our system was installed 5 years ago we signed a contract that guarantees we will stay on the original net metering billing system for 20 years. At the time our system had to be sized based on like 4 or 5 years of our average consumption - they will not allow you to intentionally oversize the number of panels and will not give you permission to connect to the grid if they think your system is too big - - - so now I have a system that does not have the extra capacity I would want to take on the charging of one or more electric vehicles - The problem here is that if I wanted to add more panels to allow me to charge those vehicles and not be more reliant on SCE I would have to go through the entire approval system again and probably sign a new contract which would knock me out of the original net metering plan that I am currently grand fathered into - - yea not going to do that!!!

my point here is that we have all these different forces pushing at us from different directions - one group wants to go all electric - another wants us to stay on the grid - another wants us to get rid of roof top solar and build huge solar farms they control - and another will fight tooth and nail to stop those solar farms from being built because they might harm the habitat for some stupid lizard, and then there are the always present NIMBY's who call for all these great things to built just so long as its Not in My Back yard - - - The utilities, the green freaks, the environmentalists, the oil companies and idiots who complain about anything that blocks their view - - its never ending

basically we are stuck between all of these forces who are doing everything they can to get what they want and I can guarantee that in the end it will be us who gets screwed

Electric cars - yea I think it would be cool to have a 300 HP electric Slingshot with a 300 mile per charge range, but I think it is a myth that going electric will ever be something that does not increase the hold the government and the big utilities have on us.

https://www.dailysignal.com/20…are-absolutely-exploding/

Quote from gearhead

https://www.dailysignal.com/20…are-absolutely-exploding/

Two main reasons why my wife and I decided on going solar 5 years ago were locking in our price for electricity and also knowing what it would cost each month so that we could better know our exact expenses each month. predictability and knowing it won't change were our highest priorities - - saving money, and we have saved a ton , was actually down the list

Solar is no good at night so if you have solar, it’s good to also have a battery bank.

These can be mounted on wall inside garage or outside.

Many available options & at various capacities.

Here’s just one example:

https://www.energysage.com/sol…eries/lg-chem/7/resu-10h/

Tesla has one called the Powerwall but there are LOTS of available options. With the right bank(s) you can run your home during the day on your solar panels whilst charging the bank & then run your home off the bank at night, even if the whole grid is down.

Quote from Tripod

Solar is no good at night so if you have solar, it’s good to also have a battery bank.

These can be mounted on wall inside garage or outside.

Many available options & at various capacities.

Here’s just one example:

https://www.energysage.com/sol…eries/lg-chem/7/resu-10h/

Tesla has one called the Powerwall but there are LOTS of available options. With the right bank(s) you can run your home during the day on your solar panels whilst charging the bank & then run your home off the bank at night, even if the whole grid is down.

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We thought about the batteries, but at the time we did our solar install they were expensive and could not be included as a part of the lease we went with. Also trying to be completely free of the grid wasn't and is not something I really care about since we have locked in our net metering agreement for 20 years. Also I am fairly sure that if we wanted to add batteries now changes might be required with the inverters - most inverters are designed to shut down the entire system ig the grid goes down - they don't want roof top solar systems feeding power back into the grid and possibly injuring the people working on the lines - when you have a system with batteries the inverters have to be able disconnect the system from the grid and charge the batteries and also they need to be able to redirect the power between the home and the batteries as the batteries become fully charged - anyway our power goes down very rarely and almost never for long enough to justify the batteries - - in fact if I were going to spend money for backup power I would be more inclined to add a whole house natural gas generator

Quote from Tripod

Solar is no good at night so if you have solar, it’s good to also have a battery bank.

These can be mounted on wall inside garage or outside.

Many available options & at various capacities.

Here’s just one example:

https://www.energysage.com/sol…eries/lg-chem/7/resu-10h/

Tesla has one called the Powerwall but there are LOTS of available options. With the right bank(s) you can run your home during the day on your solar panels whilst charging the bank & then run your home off the bank at night, even if the whole grid is down.

Display More

A few years back I read about the possible use of automotive batteries that have reached their practical usage for just this purpose. I question the cradle to grave process along with all the energy needed to produce and dispose of the batteries. Including mining the raw materials, manufacture of the battery and safely dispose of the millions of batteries after use? A good article above from gearhead. Wasn't this the same huge issue that was an underlining factor the the massive fires in California just a few years ago?

I’m not allowed to say FREE Tesla electricity is coming... I’ll get cancelled..

don’t panic...it’s closer than you think.

Everyone will be converted...

Doc&Ruby - here you go the current tiered rate schedule for Southern California Edison - the "Baseline Allocation" changes depending on the rate area you are in and if it summer or not - in hotter areas like where I am the baseline is higher and is also higher in Summer - - - back before we went solar we were always well into the third tier every single month - the AC just sucks the power - - Since we went solar our system has consistantly produced more than we use so this Tiers no longer impact us

Blue states seem to have a disdain or outright hatred towards the taxpayer that isn't the uber wealthy.

Doc&Ruby - and everyone else

just to add to my above post that shows the SCE rates here is a bit more information

this is a map showing the different rate areas

And this is a table showing what the daily baseline allocation is for each area in summer. We are in area 15

so, as you can see, in summer we are allowed 46.4 kWh of electricity per day at 23 cents each before we move into the higher tiers

Just to give you a better understanding why we went solar - yesterday our home consumed 98 kWh of electricity and the day before was pretty much the same Saturday was only 82.5 - - as you can see normally this would have pushed us well into the third tier at 38 cents per kWh - - fortunately on most of these days my solar panels actually produced more than we used and even on the days when it didn't the excess we produced on other days and have banked with net metering is more than enough to cover any extra we need on these 118 degree days where the AC runs 24/7

Before we went with solar our electric bill in the summer months was often over a thousand dollars each month

Seeing this you can probably understand why I might be hesitant to want the additional load that charging one or more electric vehicles would add.

Also just so you know how they still screw us - if we use their power we pay the above rates, but at the end of our annual billing period when they have to pay us for the extra we put in the grid over that year they only pay the wholesale rate which is under 2 cents per kWh

Quote from echoraven

Blue states seem to have a disdain or outright hatred towards the taxpayer that isn't the uber wealthy.

These days the right seems to want my money just as much as the left - - We may not want to admit it, but in my view the Ideas of fiscal responsibility and low taxation that existed back in the days of Ronald Reagan are long gone - - these days it seems like both sides want as much of my money as they can get - - the only real difference is what they want to spend it on - (which never seems to benefit me)

Quote from Edward Neal

...Before we went with solar our electric bill in the summer months was often over a thousand dollars each month...

Is your house big enough for an indoor race track?

Quote from Edward Neal

These days the right seems to want my money just as much as the left - -

My comment wasn't merely to reflect upon taxation. Your state is phasing away gas powered vehicles without being able to meet current power demands. Blue states are havens for criminal activity; their "catch and release" philosophy grants them woke points but does not help the working class.

Critical race theory is ideological cancer.

It seems every policy or trend they come up with is to harm the working class.

Quote from echoraven

Is your house big enough for an indoor race track?

My comment wasn't merely to reflect upon taxation. Your state is phasing away gas powered vehicles without being able to meet current power demands. Blue states are havens for criminal activity; their "catch and release" philosophy grants them woke points but does not help the working class.

Critical race theory is ideological cancer.

It seems every policy or trend they come up with is to harm the working class.

I have to agree

We cool to 73 and our bill runs around $140 a month. With it being so hot it went up to $170. I split the bill with Susan so it is not so bad. Would rather spend my money on toys. Solar would just not be worth it.

Quote from DJohnson

We cool to 73 and our bill runs around $140 a month. With it being so hot it went up to $170. I split the bill with Susan so it is not so bad. Would rather spend my money on toys. Solar would just not be worth it.

actually its hard to say if solar would be worth it - with you usage the system and number panels needed would be rather small and these days the price of panels has come way down - - if you plan on staying in your home it might well be worth looking into - - getting a quote is almost always free so it couldn't hurt

I been in this house for 40 years and at the young age of 74 don't think I will ever move. So nice to not have to make payments, When it was paid off I joined the Gun of the Month Club and now the Slingshot Spend It Like You Got It Club. I really don't want them attaching anything to my metal roof it cost to much and never want it leaking.