Anyone out there using a Tesla battery (or at least solar) to power your grow rooms?

J232

Well-Known Member
Right, I don't even change my oil. :) It's something new'ish and a pro installer might question my purposes (paranoid); also, I'm not sure you can just ask any local electrician. I have an electrician friend that added breakers/outlets, I want to know enough about it primarily to budget for what I'll need to buy. He's a little hesitant, I think he appreciates the complexity/difficulty of what I'm asking (or at least acknowledges it's beyond his experience). Two years to plan. I'll dig up as many guidance docs as necessary to assess project needs, I want to ensure no animals are harmed while I grow, including humans.
Sounds more like side job for a guy, I’m not sure how trained they get with high voltage DC. Most battery packs are pretty safe, it’s hard to hurt yourself by design and integrated safety, if you get hit by a 300 volt lipo, you’re toast lol.
 

CatHedral

Well-Known Member
I see there's a market for used Tesla car batteries. People are using them for all sorts of purposes, including powering rooms of their house. In about two years, I'm buying a house in the mountains. Places I'm looking at have a population density of like 30 people per square mile. I'm not going to want to depend on the grid 100%. Supplementing with solar seems like a must. But I do like the Tesla option. The used batteries are still a big purchase -- they're not cheap.

At this point, I'm curious to know what those of you who live "in the cut" use for a discreet, reliable power supply.
What sort of price/kWh have you seen?
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
What sort of price/kWh have you seen?
Haven't gone beyond observing price/battery. Lots to work out before I crunch those #s, haven't searched for that metric specifically.

I'm looking at it like, ideally, the battery/ies would be charged by solar panels directly, minimizing energy cost. It probably doesn't work like that. So, the compromise, whatever form that is, would be what I'd use to base an answer to your question (if that makes sense).
 

CatHedral

Well-Known Member
Haven't gone beyond observing price/battery. Lots to work out before I crunch those #s, haven't searched for that metric specifically.

I'm looking at it like, ideally, the battery/ies would be charged by solar panels directly, minimizing energy cost. It probably doesn't work like that. So, the compromise, whatever form that is, would be what I'd use to base an answer to your question (if that makes sense).
I’ve been pondering similar things. I live out there, and having a few kWh on hand to keep the food frozen would kind a rock.

I think that there is a thing called a voltage controller. Since it needs to deal with quickly variable voltages from the panel, I think you’re good. But I know nothing about them, brands, capacities, cost, all that. I’m guessing.
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
This guy overdid it, but his list of materials is a decent place to start. He spent $40k on batteries, lol.

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CatHedral

Well-Known Member
i imagine so. we have a small spring on our property that runs year round. i'd love to tap into it to use it to water some of my lawn but i'm not exactly sure how to find the "best" spot
My mind spins. Reservoir, pump, elevated tank, lotsa digital things. (sigh) Money.
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
Now you're getting into water rights. Even if it runs through your property you can't always just go and divert some for irrigation or do anything that changes the water flow.
regulated riparian state -- reasonable use (a riparian can make changes in the quantity, quality and stream morphology so long as those changes are economically productive, not wasteful, and don't cause undue harm to other riparians).

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Lordhooha

Well-Known Member
I think it is real close for the Tesla Powerwall to be worth every penny. You need to store your excess power from the panels, otherwise it's just a waste. It acts as a backup generator in the event the grid is compromised as well.
The space needed to power the average home. I would need far too much space. Between the batteries or paying a couple of bucks to run my house at night I chose a couple of bucks. Not to mention what it takes to produce said batteries pretty much why I'll never own an electric car. Plus I like my diesels and the sound of an engine. With a electric car I'd have to go back to putting playing cards in my rims to make me sound cool.
Honestly I see electric cars and batteries like the Tesla wall dying and hydrogen power in dry cells, (which keeps them from exploring) to be the best way to power cars and even your home.
 

MisterKister

Well-Known Member
The only thing that sucks about a solar only house is that when the grid goes down you lose power too unless you have a back-up generator be it gas or battery
 

Lordhooha

Well-Known Member
This guy overdid it, but his list of materials is a decent place to start. He spent $40k on batteries, lol.

View attachment 5044274


Yah if I wanted to add a battery array to power my home after the sun goes down it would be 50-68k making the cost why too much. The only additional to my house I bought here will be the same as when I was in Michigan and add geothermal heating and cooling.
 

Lordhooha

Well-Known Member
The only thing that sucks about a solar only house is that when the grid goes down you lose power too unless you have a back-up generator be it gas or battery
It's why I will just stay on the regular power grid for night. I'll be honest I dont really care too much about my environmental impact simply want to reduce my power usage I have to pay for. Before the planet is toast due to pollution we will more then likely nuke ourselves out of existence.
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
[QUOTE="Lordhooha]
Yah if I wanted to add a battery array to power my home after the sun goes down it would be 50-68k making the cost why too much. The only additional to my house I bought here will be the same as when I was in Michigan and add geothermal heating and cooling.
[/QUOTE]

Right, I'm looking at it component-wise. Not for an entire house. Grow rooms only. Grid power during the day, battery at night. A fraction of the house but a big chunk of the bill. For example, bloom tents could be scheduled to run during the day -- on grid power -- so there's less demand on the battery/ies. Something like that.

Similarly, I'd grow a bamboo privacy fence and harvest some after a while, annually, to offset/pay property taxes. Every little bit helps.
 

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
My mind spins. Reservoir, pump, elevated tank, lotsa digital things. (sigh) Money.
but where do i try to put a pipe down into the spring? one guy i asked said i'd have to scrape off about a foot to see where it bubbles up the most. but i dont' want to tear my yard apart.
 

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
buy a property with a stream or river. hydro power runs 24/7
True, but does it run 365 days a year? About 20 years ago, I lived on an off-grid property, which the owner had rigged up hydro-electric power from a creek on the property. Trouble was in the winter storms I was always having to clean out leaves and debris from the intake, and in summer the flow got so low I'd have to run a genny to fill up the battery bank.
 
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