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Generally most consumer equipment in the last decade or two is pretty flexible on voltage. The modern switched power supplies are both flexible and efficient.
by sliken 7y ago
Generally most consumer equipment in the last decade or two is pretty flexible on voltage. The modern switched power supplies are both flexible and efficient.
But generally equipment is AC, and solar and batteries are DC. So it's entirely up to your inverter how clean your power is.
But generally off the grid users have to either over build a crazy amount (which is expensive) or adapt a bit. Things like hanging laundry vs using a clothes dryer might not always be necessary, but if the wind/solar is behind it would be a good investment.
Even things like dressing for summer instead of blasting the AC so you can wear multiple layers can make a huge difference. If you have a surplus during the day (which is common with solar), run your most power intensive stuff then. That way your very expensive batteries don't have as much load to make it through the night.
Things like air conditioning are among the hardest loads, high peaks, worst when it's hot, and overall just a huge amount of power. Who wants to pay $40k for batteries instead of just being a bit smarter with insulation, whole house fans, and dressing for the weather? In my city I'm often out in about after midnight, with a light jacket on, and listening to neighbors AC blasting with all their windows closed while their AC fights the thermal mass in their attic. Seems insane to not open the windows when it's under 60F.
Generally minor changes. You can still stay up all night watching tv, still have a comfortable life pretty close to normal. But if you don't adapt you might be out of luck a few days a year or have to spend 2-3x the money.
- adrianN 7y agoAll the things you mention would save 2-3x the money with a normal grid connection too, it's just that energy is much too cheap for people to care. Thus 10kW of continuous primary power consumption for each American.
- sliken 7y agoAgreed. However on the grid running a dryer instead of hanging clothes isn't much difference in money to most Americans. Off the grid the difference in batteries+solar/wind is huge.