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It's a lot easier for me than for you. I'm in the SF Bay Area, so my climate is milder on both extremes. Also I'm DIYing everything and scavenging discarded stu
by zbrozek 5y ago
It's a lot easier for me than for you. I'm in the SF Bay Area, so my climate is milder on both extremes. Also I'm DIYing everything and scavenging discarded stuff where I can, so my costs are abnormally low. When all is said and done I'll have ~40-50 KWh of storage and a 20 KWp solar array for <$20k. And my cost of electricity is probably far higher than yours, so I have more incentive.
When I think of grid independence, I mean the electric grid. I'm keeping an existing gas-fired heating system in addition to installing a heat pump system. I also have a generator.
- ed25519FUUU 5y agoHave you checked to make sure you can actually disconnect from PG&E? Grid defection is not legal in almost all cities of any size. They make some exceptions for new construction that was never attached to the grid.
- zbrozek 5y agoLuckily I'm not in a city of any size, and my remodel is extensive enough that my town has called in new construction even though it really isn't. But I don't actually care if I disconnect from the grid. I just don't want to pull any watt*hours from it. That's why I call it grid independence rather than off grid.