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I would love nothing more than to have an EV, a Tesla battery and solar panels at home. But like most Australians, I rent. And when you rent here you can barely

I would love nothing more than to have an EV, a Tesla battery and solar panels at home. But like most Australians, I rent. And when you rent here you can barely put a hook up on the wall without the owners permission (and usually them saying ‘no’ [and don’t even get me started on how paranoid it makes a renter feel to have to ask the owner for permission for something. There’s always the thought of ‘if I ask too much, will they not renew my lease and will I ever be able to find another rental in these conditions?’… but that’s another story]) And that doesn’t even take into account how expensive EVs are here, either. So for now, it’s my ‘99 Camry all the way.

hedora 4y ago
Two pragmatic suggestions: - if there are any outlets on the outside of your house, buy the highest amperage charger cable you can (~ $200 US), and trickle charge overnight. This is more than adequate for a reasonable commute in a reasonably efficient car. (Check the miles/kWh or km/kWh of the car, then figure out how many kW the charge cable delivers). - Lobby for "community net metering". The idea is that you buy shares in a non-profit (or other business entity) that owns a solar panel farm near your home. The power company offsets your bill as though the energy your share of the solar panels produced was produced on your roof. In addition to allowing renters and apartment dwellers to save money by buying solar, it allows them to buy things, like wind turbines, that don't scale down as well. It also allows poor people to lower their energy costs (as people that currently own solar panels do). The battery is tougher, assuming you want to use it as a backup. If you just want to time shift power, community net metering (and time of use plans) is good enough.
- Ekaros 4y ago
  Wouldn't it make more sense just to buy solar and wind producing companies and then get dividends from them and use those to buy the power?

hedora 4y ago

Two pragmatic suggestions: - if there are any outlets on the outside of your house, buy the highest amperage charger cable you can (~ $200 US), and trickle charge overnight. This is more than adequate for a reasonable commute in a reasonably efficient car. (Check the miles/kWh or km/kWh of the car, then figure out how many kW the charge cable delivers). - Lobby for "community net metering". The idea is that you buy shares in a non-profit (or other business entity) that owns a solar panel farm near your home. The power company offsets your bill as though the energy your share of the solar panels produced was produced on your roof. In addition to allowing renters and apartment dwellers to save money by buying solar, it allows them to buy things, like wind turbines, that don't scale down as well. It also allows poor people to lower their energy costs (as people that currently own solar panels do). The battery is tougher, assuming you want to use it as a backup. If you just want to time shift power, community net metering (and time of use plans) is good enough.

Ekaros 4y ago
Wouldn't it make more sense just to buy solar and wind producing companies and then get dividends from them and use those to buy the power?