What happens when a consumer buys three and sticks them on the same 20 amp circuit?
Cause people will definitely do that. Going to be some warm walls.
Plug-in solar is coming. Plug-in batteries should follow
81–90 of 140 posts
Re: Plug-in solar is coming. Plug-in batteries should follow
#82I don't see the point in panels without a battery, so I'm looking at a DIY system. RCBO for new circuit = £20, 5.12kWh battery = £700, ~3kW hybrid inverter from eBay ~=£400, Panels ~= £100 each. I'm not the including cost of a registered electrician for a new circuit in my case.
Re: Plug-in solar is coming. Plug-in batteries should follow
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
The new sodium batteries are a lot safer than the lithium chemistries. And we already do have type of home batteries they are just called UPS systems. The real game changer will be when 3-5kwh plugin batteries fall below $150-200pkwh as at those prices batteries will make sense even for apartment owners/renters with no solar to use it to demand shift as time of day electricity prices get more common.
The problem isn't the battery catching fire, it's that you no longer have a circuit breaker between your appliances and the generator. Meaning you could, especially if you have several batteries, push load through wires in the wall in excess of what is rated for.
Maybe you don't know this, but in the UK every single appliance has its own individual fuse right inside the plug.
Re: Plug-in solar is coming. Plug-in batteries should follow
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
Australia has been a great success for solar and battery storage. Your statement about a wealth transfer is putting no value on climate change or good air quality which benefits all.
The issue in oz, is that energy investment by power companies is locked in with decades long contracts - raising power prices for everyone. But investment by individuals is subject to bait and switch. Most people bought in with the expectation of a 12-15yr break-even, but the dropping feed in prices, and increase in grid costs have meant that break-even will probably never materialise. Meanwhile, we keep paying exces…
EV, Battery, Solar, Heat pump, Amber. Maybe be give it a tech abbreviation like HBASE? :)
Ok this may squarely be in the upper middle class and up for now but prices will come down and change everything. Almost to the point of off grid being feasible for suburban and rural areas at least.
Then build solar and wind farms and batteries and hydrogen production/consumption for base load.
Edit: changed to inc. solar
Re: Plug-in solar is coming. Plug-in batteries should follow
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
When we got our solar system in CA, our electric bill went to zero. We calculated the payback to be 9 years. Eventually, they stopped buying back electricity and changed the way they metered and our bill was as high as ever. We save a bit because we're able to charge our electric car at times of peak PV output. We left California last year for this and many other reasons. They just don't want anyone to be productive…
Literally one of the most productive states of the entire world btw
It's not even close too.
Re: Plug-in solar is coming. Plug-in batteries should follow
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
What makes it easier on 240v systems is that your entire household is on the same “circuit”. If you’re on a 120v system, there’s a ~50/50 chance that your load is on the wrong side (except for 240v loads where you’ll imbalance things a tad but it should average out). Unless you’re in an apartment/conso and have 208v instead of 240v… dunno what happens then.
Every US household has at least some big circuits across both lives. You could theoretically put the battery in the laundry room and use the 240v outlet. This is effectively what I did when my power was out during a hurricane. I backfed my entire house through my laundry room. Not to code but nothing was that week. The circuit wasn't rated for enough to handle the HVAC load so I eventually installed a separate 50A in…
> Every US household has at least some big circuits across both lives.
Not really. My parents have all natural gas for the furnance, oven, stove, clothes dryer, and water heater; no air conditioner. Everything else is lights and outlets. There are no 240v outlets and no 240v breakers other than the main breaker.
Re: Plug-in solar is coming. Plug-in batteries should follow
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
Australia has been a great success for solar and battery storage. Your statement about a wealth transfer is putting no value on climate change or good air quality which benefits all.
No it hasn’t. What it has done is resulted in ridiculously high electricity prices, such that manufacturing anything in this country has become progressively less viable. The Net Zero story sold to Australians is, and always was always will be, complete bs, as evidenced by three facts: 1) It’s no longer the narrative, because “data centres” and 2) even when it was the narrative, it was always bs because Australia exp…
Yeah every non-China nation can say "everyone else should do it, we is little, China should do it"
Problem with pollution is it is easy to overpollute but in the other direction realistically zero is the limit. Unless we go wartime funding on recapturing carbon.
Re: Plug-in solar is coming. Plug-in batteries should follow
#88I assume plug-in batteries are considerably more workable in the UK on 240V, since they could charge and deploy at double the rate of a plug-in system here. Of course 240V plugs exist in North America, but they're generally only installed for dryers, ranges, and EV chargers, so people don't tend to have one just free.
What makes it easier on 240v systems is that your entire household is on the same “circuit”. If you’re on a 120v system, there’s a ~50/50 chance that your load is on the wrong side (except for 240v loads where you’ll imbalance things a tad but it should average out). Unless you’re in an apartment/conso and have 208v instead of 240v… dunno what happens then.
It would be very unlikely that your 240v system would all be on the same circuit, unless you have an antique UK ring main.
Re: Plug-in solar is coming. Plug-in batteries should follow
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
While the potential for fires shouldn't be dismissed, for batteries designed to be stationary rather than mobile (such as in an e-bike), you can use a chemistry optimized for stability rather than optimizing for compact weight and size.
It's not the batteries that are the concern. It's skipping the fuse box.
UK has ring mains, so appliances have fused plugs to protect the mains wires from being overloaded.
Re: Plug-in solar is coming. Plug-in batteries should follow
#90What happens when a consumer buys three and sticks them on the same 20 amp circuit? Cause people will definitely do that. Going to be some warm walls.
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