NBC news story on Hunter Biden

[¥akaSteelhead]

I am currently eyeball deep in architecting solutions for California's grid modernization program. The idea is massively distributed micro generation that can be managed, aggregated, and put onto the grid at large. New commercial of certain size and nearly all residential construction in California is required as of a few years back (I forget the date) to be built with solar sufficient to provide 75% of the buildings average energy utilization, what isn't used at the source is sold and put on the grid. Provides massive redundancy, and resiliency via distribution. Has some interesting security issues. Should make for a highly reliable grid.

Am I correct that solar and wind contribute to about half of the grid in California?

Not currently, but that is the goal by 2030. The other big benefit of distributed micro production is redundancy and reliability. You have solar and a battery at your house then you are insulated from the state of the grid.

[Markk]

Do you have solar power? Do you have all electrical home? If so why?

Do you have an all electric home? e.g. heat, cooking, water heater, dryer? Do own an electric car/s? What do you do for your part?

When we moved in we actually added more gas capability and swapped to a gas stove. The previous owners had already installed a Rinnai water heater, which is nice. The AC and house heater are older units and we’ll work with them until it’s practical to replace them, especially because our location doesn’t see extreme cold or heat, and we rarely use AC.

Our vehicles are older and well-maintained. And although we are super-efficient with bundling tasks and trips, EVs don’t work for us for the same reason they don’t work for you: the need to drive long distances in a single day, and certain cargo capacity needs. But both of our vehicles have over 200K miles on them and the environmental and economic proposition of keeping them as opposed to consuming more resources to junk them and buy new vehicles still works.

In other words you really don't care to practice what you preach.

[canpakes]

When we moved in we actually added more gas capability and swapped to a gas stove. The previous owners had already installed a Rinnai water heater, which is nice. The AC and house heater are older units and we’ll work with them until it’s practical to replace them, especially because our location doesn’t see extreme cold or heat, and we rarely use AC.

Our vehicles are older and well-maintained. And although we are super-efficient with bundling tasks and trips, EVs don’t work for us for the same reason they don’t work for you: the need to drive long distances in a single day, and certain cargo capacity needs. But both of our vehicles have over 200K miles on them and the environmental and economic proposition of keeping them as opposed to consuming more resources to junk them and buy new vehicles still works.

In other words you really don't care to practice what you preach.

Explain why you want to say so.

Bonus points for including what I’m ‘preaching’ that doesn’t match up.

[ajax18]

It’s probably enough to buy you a good burger once a year.

My gas water and electric bill alone is $900/month due to living in a blue city that thinks anything that purports to be green energy is something the taxpayer has to buy whether it works or not because, "Hey, it's a climate crisis. Just half hazzardly throw as much taxpayer money at it as you can and something good is bound to happen. We might even become as advanced as China." I say the biomass plant was a waste of $34 million. That's a burger that even Kamala Harris political campaign couldn't afford.

[Markk]

Am I correct that solar and wind contribute to about half of the grid in California?

Not currently, but that is the goal by 2030. The other big benefit of distributed micro production is redundancy and reliability. You have solar and a battery at your house then you are insulated from the state of the grid.

If I understand you correctly, not really, the solar power goes to the grid and then back to the house so to speak. I am not sure how that works, maybe you do. But if the grid goes down during the day, even though I have solar, I have no power. If I had batteries, after they are expended, then I have no power. However it works, my solar is a integrated part of the grid.

I have a friend that is a electrician and he said it is not difficult to bypass, but it is also against the law and I believe detectable by Edison. I suppose one could jerry rig a switch and then when the grid goes out, one could switch to direct solar and then switch back once the grid comes back on.

[canpakes]

My gas water and electric bill alone is $900/month …

Close your windows, already. It’s winter.

[¥akaSteelhead]

Not currently, but that is the goal by 2030. The other big benefit of distributed micro production is redundancy and reliability. You have solar and a battery at your house then you are insulated from the state of the grid.

If I understand you correctly, not really, the solar power goes to the grid and then back to the house so to speak. I am not sure how that works, maybe you do. But if the grid goes down during the day, even though I have solar, I have no power. If I had batteries, after they are expended, then I have no power. However it works, my solar is a integrated part of the grid.

I have a friend that is a electrician and he said it is not difficult to bypass, but it is also against the law and I believe detectable by Edison. I suppose one could jerry rig a switch and then when the grid goes out, one could switch to direct solar and then switch back once the grid comes back on.

That's why you have solar with a battery. Then at night or when the sun isn't shining you still have power. You can put a switch at you master panel residence side of the meter and disconnect yourself off the grid. That is not illegal. Smart auto sensing switches are available.

Homes producing more power than they are utilizing will put power on back on the grid. A home rarely utilizes it's max. During the day if no one one is home, or if a number of the large appliances aren't being utilized, then the home has excess capacity that can be put on the grid at large. Across millions of homes it is significant.

[Markk]

If I understand you correctly, not really, the solar power goes to the grid and then back to the house so to speak. I am not sure how that works, maybe you do. But if the grid goes down during the day, even though I have solar, I have no power. If I had batteries, after they are expended, then I have no power. However it works, my solar is a integrated part of the grid.

I have a friend that is a electrician and he said it is not difficult to bypass, but it is also against the law and I believe detectable by Edison. I suppose one could jerry rig a switch and then when the grid goes out, one could switch to direct solar and then switch back once the grid comes back on.

That's why you have solar with a battery. Then at night or when the sun isn't shining you still have power. You can put a switch at you master panel residence side of the meter and disconnect yourself off the grid. That is not illegal. Smart auto sensing switches are available.

Homes producing more power than they are utilizing will put power on back on the grid. A home rarely utilizes it's max. During the day if no one one is home, or if a number of the large appliances aren't being utilized, then the home has excess capacity that can be put on the grid at large. Across millions of homes it is significant.

In doing a little reading, if I were to put a switch in, I would be officially "off grid," and that demands another permit that is very expensive and hard to get in Ca. It's confusing. I am going to call the contractor that installed my solar. I have a new generac generator I am going to install one of these days, and if what you are saying is true, which I am not doubting, it might me a great option. I am just not real confident in the batteries and how they are produced sucks, but maybe that is not really as big an issue I thought it was. I now for a fact that because of batteries, stainless steel construction hrdw is off the charts. A SS post bracket that a few years ago was under $50, is now $450. Our supplier, Simpson hrdw, said it was because Tesla and the battery manufactures are demanding all the nickel. We build on the Ca coast, and a keg of SS screws is almost a grand these days.

IYO, why don't we get more credit from providers if we are putting so much power back into the grid?

Thanks

[¥akaSteelhead]

You get credit at the rate of power you are putting on the grid at the price you are charged by kwh, no?

Also there is a difference between being fully off grid and being able to disconnect from the grid when the grid is down in order to avoid a back feed. Bad things happen when you power a house with a generator or such when the grid is down, and crew comes out and the local lines are energized by said generator because the house is connected to the local lines, an islander is required. It is also bad when you are running a generator and the grid comes back online and you are not disconnected.

Being able to island is different than being fully off grid.

[Markk]

You get credit at the rate of power you are putting on the grid at the price you are charged by kwh, no?

No, they charge different rates based on demand....as of Oct. the average rate is 32 cents a kwh. The buy back credit rate is currently 7 9 cents. Then you have to add all the service charges that eat into the 7 cents.

{edit} It is so confusing looking at by bill, in that there are mid peak, off peak, and super off peak kwh's with both charges and credits. And there are two different charging categories of those. Delivery charges and Generation charges. My program has baselines...mine is 32 cents for delivery and charges, and 9 cents for credit (Generation). and then it fluctuates all over the place based on peak or non peak usage. My service charges are built into the costs and credits (I think), except for "fixed recovery" charge which this last month was, LoL, a total credit of 5 cents for the month.

My total bill this month was 31 dollars, but I paid nothing in that I have a line of credit that is to date 276 dollars. At it's peak it was 400 dollars a year ago.

For Delivery....this month SCE charged me 31 cents for 176 KWH (mid peak). 25 cents for 245 kwh (off peak) and credited me 24 cents for 448 kwh (super off peak).

For Generation Charges ....they charged 18 cents for 176 kwh (mid peak). 10 cents for 245 kwh (off peak). and a credit of 9 cents for 448 kwh.

So I am almost breaking even in cost and credits for delivery paying about 28 cents a kwh, and being credited about 24 cents. And in regard to generation I am paying and average of 14 cents or so a kwh, while receiving a credit of 9 cents.

Note: this is "winter power" and based on peaks. I need to go back and find a summer bill to see how the "summer power" charges and credit stack up. {end edit}

Do you have solar power?

Also there is a difference between being fully off grid and being able to disconnect from the grid when the grid is down in order to avoid a back feed. Bad things happen when you power a house with a generator or such when the grid is down, and crew comes out and the local lines are energized by said generator because the house is connected to the local lines, an islander is required. It is also bad when you are running a generator and the grid comes back online and you are not disconnected.

Being able to island is different than being fully off grid.

I will ask my solar guy how this all works code wise here is So Ca.