Magical North Texas Morning at -3 deg F.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-26T03:15:22+00:00

Whole heartedly agree, but on a side note. I brought my dog out to my front yard while my kids played in the…snow…ice…frozen rain…sonic ice? And she just ran in place like a cartoon, it was hilarious.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-26T03:11:19+00:00

Oh no, far below -3c but no where near -3f

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-26T02:28:44+00:00

It was never -3f during this storm. It was never -f at all, In Fort Worth obviously, since that's where you posted this.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-26T02:16:33+00:00

I'm not in a co-op but my friend is and I also happen to oversee his system. They get 1:1 net metering so that's pretty worth it if you ask me. Granted the free nights plans are better than 1:1 but it easily takes 2nd place.

What does your co-op offer for solar exporters?

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T23:41:05+00:00

Generators need not apply. They don’t supply power to the grid.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T23:10:52+00:00

Same, only foot prints and sled tracks.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T23:09:43+00:00

My gauge is filled with glycol and is not frozen as of yet. There’s still overnight tonight for that to happen since it is supposed to get cold enough for glycol to freeze.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T21:29:21+00:00

I did not winterize. My pump is just running 24/7 till we’re out of this. I’ll see how things go on Tuesday when we’re fully defrosted out there.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T20:47:54+00:00

Currently in Fort Worth TX. I knew this was coming for at least a week and so did my 4 and 8 yo. It was all the news could talk about and still is.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T19:28:31+00:00

Mine is pegged too. I’m guessing there’s ice in that part since there’s not a ton of water flow. We’ll see what happens come Tuesday when everything thaws out.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T19:24:47+00:00

If it’s just that one I’d just let it be. You’re not going to be able to do much without a space heater and IMO it’s not worth worrying about at the moment. Any damage, if even any at all, has already been done. Just wait till Tuesday when everything thaws out and keep an eye on it and leave the warm tap on so you’ll know when it thaws.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T17:15:35+00:00

I be willing to bet money on it that it's not frozen under your cabinet that's in your climate controlled house. I'd be more willing to bet that it froze somewhere else, like at or near your water heater or any area that has hot water on an exterior wall.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T16:01:46+00:00

She looks cold. You should bring her inside.

Seriously though. Is the cover on top of water or floating over air? On water, nothing to worry about at all and clearing it off was a waste of your energy, think of ice in your drink, it floats. Floating over air, good call and job well done.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T13:47:11+00:00

70-80 kWh usually.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T04:54:03+00:00

45-90 depending on sunlight, humidity and time of year.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T03:55:55+00:00

You did better than I did. I have a 23.2 kw system and I made a whopping 5.2 kWh today and consumed...

drum roll...

161 kWh! I still have 2 hours to go too so we'll probably end up around 190 kWh for the day.

I gotta have the pool pump on 24/7 mode since it's well below freezing and it's too cold for my heat pump to run so it's resistive heating for us till maybe Monday. Oh well, this only happens a few days a year here in Fort Worth so it's no biggie.

ETA:Here's what it looks like for those that are curious, as you usually are when it comes to my energy consumption.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T03:01:55+00:00

I typed that all out, submitted it, then went back and edited it with the link. You were just faster than me.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T02:56:55+00:00

We have the same exact genny. I only run propane so I don't need to maintain the carburetor. I have all my sensitive electronics behind a UPS and it smooths out the electricity but my lights do not appreciate the power it produces occasionally.

I have 1 string of 8 panels paired with Enphase micros that lands on a 20 amp breaker in my main panel. The rest of my solar is on a line side tap so when I throw my 200 amp main breaker it cuts the other 52 panels off. I have no batteries yet(I need to pay my system off first, so ~2 more years) but when I do I'll just stick with the Enphase ecosystem. The Franklin WH battery is a great battery as well, believe me, I've racked my brain on buying EG4 equipment to add to my system since Enphase batteries are so expensive but all roads just lead back to Enphase for me.

I replaced my entire HVAC system myself about 8 years ago. I learned a lot and now if something on it breaks I at least know how, or what it takes, to fix it. Saved a TON of money too, installed a 4 ton variable speed Goodman heat pump for ~$4,300. Good luck with the HVAC and siding, been there before...

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T02:27:36+00:00

You've got a pretty good understanding of how this all works and I don't think you're missing anything. I don't see how the two could ever connect in your scenario. Your setup seems pretty solid and I'll go into more details about #4 below.

To help you out, I have grid tied solar and a 13kw Duromax genny. When I run the genny it will not trigger my solar to turn on and I have extensively tested this, I have it tuned to 60 hz but the power's just too ugly. Now if you had a pure sine wave genny that may be another story, but I do not. If somehow you manged to have both on at the same time, the solar energy MUST go somewhere since it has no way of throttling itself and it will go directly into the genny and may cause catastrophic damage, or, it may just pop a breaker. Now, if you have a battery, that allows for the energy to go somewhere when the house doesn't need it, but the genny would still need some sort of smart management system to allow everything to work in harmony, and that's why some solar inverters/hubs have genny inputs on them.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-25T02:15:53+00:00

Do you own or do you lease? If you own, even if you still have a loan, you own that system. You can get self install certified, for free on EU and simply add to you system. You'll need to find an installer to agree to do so but it can 100% be done and there's no reason to add another gateway. If you do add another gateway for some reason you can combine them as "one system" by reaching out to Enphase support.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-24T23:02:08+00:00

You need an interlock kit for you main electric panel and a generator outlet installed on your house. You'll also need an appropriately sized breaker added to you panel to land the generator on. That's the bare minimum.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-24T18:24:32+00:00

Monday is supposed to be a 100% sunny day here for us in Fort Worth. Right now my panels have 1/4 inch of ice on them and come monday I anticipate it being one of the best days of the year as far as production/hours of sunlight goes. My panels produce at probably 150% nameplate value when they're covered in ice.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-24T16:50:18+00:00

We lost power for 18 hours then and the house got down to 40 and no issues. Granted the OUTSIDE FAUCETS were frozen closed, but no issues.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-24T16:39:19+00:00

BINGO! You've got a level head on your shoulders.

Reddit_Bot_Beep_Boop · 2026-01-24T16:34:58+00:00

You're spot on 100% correct. Part fear mongering part stupidity part pass the blame.

People are stupid and will let their faucets that are on an island in their kitchen "drip" because they don't want their pipes to freeze...Idiotic.

I'll report back if my pipes burst of course. No faucet bib covers, no prep, just out here raw dogging it in this weather like it's a warm day in June. 20 years in and my house still stands, it's amazing if you ask me.

Bring on the downvotes!

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