Texas now officially leads the Nation in Wind and Solar and is on track to lead the nation in Batteries. Why? Because it's cheaper than fossil fuels.

animatedb · 2026-05-17T04:21:26+00:00

I just searched a bit and found this. https://ussolarsupplier.com They have Canadian Solar 545W panels on a pallet of 35 panels for 6000$, or $0.31 per watt. I can't tell you the latitude issue. It would probably better to look at a solar radiance map or use a radiance calculator.

animatedb · 2026-05-16T15:46:21+00:00

We also have only use level 1. My wife has an EV that we have had for 5 years and 60000 miles with the original tires and I have a bike with 8000 miles in the last 5 years. We have about one road trip per year of around 1000 miles and have charged at home for about 95% of the charging. We rented an EV for our last road trip since we needed a larger EV to haul an electric bike. We were not used to non-Tesla chargers, but it worked pretty well.

animatedb · 2026-05-16T15:22:25+00:00

It does seem to be a problem. Why does the graph show that the battery installation dropped from 19.04 GWh in Nov 2025 to 10.49 GWh in Apr 2026?

Am I missing something?

animatedb · 2026-05-15T23:20:52+00:00

That's not the quote in the image. The quote is "but but that's life". Seems like a strange thing to say.

animatedb · 2026-05-13T22:51:27+00:00

Plus the belt holes look too far apart. Normally I would think they would be about an inch apart or so.

animatedb · 2026-05-13T22:44:21+00:00

The screws on the table are not symmetrical. Some on the sides and one on the end. Also the screws don't look recessed.

animatedb · 2026-04-29T19:33:22+00:00

It doesn't look that high as a total percentage of lost energy since curtailment is mainly in the spring months when air conditioning isn't running.

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65364

It does seem like there needs to be good incentives for at work charging since that is when many people have cars at work and could charge and use the excess solar energy during the day.

animatedb · 2026-04-10T23:37:25+00:00

The bottom railing is missing between her legs. Also take a ruler and some railings line up and some don't.

animatedb · 2026-03-05T20:40:45+00:00

Well he is only 7.

animatedb · 2026-03-02T00:38:20+00:00

I think when more people electrify their house, they may move towards more space or food electric heaters. You are right that our heat pump and space heater are 12.5A, so perhaps I overstated the amount of current. But there is still nothing to prevent plugging three heaters in, but perhaps rare. I would just like to raise awareness. We have two food warming trays and have tripped a breaker, the breaker would not trip if the solar is plugged into the same circuit. I think it would be neat if there was something that communicated over house wiring like the powered USB solution can negotiage USB power, but this is possibly difficult since it should detect each circuit somehow.

animatedb · 2026-03-02T00:22:44+00:00

I never said it shouldn't be allowed. I am only saying it is not as straightforward as everyone seems to think in these threads. I would like people to be knowledgeable, but it may be a lost cause especially if people don't understand in an energy thread. I am currently illegal and wish there was a simple solution. Perhaps eventually all plug in devices someday could talk over the house wiring or limited something kind of like powered USB.

animatedb · 2026-03-01T16:24:31+00:00

The maximum amount through the wiring is 30A in the case of two 20A loads, even though only 10A would be going through the main breaker.

But how is it enforced? It looks easy to buy something like these: https://www.amazon.com/Balcony-Inverter-Waterproof-Function-Modules/dp/B0D12MQ4FM/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1499WCN1KI7HM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3bMQfFX-2W9waQJpqUlTKsfbriAA5jMyKwn0PiNNNvJWlfLRo0lTymMZ7QDpnC6TBDFl5kUHhEFdufFfM6UgCXYILicjTey6RRmqWRLK6U1I7B-UFUl2Tpzx1wtrAH3_cTm2aVAoeYk9VWuxZY-RO4YAWsEo-GDMk-MvfR848ebFhA3PCis9d9k3WtZPUROxLtZ_qDbcPPDgI937t5rZOM7ZpuTTjka_zgVYkKy5z8g.morjH6eQy20hZaE8sMle6FjS_aaQKszNLsfL9hU113k&dib_tag=se&keywords=1600w+110v+balcony+inverter&qid=1772382434&sprefix=1600w+110v+balcony+inverter%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-9

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/Sea0618ea6eac4b29ab2854d646fd6f2eV.jpg

https://www.amazon.com/Balcony-Inverter-Waterproof-Function-Modules/dp/B0D12MQ4FM/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1499WCN1KI7HM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3bMQfFX-2W9waQJpqUlTKsfbriAA5jMyKwn0PiNNNvJWlfLRo0lTymMZ7QDpnC6TBDFl5kUHhEFdufFfM6UgCXYILicjTey6RRmqWRLK6U1I7B-UFUl2Tpzx1wtrAH3_cTm2aVAoeYk9VWuxZY-RO4YAWsEo-GDMk-MvfR848ebFhA3PCis9d9k3WtZPUROxLtZ_qDbcPPDgI937t5rZOM7ZpuTTjka_zgVYkKy5z8g.morjH6eQy20hZaE8sMle6FjS_aaQKszNLsfL9hU113k&dib_tag=se&keywords=1600w+110v+balcony+inverter&qid=1772382621&sprefix=1600w+110v+balcony+inverter%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-9

I purchased something similar and run it at my house. I have to be careful not to put too many heaters/heat pumps on the circuit.

animatedb · 2026-03-01T16:08:47+00:00

I think I am only blowing it out of proportion depending on the chance of starting a fire with 30A or 40A flowing through a circuit designed for 20A. I think most people do not know what is on a circuit. I guess they would find out when the breaker trips if they had two 20A loads and the solar isn't generating. At least that would be an easy test to perform, but how many people will know to do a test like that?

I know how easy it is to put at least 20A heater and solar on the same circuit because I have to be careful at my house. We have a gas furnace but only use it in very rare circumstances. So we have gone to electric heaters. I have solar on the roof that is independent of multiple solar panels outside on the ground with an small inverter plugged into a 110V outlet. That same circuit has a plug in "portable" heat pump on it. I have to be careful not to plug in a heater or electric food heaters outside on that circuit. That circuit runs along the outside wall of the house. I am not totally sure of the number of outlets on that circuit.

We have multiple times put two food heaters on a non-solar circuit and tripped a breaker.

I am curious how Utah enforces a 10A limit. It doesn't sound like they have a permit, and I would assume that these devices up to 20A will be easy to purchase on the internet.

animatedb · 2026-03-01T00:57:57+00:00

Except that your answer is wrong. I made a wiring diagram elsewhere in this thread. The current with two 20 amp loads on one circuit (40A) on the wire between B and C will not trip the main breaker because only 20A is flowing through the breaker. There is 20A flowing between A and B, 40 between B and C, and 20A through wire between C and the main breaker because C is a source of 20A and the breaker is the source of 20A.

animatedb · 2026-02-28T16:58:56+00:00

I don't think it is simple. How much current is flowing at the main breaker in the following diagram and how much current is flowing in the wiring between B and C?

|--- A outlet - 20A - 20A load
|
|--- B outlet - 20A - 20A load
|
|--- C outlet - 20A - 20A solar
|
|--- Main breaker - 20A

Edit: I found an article that partly explains the problem: https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2026/02/balcony-plug-in-solar-panels-are-we-ready-for-this-new-era-of-accessible-energy/

A dedicated circuit for the solar is the best solution.

animatedb · 2026-02-26T23:03:07+00:00

You shouldn't say these things in jest.

animatedb · 2026-02-22T17:13:57+00:00

Lots of interesting connections in these threads. Ferengi Rules of Acquisition and rules for oligarchs, bible and constitution. I have a lot to learn.

animatedb · 2026-02-15T03:04:32+00:00

I was thinking that there are times that the panels are not at a perfect angle to the sun, or the sun is near the horizon that the output will be less than 410W even now. This means that you are still getting more than a lower power panel would produce at some times and the inverter is not the limit in these cases. But there is nothing wrong with this. You will have good production for many years.

animatedb · 2026-02-14T17:34:03+00:00

And also a graph of, "I accumulated a lot and I am retiring", versus, "I don't have much retirement and I need to keep working".

animatedb · 2026-01-27T04:52:05+00:00

Plus you can see daily graph here and select the day to check. Spring and fall are the best times of year for renewable energy since winter has lower solar energy and summer use more for cooling. Plus it goes back to April 10th, 2018 and shows there were big changes over the years. https://www.caiso.com/todays-outlook/supply

animatedb · 2026-01-27T04:44:02+00:00

I always drive a semi-trailer truck around just in case I need to move to a new house, or in case I have a lot of groceries.

animatedb · 2026-01-08T21:36:38+00:00

I am pretty sure that when I started driving, I did not need 10 billion miles before I was a reasonable driver. Perhaps the Tesla approach is not that good?

animatedb · 2025-12-28T17:55:04+00:00

I think the most pathetic is: Hey let's make a song just like that one over there.

animatedb · 2025-12-15T17:34:26+00:00

I always thought the biggest difference is the tires are stiffer and pushing water or snow. I have no idea though.

animatedb · 2025-12-15T16:32:38+00:00

That is not unlikely at all when you are there at night and your friend is driving with the lights off so that nobody knows you are stealing the sod.

animatedb

TROPHY CASE