ecoVillages Update #41. 5Kw Solar Power System Arrives!

eco-alex (73)adminin ecoTrain • 4 years ago

I'm very very happy that after MUCH deliberation and fund sourcing ... we now have a gorgeous 5Kw solar power system almost installed. These two Li ion batteries will last for 25+ years or more if we use them smartly. That means no power bills whatsoever... 5kw is a lot of power if you use the right appliances ..

This is real security
think about it ...

I had been waiting for 8 months for a quote to have grid power here on the land. In this location our grid power is based on solar, so it isn’t a bad option.. and could have been much cheaper to install.. at least in theory. I had wanted to be self sufficient for power but really didn’t have the funds to cover the size of system we need on this land. The main reason we need quite a lot of power is to basically move water! We were fortunate enough to be successful with a bore well, which requires a pump. We also want to plant a lot of tress and irrigate the land, including deep watering. This would have cost a lot of money over time using grid power.. those monthly power bills are not cheap.. and when its 45 degrees heat over summer we sure need a lot pumping.

So finally we got an estimate a few weeks ago, and as it turned out it wasn’t cheap at all.. They quote me 15,000 Euros as they had to bring the power half a Km to our land. That is more than double what this solar power system costs.. so it was a no brainier in the end. I had a beautiful donation of 2,000 Euros and i sold some good ol bitcoin to cover the rest.. I really cannot think of a better thing to spend money on right now. Our world seems to be in the midst of great change, and power is one of those things that would really change my life if i had to do without it. No more Steem for starters! ;)

I am installing this myself, and it is a nice challenge. It isn’t easy because im not used to this kind of solar tech at all... but im happy to say that today i switched the batteries on and the inverter and 230V of current was in the pipe. These batteries are amazing really, how much power they can hold, how light they are, how long they will last.. and how much power then can deliver for high power uses.. Having a fridge when its 45 degrees is a necessity!!

I've still got to complete the panels, and a figure out how to get the inverter online.. its a great brand, Victron Solar (https://www.victronenergy.com), and i really like how i can monitor my entire system from my phone.. and even switch the inverter on and off from anywhere in the world. Very good, very good indeed!

I think i have another three weeks of work to do and then i can happily say that i have finished getting the basics completed here on the land. I started with nothing one year ago, and have been learning and working hard to get to where we are today.. .. just about ready to start the most important part of this project.. that is, to build a very small earthship tiny home in just a few weeks and on just a few thousand dollars. I really cant wait to start this project and workshop, so lets see how we go...

Ill share more about that and more in the next update.. i hope coming very soon with many photos of the systems that we need to be comfortable and very happy and totally OFF-GRID and SELF SUFFICIENT. No power bills, no water bills, no bills at all.. just clean beautiful abundance that all falls from the sky.