Off Grid Living , Renewable Energy
I am an independent contractor building an off grid home in the national forest. This group is for folks interested in knowing more about the project, but also a place to share your own construction related stories. This group is not only for construction professionals, I would love to hear from everyone who has tried to build something naked, from a bird house in the garage and up. Lets have...
- created by MickeyH
a new battery
Return to DiscussionsFrom what I've read, this will change everything about home solar independence:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium_redox_battery
I have a masters in Electrical Engineering. I've added many home-energy reduction systems like zone-fans for AC ducts, off-grid solar water, and soon, closed-cell foam.
But the economics of solar power, especially since Florida is in the dark-ages about buying it back, are daunting. This new battery technology looks promising! They're bulky but for us, space is no issue.
Thanks for the link. We're still (after almost 20 years) using a temporary grid hookup because I don't want to truck a ton of lead onto my place and maintain it. I've been waiting to see a well-supported and distinctly better fixed-station technology become available. It was close with the iron / manganese chemistry, which I like because it's nontoxic and uses abundant elements, but its leading developer went bankrupt. The vanadium chemistry is technically superior, but of course uses a a rarer element. I wonder if it will appear on the home-solar market with vendor support? That support is crucial for us, since I don't have a degree in electrical engineering, and the significant other sensibly doesn't want to depend 100% on yours truly to keep the power on.