Hurricane Harvey fallout - Gas queues in Dallas - Where is my EV?

[voip-ninja]

Well, for one, you were wrong about residential solar cutting itself off if it loses the feed from the grid.

Two, you refused to acknowledge that some of us live in dense residential areas subject to zoning and regulations about storing flammables.

So it's not like you poked a bunch of holes in anything. You stomped your feet and told us that YOUR use case is the one source of truth, which honestly sounds a lot more like groupthink than the rest of the discussion...........

I was not "wrong" about anything, the last numbers that I saw were that 98% of residential solar installations are grid tied (that would be "net metered" to you), so while that trend might be changing, I'm pretty sure I'm safe on that one.

If you want to argue I'm "wrong" about that why don't you find some numbers showing that any substantial percentage of solar being installed is not grid tied or that bypass rectifiers are being used in any appreciable percentage of installs?

I think people should back up what they're saying with facts. If you want to argue that power walls and solar panels are going to keep your tesla going after a storm you should at least acknowledge that this is not a typical situation or even a typical residential solar installation.

CAN someone make it happen? Absolutely, all it takes is money.

 

[Runt8]

Some really cool information here about preparing for a natural disaster, and solar/powerwalls.

Yes, but my home is mostly natural gas for the "high-draw" appliances, so really all I'd be running would be the fridge and the (NG) hot water heater. If the natural gas is out, that's a different problem.

Isn't the whole point though that you won't be charging an EV with a powerwall? I'm "all in" when it comes to green energy and getting off fossil fuels, but it seems pretty silly to argue that EV's are better than ICE after a natural disaster. The national guard brings in gas, not batteries.

 

[voip-ninja]

Right. I never get flamed. /sarcasmOFF

You have to take it to the next level;

 

[T34ME]

I'm pretty sure that I'm more knowledgeable about the advantages and disadvantages of an EV compared to most of the people here

Okey-dokey! What else do you have more knowledge compared to most of the people here? Inquiring minds want to know, I am utterly enthralled and waiting with baited breath.

 

[SageBrush]

2. I always have 20+ gallons of fuel on hand for emergency situations along with generators to run household essentials, 10 days of stored drinking water and enough food to last for weeks... and I'm not even in an area that is typically subject to extreme weather.

Awfully shallow of you to gloat and trumpet your "I'm so smart and prepared" while the disaster is unfolding.

 

[K-MTG]

Us California folks down't have to worry about the weather...just earthquakes.

 

[ohmman]

This thread has an unruly tone.

Nobody in this conversation has a monopoly on the facts. A number of participants are acting like they do. Maybe if we back off and realize that everyone has something to add, it can be constructive.

Just a thought.

 

[chronopc]

Us California folks down't have to worry about the weather...just earthquakes.

Please don't jinx us.

 

[K-MTG]

Please don't jinx us.

If you live in a city with underground power lines, would power remain active in a large earthquake...like 7.0?

 

[ecarfan]

Your solar panels and powerwalls won't do anything but be shut down during a power outage unless you've taken the time and spent the significant amount of money to install a bypass panel and special rectifier that will continue to function when grid power is out.

My solar system with Powerwall automatically powers a subset of my house circuits through an inexpensive subpanel if the grid goes down. No special design required or significant additional cost.

I live on top of the San Andreas Fault. I have no need to store large amounts of gasoline for years (as it inevitably degrades) because I don't own any ICE vehicles.

As EV prices inevitably decrease over time more and more people will buy them and not have to worry about oil refineries getting shut down by the growing number of intense hurricanes and tropical storms in the Gulf.

I hope that south Texas and Louisiana can comeback from the current catastrophe. Tens of thousand of people have lost everything and they need help from the federal government. The scope of the disaster is too large for local agencies to deal with.

The same Texas Congress members who voted against Hurricane Sandy aid are now demanding the federal government help their constituents.

 

[K-MTG]

My solar system with Powerwall automatically powers a subset of my house circuits through an inexpensive subpanel if the grid goes down. No special design required or significant additional cost.

I live on top of the San Andreas Fault. I have no need to store large amounts of gasoline for years (as it inevitably degrades) because I don't own any ICE vehicles.

As EV prices inevitably decrease over time more and more people will buy them and not have to worry about oil refineries getting shut down by the growing number of intense hurricanes and tropical storms in the Gulf.

I hope that south Texas and Louisiana can comeback from the current catastrophe. Tens of thousand of people have lost everything and they need help from the federal government. The scope of the disaster is too large for local agencies to deal with.

The same Texas Congress members who voted against Hurricane Sandy aid are now demanding the federal government help their constituents.

Maybe I should buy some earthquake insurance since I live in CA?

 

[ModelNforNerd]

Some really cool information here about preparing for a natural disaster, and solar/powerwalls.


Isn't the whole point though that you won't be charging an EV with a powerwall? I'm "all in" when it comes to green energy and getting off fossil fuels, but it seems pretty silly to argue that EV's are better than ICE after a natural disaster. The national guard brings in gas, not batteries.

I'm lost. You quoted the part of my reply where I never even mentioned charging an EV, and then asked me if the point was that I wouldn't be charging an EV....

 

[ModelNforNerd]

I was not "wrong" about anything, the last numbers that I saw were that 98% of residential solar installations are grid tied (that would be "net metered" to you), so while that trend might be changing, I'm pretty sure I'm safe on that one.

If you want to argue I'm "wrong" about that why don't you find some numbers showing that any substantial percentage of solar being installed is not grid tied or that bypass rectifiers are being used in any appreciable percentage of installs?

I think people should back up what they're saying with facts. If you want to argue that power walls and solar panels are going to keep your tesla going after a storm you should at least acknowledge that this is not a typical situation or even a typical residential solar installation.

CAN someone make it happen? Absolutely, all it takes is money.

That's the problem in dealing with absolutes, all it takes is one valid case for a statement to be wrong.

It's ok. I've been wrong before too, even if only partially.

It gets better.

 

[ohmman]

My solar system with Powerwall automatically powers a subset of my house circuits through an inexpensive subpanel if the grid goes down. No special design required or significant additional cost.

Grid tied Powerwall 2 installs all come with an automatic transfer switch that keeps power and solar on when the grid is down. My two-Powerwall setup would cover my personal needs for most uses for much, but not all of the year. If a disaster struck in December, I'd have to cut back on my consumption considerably to have much juice for the cars.

 

[voip-ninja]

Grid tied Powerwall 2 installs all come with an automatic transfer switch that keeps power and solar on when the grid is down. My two-Powerwall setup would cover my personal needs for most uses for much, but not all of the year. If a disaster struck in December, is have to cut back on my consumption considerably to have much juice for the cars.

Thanks for the information. How much were the Powerwall 2s to install? How many amps can they deliver concurrently? The generation 1 product was extremely limited in capability when I looked into it.

 

[chronopc]

Maybe I should buy some earthquake insurance since I live in CA?

Earthquake insurance is very expensive. I've considered it many times.

My cities has the power lines underground too. There are a few temporary power outages from earthquakes but the power company usually gets the electricity back up really quickly.

 

[K-MTG]

Earthquake insurance is very expensive. I've considered it many times.

My cities has the power lines underground too. There are a few temporary power outages from earthquakes but the power company usually gets the electricity back up really quickly.

I use to have it but then I canceled it was like $8k a year and they would only pay 70% of the damages.

 

[chronopc]

I use to have it but then I canceled it was like $8k a year and they would only pay 70% of the damages.

OMG that's almost 10x my home owner's insurance.

 

[DFibRL8R]

I was not "wrong" about anything, the last numbers that I saw were that 98% of residential solar installations are grid tied (that would be "net metered" to you), so while that trend might be changing, I'm pretty sure I'm safe on that one.

If you want to argue I'm "wrong" about that why don't you find some numbers showing that any substantial percentage of solar being installed is not grid tied or that bypass rectifiers are being used in any appreciable percentage of installs?

I think people should back up what they're saying with facts. If you want to argue that power walls and solar panels are going to keep your tesla going after a storm you should at least acknowledge that this is not a typical situation or even a typical residential solar installation.

CAN someone make it happen? Absolutely, all it takes is money.

I installed an SMA Sunny Boy brand inverter on my grid-tied solar system. I chose it because it has a nice feature called secure power supply where if the power goes out, you can switch on a dedicated 120v AC outlet that will allow the system to supply power (up to 2000 watts) directly from the panels (the grid has been isolated so no risk of back feeding if power is restored). Obviously the sun has to be shining for this to work but it is a much cheaper alternative to a full battery backup/powerwall and for me (outages are rare) better than purchasing a gas powered generator and storing gasoline etc. The cost is comparable to other systems we specd. I have successfully charged my Model S with this (slowly). It is dependent on enough sun. If cloud cover appears the car will not draw power.

SUNNY BOY 3.0-US / 3.8-US / 5.0-US / 6.0-US / 7.0-US / 7.7-US

 

[K-MTG]

OMG that's almost 10x my home owner's insurance.

It is much more expensive than home insurance...I am sure tornado and flood insurance would be much cheaper for us