this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2024
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DIY

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We got a gas dryer mistakenly thinking we had a gas line.. we think this is it.. is it??? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 3 months ago by pugsnroses77 to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I have solar so electricity is literally free for me

Yeah, that’s my long term plan, assuming I continue to live in my current house. I live in a place where electric is expensive, and gas appliances are cheapest to buy, to install, and to operate. There’s not much individual incentive to switch.

My plan is like

  1. Replaced gas stove with induction - health is more important than operating cost
  2. Replaced ICE car with EV, because the technology is here, even if it needs scaling out. Government incentives counteract the high purchase price and I’m saving money on fuel, while polluting less

—- I am here

  1. My HVAC is past its expected life, when I replace it in the next few years, heat pumps are the way to go. Government incentives counteract the high cost, and operating cost is similar to gas while polluting less
  2. Solar! After converting car and HVAC, the two biggest energy users, I have a better idea how big a solar install to get
  3. Water heaters don’t last very long. Heat pump is more expensive to buy and operate than gas, but once I have solar, the power is free
  4. My clothes dryer is like 5 years old. When I need to replace it, if I have solar and the power is free, there’s more reason to go with heat pump
[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Solar is 100% worth doing DIY, just don't do grid tie it's not worth it, just do self consumption. It'll be exponentially cheaper, you don't need anywhere near as much inspection and all the other bullshit that comes with grid tie the equipment will be much cheaper and you'll be able to get significantly more solar for significantly less

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Unfortunately I live in an urban area with tiny lots, lots of neighbors, and militant home inspectors. DIY is not likelY feasible

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Depends on your particular County rules so that's worth looking into but like I said if you do not get a grid tied system a lot of the rules that people worry about generally don't apply.

An off grid inverter is basically like a computer backup UPS but on steroids. It accepts the grid as an input that it can pass through when there's no solar or you don't want it using the batteries but it is not capable of putting energy back into the grid under any circumstances which means the regulations on it go way way way way down.

As soon as you try to grid tie there is a mountain of litigation both at the federal and county/state level, it generally has to be done by a professional and there's a million inspections along that path even with professionals. But with off grid inverters depending on your location there may be very little rules at all. In my area I don't even need to report it to the power company that I'm doing it