Hi CaptTurbo,

Thanks for sharing your experience and bringing up some good points for discussion. Oh, and by the way, congrats on your system!

You bring up some interesting points that I'd like address. Why worry about being energy conservative? Why not just build a bigger system?

The energy efficiency methods described in this video are not for everyone. Obviously, they are something you have not found necessary to implement in your home. So let me try and explain the rationale and who this IS for.

The reason I focus so much on being energy efficient, is summed up in one word--money.

Most of the folks I work with are trying to sever their dependence on the power company and they don't have a very large budget, so that is who this video is for and that is the type of person who will need to be most serious about energy efficiency. If you don't have a lot of money and you want the independence of an off grid system, then you are going to need to take a look at your appliances and make some strategic changes (not necessarily doing without anything, just being strategic with your choice of appliances).

You are totally correct that it is possible to build a power system large enough to power your totally electric home as-is. But I've run the numbers and I've also had countless folks contact me about the professional quotes they've received for those kinds of systems, and it isn't something that most of the folks I work with can afford. So if a very large system is within someone's budget and they don't mind spending all that money in order to avoid making a few appliance changes, then that's probably the way to go! I think it's great!

It really does boil down to money. The more money you are willing to spend, the less you will need to change about your appliances/lifestyle. And on the other side, the less money you have, the more serious you will need to be about energy efficiency.

It's a good question to ask why anyone would choose to go with a gas stove. Yes, it does use gas which has to be purchased. Yes, once your propane tank runs out, your stove won't be operational. But unless you very seldom use your stove or oven, the expense of building a system large enough to handle that huge load is quite significant, and going with propane for one's stove is a means of cutting a significant amount of cost off the power system. As mentioned in the video, if you want to have a completely independent backup for cooking, you can install a wood cook stove for times when you can't get gas. As far as the monthly cost of gas for a stove, you'll find it to be quite minimal in exchange for the amount it cuts off your power system costs. So once again, it's a money thing. If you want to spend the money to build a system large enough to power an electric stove and oven, then that is totally awesome! But this video is geared towards those who don't have that kind of money to put into a system.

And as far as the rationale for going off the grid rather than grid tie, there are a number of reasons why we and others choose that. That's not to say that a grid tie system is a bad idea for everyone. It's a matter of finding what your goals are and choosing the best option for you.

So here are some of the reasons why an off grid system is the best choice for us and many others.

1 - Most grid tie systems are non-functional during power company blackouts (i.e. you lost your power even when the sun is shining). As you know, it is possible to build a grid tie system with battery backup (as it sounds like you have done), but for most folks this adds additional expense and puts batteries back into the equation (one of the big selling points of grid tie systems is that they remove the expense and maintenance of batteries). Thus much of the advantage of going with a grid tie system is lost--unless you are dealing with a home that uses a lot of power (i.e. not very efficient). In that case, yes it would take a huge and expensive battery bank to take it completely off the grid. But if you implement the energy efficiency tips I suggest in this video, you might be surprised at how much less expensive your battery bank could be.

2 - Red tape. In many locations, there is more "red tape" involved with setting up a grid tie system than an off grid system. That red tape means more hassle for you and/or more expense in what your installer charges.

3 - With any kind of grid tie system you really are at the mercy of the power company. If they decide to change certainly policies that negative impact you, you're stuck. And in some areas, the power companies are not very friendly toward users who produce their own power.

4 - Folks in remote locations where power lines are not close, will often find an off grid system to be FAR less expensive than paying to run power into their location. Plus they get the added benefit of energy independence.

5 - Being off the grid eliminates your monthly power bill. Even with a grid tie system, most folks do not produce enough power to offset their large monthly power usage, so you still get a bill for that. And you are still paying the monthly service charges. With an off grid system, the power company bill is eliminated.

So just to recap, what you mentioned is certainly a very valid route to go for folks with a large budget who may not be as concerned with energy independence. But the type of person who will find this video series most useful is someone who has a limited budget and wants to become as independent as possible while still living a normal lifestyle.

I want to thank you so much for brining up the very good points and I hope this discussion has helped to show folks about options and what would work best for them.

Take care,
Nick