In this episode, I talk about solar batteries. On October 13, 2015, Hawaiian Electric decreased their credit for solar on Oahu from 25 cents per kilowatt hour to 15 cents per kilowatt hour. I was disappointed that I would have to take the lower credit if I put on new photovoltaic panels. I had read about solar batteries and thought it was a novel idea to live “off the grid”, but I honestly thought that there was not any well-developed technology for this yet.
I was discussing solar possibilities with Jeff Davis, “the solar guy”. He told me that people on neighboring islands, as well as on Oahu, have been using this solar battery technology for awhile now. He told me about how Mercury Solar has been installing the batteries for people and using Outback storage batteries (from Australia). At first I was skeptical, but after speaking to several people, I started to consider it. I could produce my own power, use what I could, and store whatever I had left to use for later with the batteries. I would not have to wait a long time for approval from Hawaiian Electric for a decreased credit of 15 cents per kilowatt hour (for the “grid system”). For those of you who want to live “off the grid”, this is a perfect solution!
I have had my batteries for about 1-2 months now, and the are working well. I put several appliances on it, including my refrigerators and my new air conditioner. (I have some original photovoltaic panels operating off the “grid system” with the higher credit from Hawaiian Electric of 25 cents per kilowatt hour). Now with these new panels running on the solar batteries, I have decreased my electric bill to the minimum amount. If you are interested in more solar batteries, please email Jeff Davis at thesolarguyjeffdavis@gmail.com!