Solar power and mental health

 I'm concerned regarding the mental strain caused by a Solar Power system. It
's getting to be almost an obsession - - minimizing the consumption of
electricity. I can hardly think of anything else. There are a lot of things
I would like to do, but they all put drains of varying degrees on the PV
system. I'm getting bored with it all - - just waiting for 6:00 pm to arrive
when I take my readings of KWh from the new meter. I hope this wears off
after a while so that I can enjoy all my hobbies and have creative thoughts
again. Playing my keyboard helps a bit, but I can't do that all the time.
Watching TV helps, but that's not the kind of activity I want to fill my
days with.

I'm dreading the hot days of summer that raise the temperature of the array
and ruin its efficiency. I hate fleecy white clouds that put deep notches in
the power output curves of my inverters. There is always the question of
whether the excess of summer yield will actually balance the deficiencies of
winter, and if so, by how much.

I suppose I could just forget about it all - - forget about logging the day'
s power levels and making a daily chart; forget about the effect of the
neighbor's rapidly growing pine tree shading my system, and all the money he
's costing me. Maybe in a year or so, it will all fade into the background
of everyday occurrences and I'll be free to enjoy life as I did when all
electricity meant to me was an unavoidable monthly charge on my PG&E bill.
But I doubt it. I think I'm beginning to understand how farmers feel about
their crops and the effect of weather, and I don't like it. Of course, their
situations are much more critical - - success or "going bust" for some. But
the drain on mental energy is much the same, I think.

I would like to know how others have fared with their systems. Was it
difficult to get back to a normal life? Maybe I wouldn't be in such a state
if I had family cares to restore normalcy, but my kids are grown, and the
ex-wife moved away, so my retirement doesn't have those distractions. I'm
eager to read your stories, so don't hold back - - the whole world wants to
know!

Thanks to all who care.

Chuck

 
For the first year after I got my system, I would go check SDG&E's power
meter every day or two, to see how net consumption/generation was coming
along.

And I still go reset my C-40 controllers daily, to keep tabs on total PV
generation.  This is what allowed me to a failure in some of my KC-120s
(I've been waiting 6 months for warranty replacement of my panels!)

I can't say putting in the PV system ever really became a distraction
for me, though.  It's more in the nature of a toy that also has
practical applications.  It might or might not save me money in the long
term -- but it sure is a lot more fun than the new car that was an
approximate equivalent in capital cost.

Get over it.  It's just a piece of equipment.  It's not a living thing.
  And presumably, your life and livelihood don't depend on your PV system.

 Chuck,  I think I started with a lot smaller system than you, but still
experience the obsession with trying to determine the capacity  of two
6v 225 ah batteries.   I have had them for a couple of weeks now and
still can get no more than 50 ah before they are 50% discharged.  So I
have been spending most of my time (retired) discharging and recharging
those batteries, hoping to break them in with enough cycles to get at
least 100 ahs before they are discharged to 50%.

Now I am beginning to wonder if the problem is with the batteries,
although they were new when I purchased them and both of them were made
this year about a month apart.

So I can't imagine what it must be like keeping tabs on a full system.
But being retired helps, if you have other activities to keep your mind
occupied.  For me its writing.   So when I get frustrated with the lack
battery capacity, I just go back to my writing.  

Larry

 


Hurrah! I'm not alone, now I can sleep easy in my bed :-)

Well, I don't think that the world, or most of it, gives a toss. When I talk
about our solar water heating system I see people's eyes glazing over and
others shuffling off, trying to look invisible. It doesn't work, I have
eagle eyes and call them back. Heck, I listen - or pretend - to them talking
about football, why shouldn't they hear about my passion?

Ours isn't a pv system, as I said it's a solar water heating system. We
installed it in January in northern England and from the start

drone

drone

drone

drone

See what I mean?

WAKE UP!!!


We're not quite the thermometer watchers we were at the beginning, we do go
downstairs for meals now. But any excuse - such as washing up - to look at
the display sees us fighting to get upstairs first.

It's been good for my fitness if nothing else.

And we certainly have had a lot of hot water and ...

yadda yadda yadda ...


Oh I care! I understand.

I have a solar water heating panel.

I last looked at the display 35 minutes ago.

Mary

 On Tue, 30 May 2006 09:28:49 -0700, "Chuck Olson"


I go for days without thinking about it all. Once habits are matched
to supply there shouldn't be much to think about.


That does sound dreary. Either automate it or forget about it IMO.
We've always had an Emeter, which is accurate for knowing battery SOC,
but very limited for breaking down inputs or totaling them. Recently
we switched to a charge controller with some logging capability, which
put some extra information close at hand. It was a novelty at first to
compare its readings to estimates, but now it's only of occasional
interest. I expect that for most, having lots of data would be good in
the beginning to help get a handle on how everything works. But after
that much less should be needed.



Off-grid living was definitely strange at first. Now it's just normal.
Recently we were at a friend's on-grid place. They listen to radio via
satellite, and leave their TV on to do it. Stuff like that is what
seems weird now.


Maybe you need a new hobby. If you have enough time to waste there are
plenty of nitwits who need whipping .  :-)

Wayne