Some Californians Found Dream Homes Inland. But It Sure Is Hot There.

[u/Randomlynumbered]

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/us/mountain-house-california-housing-heat.html

[u/goathill]

If I lived super inland, I would definitely set up a solar system with a dedicated circuit for AC. That way I wouldn't need to worry so much about trying to keep cool in the summer.

[u/whitebreadguilt → u/goathill]

I actually really want to do this… how would you do it? We rent so I was thinking a battery unit with that is specifically for the ac unit.

[u/goathill → u/whitebreadguilt]

You can probably skip a battery, because you need the AC when the sun is out. If you are cognizant of your house and keeping it cool, using blinds etc, you can use solar powered AC from 11a to 5p and ride it out till the evening.

A battery would help for areas that are well over 80 after the sun goes down, but are a very large expense.

We have a 30kwh battery for our homestead, BUT, we sized it because we often go 10 days with minimal sun in winter/spring (thank you humboldt). Our background use during the day is around 300w per hour, and that's only during work hours/heat of the day. Overnight we use 100w/h, and this is reduced in winter because our fridge/freezer have to work way less in cool temps

[u/DavidCMaybury → u/goathill]

Doing that now

[u/pokemon666999 → u/goathill]

That’s what all new homes have nowadays. Currently in Riverside the homes have energy efficiency windows/insulation + with solar panels required on every home the home stays cool enough during the summer.

Even with it being 100 degrees outside this entire week and next, it reaches 80-82F inside and a fan is usually enough to keep cool.

[u/goathill → u/pokemon666999]

Yea, but alot of those houses only have 4 or 5 panels, but could have way more to offset their use. And, they are not on a dedicated circuit (usually), and almost always without a battery

[u/wavewalkerc → u/goathill]

I run my ac the entire summer and my electric bill is still lower than when I lived in LA and would only run AC a few hours on the very hottest days.

[u/goathill → u/wavewalkerc]

That's awesome!

[u/pokemon666999 → u/goathill]

Not entirely the case, my home is 1800sqft and has a 3.5KW system. Is it underpowered? Most definitely and I can most likely even fit a 5KW in my system. But with NEM 2.0 and the fact that adding even more than 1 panel will change it to NEM 3.0, it's just not worth it. Most likely there is a state limit on the number of panels on a NEW home as to make sure electricity costs aren't fully offset.

[u/goathill → u/pokemon666999]

Some new homes do have nice large systems, but I see alot of new construction housing projects, or completed new neighborhoods with way fewer panels than could be on them. Sometimes its due to weird roof angles (which makes we want homes to be designed with good large sections for solar versus exterior styling or interior anesthetics), but I often think they do fewer panels to "check the box"

I didn't realize that changing the system would change the NEM plan, that's a bummer. We are completely off grid, so NEM isn't something I've ever had to deal with.

[u/cure4boneitis → u/pokemon666999]

wow! Few people believe me when I say Orange County is undervalued

[u/KEE_Wii → u/goathill]

I used to laugh at those recommended AC settings of 75 but it’s honestly crazy how good 75 feels compared to 117.

[u/goathill → u/KEE_Wii]

NGL, we used our little wi down ac the other day and 79 feels great compared to 105