Power to semi-off-grid areas

flownosaj

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I know we have a ton of well-rounded people around here so I thought I'd throw out a question.


How much do you think it would it cost to run power to a cabin/house that is about 2 miles from the main road (access point)?

Water would be from a well and sewage would be a septic tank, so those aren't problems. Out of curiosity though, how much would you estimate the "city water" would run us?




No, I'm not trying to be the next un*b*mber, I'm just tired of having neighbors...
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Starlight

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We used to estimate $50,000/mile for 13.8K lines. You will need part of that distance in high voltage lines because the losses on low voltage would be too high.

At 20 gpm, you will lose 40 psi in 2 miles of 2" pipe. You need to run 3" pipe and will only lose 6 psi in 2 miles. Sorry, don't have current price estimates for 3" pipe.

I think these numbers are beyond your budget.
 

turbodog

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I've got a great idea.

Go solar (sort of).

Have 2 sets of batteries on some sort of sled/trailer. Tow them to the street where they will be charged.
 

snakebite

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you can buy a real nice solar/wind setup for the cost of that new line.and have spare change leftover.
no bill either.another aproach is a cogen setup.a popular unit i have set up uses a vw tdi diesel to run generators,alternators,ac compressor,and even a pto to run machinery.it can heat your water and home with wasted heat from the coolant and exhaust.look for a wrecked diesel bug or jetta and get the engine and ecm/wiring.
 

bexteck

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When we built my families house, we had to have the power company put in new poles to get electricity to it. If I remember correctly, we got 2 poles for free, and then each one after that was about $1k. I don't know how many poles are needed per mile, but that may give you a rough estimate.
 

rodfran

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I have read that if you have to run power more than a mile, it is cheaper to go solar/wind. I also like snakebite's idea of cogen.
 

Roy

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Why don't you just call the local power company and ask them how much it will cost and start from there?
 

gadget_lover

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Roy said:
Why don't you just call the local power company and ask them how much it will cost and start from there?


Roy has the right idea. The prices will vary from state to state and locale to locale. In many states, the power company is regulated and required to provide susidies in some cases. It may be that they the first 1/2 mile or 1 mile is free or at cost. It all depends on the regulations for your area.

I seem to recall that with PG&E here in California there is no charge to have the PG&E rep come out to give an estimate.

Daniel
 

greg_in_canada

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snakebite said:
you can buy a real nice solar/wind setup for the cost of that new line.and have spare change leftover.
no bill either.another aproach is a cogen setup.a popular unit i have set up uses a vw tdi diesel to run generators,alternators,ac compressor,and even a pto to run machinery.it can heat your water and home with wasted heat from the coolant and exhaust.look for a wrecked diesel bug or jetta and get the engine and ecm/wiring.

Do you have any links to people doing cogen with VW TDIs? A quick google search didn't turn up anything useful.

Thanks - Greg
 
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Raccoon

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Wait a few years.

New solar power technology has been developed that is >6x more effecient from current solar technology. Instead of feeding off visible spectrum light like current solar panels, the new solar panels turn infrared light into power and much more effeciently. Even on cloudy days, there is an abundance of infrared light that gets through, so the new solar panels can conceviably power a home all winter long and well before dawn and after dusk.

The technology is so promising, that discussion of "rolling out" huge solar panel carpets over large areas of desert has the promise of powering 10 times the land mass covered. So a country with at least 10% desert could be completely dependant on solar power. This would also allow economically depleated desert regions to sell solar power to neighboring countries at amazing profit.
 
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flownosaj

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Thanks for your help guys.

I'm still in the beginning stages of planning all this, so all ideas are welcome.


I'd like to talk to the power company reps but I know that they are going to ask questions that I don't have any answers to yet.

I like the idea of solar/wind/battery. I think it has a lot of potential but I think it doesn't have the ability just yet for the masses--I like my electronic goodies too much to limit my use just yet
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Wits' End

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We have friends that live off-grid and you'd be hard pressed to guess, from the inside of their house, that they don't have a wire running to a power pole. Little electronic goodies won't raise your power needs much. It's motors and high power drawers that make it difficult to go off-grid.
Do you weld? :tsk:
 

FRANKVZ

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ANOTHER THOUGHT IS THAT UNLESS YOU OWN ALL OF THE PROPERTY BETWEEN YOU AND THE EXISTING NETWORK THE UTILITY COMPANIES NEED TO SECURE A RIGHT OF WAY. I WORK FOR A PHONE COMPANY AND SOMETIMES ITS NOT SO EASY TO DO, IT ONLY TAKES ONE LANDOWNER TO NOT GRANT ACCESS AND IT CAN REALLY SCREW THINGS UP.
 

gadget_lover

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Frank brings another question into play.

The most efficient way to run power may not be obvious. Do you have a neighbor who who might want to share a line with you? Is power avaiable by making a short run over neighboring property? If so, you might negotiate rights to run the lines that way.

Daniel
 
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