Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Solar microgrid, anyone?

[Ken Winter (ken]

At Sunward Cohousing we went over to using submeters for our water bills
several years ago, and we're glad we did.  See my work-in-progress report
on this at
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14kO0ncu6-G0W_qJKJqsjxXT9xYAotIWSXGhqTK1aF0c/edit?usp=sharing
.

I agree that submetering electric bills is also a great move, and perhaps
essential if you're wanting to generate your own electricity from solar
panels (or whatever) for residential units.

On Tue, Jan 25, 2022 at 9:56 PM Bryan Bowen <bryan [at] caddispc.com> wrote:

> Hey David,
>
> I believe your thinking is spot on. Also, I fear it may be too great a cost
> to retrofit an ideal system into older existing residential buildings, but
> it's totally dependent on factors that vary quite a bit project by project,
> including the utility provide/regulatory environment. If we're repurposing
> an old building to become cohousing, it's usually pretty easy since we're
> upgrading everyone already.
>
> What we tell our forming communities:
>
>    - If you're able, meter the project as a whole or building by building
>    (instead of unit by unit)
>    - Definitely need to understand utility billing and electrical codes to
>       make this determination.
>       - Plan for rooftop solar (rough in) as well as solar gardens on
>    garage/carports/the CH, or ground mount to meet a NZE level of
> production.
>    - Sub-meter individual units (e-gauge
>    <
> https://store.egauge.net/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAubmPBhCyARIsAJWNpiPoEhrNnArd5pdQBrKwZQZV6ahgo1UHXRDU_jFgi0yVkELuL6vYH70aAnM9EALw_wcB
> >
>    etc) for your own billing purposes if you'd like (same with domestic
> water,
>    actually, it's more important)
>    - Go all electric and plan for a future increased share of electric
>    vehicles.
>    - And while you're at it, plan for tons of bikes of different
>    configurations to be parked in ways that really work for people. You
> want
>    to encourage as much of a mode shift as possible.
>    - Make a resiliency plan that includes consideration of what natural
>    disasters etc you might have to survive and for how long, and size a
>    battery back up to meet at least your critical loads.
>    - Include all of this thinking in your decision making process, through
>    one of the usual workshops or a stand alone series on
>    sustainability/resilience.
>
> Having meters on each unit usually means you're locked in to providing PV
> on a unit by unit basis. Metering more collectively allows the highs and
> lows to balance out better and to keep system design less redundant and
> expensive.
>
> - b
>
> BRYAN BOWEN    |    PRINCIPAL   |    AIA   |    LEED AP
>
> *caddis collaborative*
> 1521 Easy Rider Lane #102
> Boulder, CO 80304
> 303 443 3629
> caddispc.com
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 24, 2022 at 12:30 PM David Mandel <dlmandel [at] gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > The great information about EV charging prompts me to ask this question
> > that I've been starting to explore for my community.
> >
> > More than a quarter of our households already have EVs and that is sure
> to
> > grow. We've installed a couple of shared L2 charging stations using
> > existing meters (one common, one at a household -- users reimburse for
> the
> > cost) and are looking into ways to install more.
> >
> > But this begs some other urgent questions. EV charging increases our use
> of
> > electricity, as does the gradual replacement of gas-powered appliances
> > (heating, stoves, dryers) with electric that is happening or contemplated
> > in individual homes and the common house.
> >
> > And we have been warned that the transformers supplying our electricity,
> > installed when we built the community 29 years ago, are likely
> insufficient
> > to handle the extra demand. To merely find out the degree of the eventual
> > shortfall would cost thousands of dollars, our utility tells us, let
> alone
> > to upgrade/replace them.
> >
> > Moreover, our units were all wired with only 90 amps of service, low by
> > today's standards and insufficient, some tell us, to operate the
> additional
> > chargers and appliances many of us would like to install unless we take
> > care not to use too much simultaneously.
> >
> > This leads to consideration of how else we could both increase supply and
> > spread out demand. And the obvious answer is rooftop solar.
> >
> > Two households have already installed panels, but doing it individually
> > does not really seem the best way. Some of our roofs are a lot more
> > suitable than others (shade, direction, configuration), and for any that
> > are highly suitable, the utility doesn't allow you to generate more power
> > than you already use. (How shortsighted!) This is on top of a major push
> by
> > California (and probably other) utilities to drastically lower the rate
> > they pay for net metering, as well as imposing a high fee for solar users
> > to maintain "their share" of the grid. (Another shortsighted approach
> > seemingly driven by the current economics, not the pressing need to
> > decarbonize.)
> >
> > A great answer in theory would be to develop a community microgrid, which
> > would involve:
> >
> >    - Maximizing the amount of generation by installing panels on the most
> >    suitable roofs, individual households and common structures.
> >    - Using batteries to store the power, enabling its accumulation and
> use
> >    at the most appropriate times of day.
> >    - Finding a not-too-complicated way to distribute the energy and share
> >    the costs and benefits among households.
> >
> > I'm engaged in early conversations with some solar designers/installers
> who
> > are interested in the idea, and with a board member at our (publicly
> owned)
> > utility about getting its cooperation and assistance.
> >
> > So my question is whether any of you have accomplished or are
> contemplating
> > such a project. If so, let's compare notes and ideas.
> >
> > One more thing: It's clear that accomplishing this would be very
> expensive,
> > probably beyond our community's ability to finance fully even with a
> > long-term, low-interest loan -- which would make sense for part of it.
> What
> > other possible sources of funding might be available?
> >
> > Thanks for any ideas,
> > David Mandel
> > Southside Park Cohousing, Sacramento
> > _________________________________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
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