The past 12 months the off-grid powerwall generated close to 2000kWh. Not bad for 12 280wp panels. In 2020 I managed to generate 1600kWh. An additional 400kWh because I managed to push my surplus of summer energy, which was otherwise lost, into the battery of my new PHEV. With todays electricity price of 0.37ct/kWh thats corresponds to 740EUR. The hardware that registers the power consumption is the ZMAI-90. Works trouble free since 2 years.

With new regulations coming into place in Belgium many people ask me if it's possible to go off-grid or what size powerwall do I need to cover the winter months. Well let me make this clear....it's not feasable. During the winter you generate only few kwh/day and you need > 15kwh/day. This year I worked 9 months from home, so I needed extra energy during the day. On the other hand I was able to maximise the use of green energy and use electrical aplliances during sunny days. Let's focus on automation and smart switching in 2021.

When positive I used energy from the grid, when negative the hybrid inverter injects energy into the grid. From first of April (that's not a joke) till 1 October, netto I don't use any energy from the grid. During the summer the powerwall was often full around noon. Next year I will have a hybrid EV, the goal is to charge the EV during the summer months with the overflow I couldn't use this year. Next month I will start to built another 8kwh extention for the powerwall, which brings total to 20kwh. The 2000kwh green energy goal for 2021 is really feasable, what do you think?

To all of my followers and fans, a happy, healthy and safe 2021. Before we look forward let's check the 2020 powerwall and overall energy performance. The powerwall generated a stunning 1700kwh. The grid-tie solar produced 4460kwh. Netto there was a little leftover on the day usage (blue). On the night/weekend usage (pink) I fell a little short. Because of the extra 1700kwh energy we reduced gas usage by warming water with an electrical heater connected to the powerwall. As a bonus we spilled less water too.

I started recording the netmeter on a weekly base a while ago. Week 1 starts on october 8th, the day I renewed my contract and the day that I'll get my yearly bill after sending the netmeter data. After a sunny spring the results look very promising. I have dual netmeter, day & night. Day is from 7am till 10pm, night is the other hours and weekend. Still building up credit on "day" netmeter, need to shift usage from night/weekend as much as possible to day. How I'm gonna do this is for next weeks post.

Some batteries are getting hot, some are dead, some don't hold their charge. Instead of dropping them of at the local recycling center I gave them to schools. Schools in Belgium have a progrom where they can turn collected batteries into credits to buy educational stuff. Isn't that cool? So it's recycling and investing in youth. No, please don't call me a missionary :-)

Take recycling to the next level. After opneing the laptop battery cases I drop them off at the local recycling center. All electronics (wires & BMS) are in the first box. That's my hughe collection I stored in my backyard when I was stuck at home during the COVID-19. Let's visit some computer & bikecenters to top up my stock. Just wonder if battery recycle center do a better job or if they throw those lithium ion batteries right into the shredder? WDYT?

First of June, early morning, a new milestone was reached. Hours after falcon 9 docked with ISS we passed the 1000kwh mark. Last few months we recorded record breaking hours of sun in EU. This results in +200kwh green power consumption month after month. Let's aim for +2000 before the end of the year.

Pedal to the metal.
That's the result of 12 280W panels, combined via the DIY combinerbox. Neither the combinerbox or charger PCM60X get warm. Well designed and good reliable hardware is part of the succes of your powerwall.