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individual_328 t1_j1zn961 wrote

The way things are going, fossil fuel systems are looking like poor long term investments right now. Consider going all electric with on-site generation and storage for backup (solar + batteries).

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Dont_Mind_da_Lurker OP t1_j1zucqo wrote

I agree philosophically on this... If I could get all-electric with solar we would. We did the assessment at my last house and we couldn't quite generate enough off our roof to cover our needs and pass excess to the grid. I need to have a proper assessment done on my new house here, but I don't have high hopes as we don't have any south-facing roof area... Half of our roof gets the morning sun, the other half gets the afternoon sun, and some of our roof is shielded by some trees in the wintertime when the sun is lower. Pending expert assessment, it looks like we won't get much generation off our roof. The fallback is putting panels in our yard, but we like using our yard for play area.

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individual_328 t1_j201ps3 wrote

Maybe get a small generator for emergency backup? I personally just wouldn't be comfortable putting a lot of money into any kind of new oil/gas/propane system for heat or hot water these days. It think they're all going to be obsolete in a decade and there are big credits and rebates available for switching now.

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Dont_Mind_da_Lurker OP t1_j20jin5 wrote

Yeah, small gas generator is still a possibility... but storing enough gasoline for a protracted outage is more difficult than storing propane, and propane generators can automatically kick on vs. gas I have to be home to go wheel it out and plug it in and flip circuits, etc. So there is some benefit to a propane fired generator for emergency power. Someday I'd love to be solar+battery/PowerWall... may not be in the cards for this house specifically.

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