As Burkside, really want to go solar, but pricing is silly and ROI at least 10 years, which I myself may not see, though wife would benefit, but totally unwilling to commit. As AC use would be considerably less after I crap out. All solar on any entry level solar system would probably go toward AC use, and little if any toward credit of PEA bill. I'm abusive, as 2 or 3 ACs running 16ish hours would suck it all up. Making ROI quicker
Would be nice to have a few batteries for back up though, but haven't asked any neighbors how the electric supply is. Present location, excellent, it's been out, very rare, maybe a couple hours total in over 4 years, though new house will be 5 kms away & rural. Researching alternate sources myself, since house at pre-PEA hook up stage.
If going out for more than 15 minutes, may have to get the inflatable mattress for the SUV, as me & the dog can't go without our AC ...
It's all getting far to complicated for me. I'll just sit in the dark, bang on something with 2 pieces of wood and wait for the lights to come back on.
handdrummer wrote: ↑Thu Aug 26, 2021 10:52 am
It's all getting far to complicated for me. I'll just sit in the dark, bang on something with 2 pieces of wood and wait for the lights to come back on.
A quality generator capable of running a whole house would be pretty expensive anyway, even in the US that would cost around $5,000 or more. One of those small portable ones capable of running a few lights and charging phones, running a laptop and a small fan etc. might make more sense.
KhunLA wrote: ↑Thu Aug 26, 2021 10:08 am
As Burkside, really want to go solar, but pricing is silly and ROI at least 10 years, which I myself may not see, though wife would benefit, but totally unwilling to commit.
Yep, to go the whole hog with solar in Thailand is not economically viable (unless you have deep pockets and dont care). Renewable energy for domestic use is not subsidized here and it is actually illegal to feed it back to the grid (the state wants its profits)! My system is a very basic backup to get me through the constant power cuts we get, but I will be expanding it manually.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
On this home generator and solar system discussion I can offer my own experience from 8+ years in the land of smiles. Although I am not an electrical engineer by trade, my technical background is from the aviation field throughout my career I have looked after the maintenance needs of big flying 3 phase power stations in the sky in the form of business and commercial jet aircraft, and helicopters.
So my first Thai home project based upon experiencing many electrical power disruptions and unstable power supply (please don’t forget this one as it can wreck sensitive electrical appliances), was to go out and buy a small generator set. In my case I purchased a PRC made 4 stroke 3Kva unit with electric start from ThaiWatsadu, at that time on special offer it was around 18 to 20K baht. After then racing around to buy petrol can, petrol, funnel and find the correct spec engine oil this thing has performed well over about 40 running hours and several oil changes. So now my tips based upon the use of this type of unit;
Don’t go by what it says on the box or tin. 3 Kva does not give that power continuous, in fact that rating is more like 2.5Kva, so buy the biggest unit you can afford, but after first working out the gross power ratings of all the things you would want to run off such a beast under power outages. Just as an example,lets take a house water pump, let’s say this unit might be sold as being 250 watts, but can have a starting power need of 800 watts and running under load consumption of around 320 watts, so think through and consider this all very carefully. So you have guessed it, knowing what I now know, I would probably have gone for a unit of say 4.5Kva power. But hindsight is one hell of a wonderful thing.
The next big consideration, do you want “her in doors who must be obeyed” to be able to use this power source, or will you need to get it up and running quickly in the pitch dark or during a monsoon. Then you will need to seriously consider its positioning and hook up to whatever you need to power. Also, do you want to have doors and windows open to allow power feeds into the house? In my case I positioned my generator at the protected side of the house inside a little well-ventilated shelter chained to an eye bolt in the wall, but with one of its power feeds passing permanently through the house wall terminating in a dedicated generator only power socket on an inside wall. Now in my case this inside wall socket is not that glamorous or stylish as its one of those white and blue external industrial round power sockets that takes the round plugs. But it does the job very well and being a different type of socket and plug it means you can build up dedicated connection leads and outlet etc to help stop it getting overloaded. So inside the house all I have stored away for quick use is a dedicated heavy duty multi outlet power socket that I can then plug in the essential items I want to power. Well what about the water pump, he has forgotten about this, or does he have the water pump in his lounge? Well in my case the generator has two outlet sockets so one is permanently connected to the inside house power outlet, while the other I use to power the water pump. Now what can I power using this 3Kva (gross power) generator without wrecking it, my normal set up would be; water pump, a small York portable air-conditioning unit with the condenser hot air outlet fed outside using a dedicated window blanking plate that came with the unit, two fridge freezers via UPS to smooth out the power, internet, wifi, lounge TV via UPS and some standing LED lamps and fans. What will it not handle or tolerate, any domestic water heater, (electric kettle, vacuum cleaner, toaster, coffee maker, or lawn mower - only on their own), fixed air-conditioners, cooker, hob or any other power hungry appliances. Finally, consider the noise these units make and the exhaust fumes. These things can run for hours so also consider nearby residents, good cooling and changes in wind direction.
I have run this set up for many hours now and the only thing that makes the generator hiccup a bit would be the starting of the water pump. But I have never had this trip off or let me down so far (I am already touching wood). I service the generator engine after every long run and at 6-month periods of storage. The only thing I have had to replace so far was the starter battery, and I found that a cheap emergency light sealed lead acid battery from a DIY shop works fine for this purpose, plus there is always the back-up pull starter handle. The other bonus of a modest generator set, it normally also has a 12-volt DC outlet that can be used to quickly charge up a vehicle battery. But please only off the vehicle or completely disconnected so you don’t risk wrecking all the modern vehicle delicate smart features and systems, or upset Alexa.
Obviously, everybody has their very own preferences, situation and needs, so the above is just my take and experience. And yes, if you can afford it, the Honda generator would be a great choice and all of the previous forum advice given is all valid and should be considered.
However, as time has passed on, I have now progressed to a modest solar set up that I will cover in part two, before you all fall asleep. Hope this helps. BTW, don’t forget to always have a good spare supply of fuel for your generator, and store this safely.
Trevtherev wrote: ↑Sat Aug 28, 2021 9:36 am
However, as time has passed on, I have now progressed to a modest solar set up that I will cover in part two, before you all fall asleep. Hope this helps. BTW, don’t forget to always have a good spare supply of fuel for your generator, and store this safely.
Please go to the below thread to see a detailed write up prepared by Nereus concerning home generators, including precautions needed when dealing with your home electrical system and the installation/use of these generators.
A big thank you Nereus for your time and for providing a valuable addition to the forum information archives. I'm sure it will be read and used by many.
