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San Mateo, CA

San Mateo, CA

“As a scientist, I believe climate change is real, and will adversely affect people locally, nationally, and around the world.  Weather whiplash is projected to get two times worse every decade. New weather records like higher highs, lower low temperatures, drier and prolonged drought, wetter rain storms, and for California more wild fires, will continue the be the norm. Because weather severity is changing, plus the lack of utility, electric line infrastructure maintenance,  I expect the grid power to my home to become more unstable. Last year the electric power went off at my house five times. Each time there is no message from the utility company as to the cause or how long it will take to repair and restore power…

“So as a person concerned about the climate I have a goal to electrify my 2000 sq ft house. I would like to eliminate any dependance on fossil fuels and natural gas. Electrification is like a mini-remodel. It needs a plan, because at the minimum, a new wire needs to run to the location of the gas appliance.  My gas furnace was replaced with a heat pump furnace. My heating bill for the house decreased by 50%.  I purchased an EV. Now my driving cost is one third of my old gas vehicle. Replacement of the gas water heater,  gas stove, and bi-directional EV charger are projects for near future years.

The first priority was to provide electrical backup for my house.  My EV has enough battery power to run my house for close to a week.  But national standards are slow to be implemented to send EV car power into the house. So I had a small amount of conventional batteries installed with an option for a future bi-directional charger. 

Secondly, I need a means to measure and change, the local power flow in my house, both on grid and off grid.  Installation of Genius did not fundamentally change the number of major branch circuits on my old panel (8 went to 7). There is one less branch circuit (five connections) as the AC coupled solar array was moved to the SolArk box for off grid phase control of the solar output and battery charge levels. But, with the new Genius electrical panel I can read the power used in each of the individual branch circuits. Sol-Ark or the solar supervisor does show the individual solar panels and total array power being produced and consumed.

As needed, I can even turn off unnecessary circuits like the electric oven, heat pump furnace, EV charger, and future induction stove top. Or go to the electrical appliances at the ends of the branch circuit, and manually turn them off to see how much the power drops from an iron, a curling iron, or large TV systems. Genius provides the necessary means for me to make my own local electrical use decisions at a finer level than just house On/Off.  This is especially important for on grid control for older homes with 100 Amp panels. Where there is enough average power available, but peak loads for electrical ovens, dryers, and EV chargers need to be time shifted to avoid panel overloads.     

When the utility power fails, and my house is off grid working in island mode, I can actively prioritize circuits as needed. For example when the sun is out and excess solar power is available, I can make sure the freezers are cold, the batteries are full, the water heater is hot, and the house is warm. At night, or when it is too cloudy, I can prioritize the freezers to make sure the food does not spoil and discarded.   In summary, with my old electrical panel, it was difficult to know, how much power was flowing across all the circuits to what end point appliances. With the new Genius panel I can see much more detailed information on current flow to make informed decisions about current flow both ON grid and OFF grid. Genius provides a way to mange the comfort in my home and save costs for unnecessary electrical capital upgrades and underutilized, extra batteries.”

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