Underground utilities. Pros and cons

[KiotiKowboy]

That sounds pretty consistent with our electric coop here in Oklahoma. 1500 ft of underground was about $26,000. I just lucked out because of the setup I was able to split it three ways with my neighbors. I still almost threw up when I wrote the $8000+ check.

These numbers are exactly why I am considering an off-grid solar solution. For $40K, I can get a pretty decent setup and skip a lot of labor trenching. The good news is, with fed rebate of 30 percent and dealer rebate of 25 percent, the deal gets even sweeter to go off-grid.

 

[ericher69]

These numbers are exactly why I am considering an off-grid solar solution. For $40K, I can get a pretty decent setup and skip a lot of labor trenching. The good news is, with fed rebate of 30 percent and dealer rebate of 25 percent, the deal gets even sweeter to go off-grid.

sure but don't forget to factor in replacement costs for your solar panels, batteries, inverters etc etc. they don't last forever.

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[KiotiKowboy]

sure but don't forget to factor in replacement costs for your solar panels, batteries, inverters etc etc. they don't last forever.

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I suspect .. going in to this at age 60, most components will fail under new ownership As my dad liked to say, as his age increased ... "It comes with a lifetime guarantee!"

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^ I like that and hope you don't mind if I use it?

Around here it is sometimes cheaper and faster to find an old homestead with utilities in place and build what you want...

The cost to bring them in kills a lot of dreams and then there are the special service districts which show up as taxes...

 

[ericher69]

I suspect .. going in to this at age 60, most components will fail under new ownership As my dad liked to say, as his age increased ... "It comes with a lifetime guarantee!"

You better hope so as most solar has a 15-25 year lifespan...

Batteries much less 6yrs before replacement.

Good luck whatever you decide.

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[paulharvey]

If the aerial work requires clearing oof any sort, i would look into doing that your self. If you want underground I would look into doing digging and conduit yourself. That's a lot of money to not at least look at something to reduce price.

 

[dave1949]

You better hope so as most solar has a 15-25 year lifespan...

Batteries much less 6yrs before replacement.

Good luck whatever you decide.

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Battery life depends on what type of battery and how carefully they are used.

This article is a good battery overview:
Off-Grid Batteries: Page 2 of 4 | Home Power Magazine

Home Power is a respected source for solar info. They say 15-20 years for industrial flooded lead-acid batteries and around 10 years for AGM batteries. More expensive than golf cart or L16 batteries but can be better choices in the long run.

 

[tractchores]

This is and old thread, so I'm sure the OP has already done the project. For others looking at something similar one possible new solution to consider is underground boring. I just did an underground utility line and had to cross a driveway and did some research into boring solutions. They range from relatively inexpensive machines that use a pneumatic head to true drill bits that can go miles. The pneumatic ones compact soil and pull a HPDE conduit behind them. In the right soil they have a pretty good range and can handle decent sized rocks. This method is surprisingly cheap if there's a contractor in the area and you can actually rent the machines with some training. For longer runs there are companies that do directional boring and they can go for miles if needed, you see them a lot putting lines under highways. The really cool part about what they offer is that they can go under bodies of water, wetlands, etc. They also don't care about soil types or rocks. Many of the cable companies now use the pneumatic machines to put underground lines to your house around here and its a great solution with no soil disturbance and far cheaper than digging. You could definitely use this technique to go under the creek.

 

[SPIKER]

One thing is I would NOT put it in the center of the drive, use left or right side 4 or 6 feet over. I would rent trencher and put it in underground myself. One thing is we don't know the local ground conditions so maybe too rocky or steep.??

There are local contractors that can do the work, and if you provide open trench that saves a lot of time/costs when expensive labor has to dig the ditch.

Having sand placed in bottom (by you) and ready for line to be placed in conduit in the trench by the pros is not too bad...

Mark

 

[ultrarunner]

Going down the center of the drive seems typical here... most of the area is heavily forested.

Why is going down the center of a gravel drive less desirable?