Electricity
One of the big hurdles we are dealing with right now is getting electricity to the property. The house will have enough solar panels to break even energy-wise over the course of each year, but it will still be tied to the grid (both for our convenience- no batteries required- and because the county requires new buildings to be hooked up if possible). So, we've been working with PG&E to design a route up to our building site.
The first challenge was figuring out a path for the underground portion of the line- the line will go underground as soon at it reaches our property and then will need to meander up the forested hill to the house site. It took a few tries to nail down a route that can wind 400-500 ft up a hill, squeeze between the house footprint and the driveway (without having to cut through the steel reinforced concrete), avoid the septic lines, put the transformer in a viable spot that won't be too obnoxious, and do all this without making more than 180 deg cumulative bends. Everything is a tight, tight squeeze but we all think the current plan is viable- I just hope that when it gets laid out on paper it looks as good as we are counting on.
The next big challenge is getting an easement from the property owners across the road. Before we can go underground on our own land, we need to get the power to our property from one of the nearest overhead lines. There are not a lot of options. The closest power pole is on privately owned land but connecting to it would help us avoid installing several new poles along the city road to span a much longer distance (at our expense of course!). So far the neighbors seem helpful so my hopes are up.
Next, we will need to get an official surveyor out to change the recorded maps and county documents to reflect a power easement along our own property (giving PG&E access to maintain the lines, etc.) This shouldn't be a big deal other than more time, more people and schedules involved, another county hurdle to record new maps, and more cost, cost, cost.
Then we will have someone dig a 400+ ft trench to lay the pipes that will house the power lines underground all the way from the road up to our site.
PG&E will install a new pole at the base of our property and a transformer on the hilltop between our house site and my parents' potential future building site.
Once pipes are laid, pole and transformer are installed, wires pulled through, the county will come inspect it for code. Once they give the go ahead, PG&E will turn it on and the county will come back one more time for the final OK.
The thing is.... this all needs to happen right this second! PG&E estimates 8-12 wks for a "normal" job and apparently ours is a bit more complicated than normal so they said 12 wks is optimistic. Of course, we will be well into the building process (hopefully!!!!) in 12 wks so our builder will be stuck using a very loud generator until this all comes together. The only thing we can do to speed things up is have everyone poised and ready at each stage. Our schedule is full of visits and estimates from trenchers and tree cutters and the surveyor- hoping to get all the balls rolling quickly.
The first challenge was figuring out a path for the underground portion of the line- the line will go underground as soon at it reaches our property and then will need to meander up the forested hill to the house site. It took a few tries to nail down a route that can wind 400-500 ft up a hill, squeeze between the house footprint and the driveway (without having to cut through the steel reinforced concrete), avoid the septic lines, put the transformer in a viable spot that won't be too obnoxious, and do all this without making more than 180 deg cumulative bends. Everything is a tight, tight squeeze but we all think the current plan is viable- I just hope that when it gets laid out on paper it looks as good as we are counting on.
The next big challenge is getting an easement from the property owners across the road. Before we can go underground on our own land, we need to get the power to our property from one of the nearest overhead lines. There are not a lot of options. The closest power pole is on privately owned land but connecting to it would help us avoid installing several new poles along the city road to span a much longer distance (at our expense of course!). So far the neighbors seem helpful so my hopes are up.
Next, we will need to get an official surveyor out to change the recorded maps and county documents to reflect a power easement along our own property (giving PG&E access to maintain the lines, etc.) This shouldn't be a big deal other than more time, more people and schedules involved, another county hurdle to record new maps, and more cost, cost, cost.
Then we will have someone dig a 400+ ft trench to lay the pipes that will house the power lines underground all the way from the road up to our site.
PG&E will install a new pole at the base of our property and a transformer on the hilltop between our house site and my parents' potential future building site.
Once pipes are laid, pole and transformer are installed, wires pulled through, the county will come inspect it for code. Once they give the go ahead, PG&E will turn it on and the county will come back one more time for the final OK.
The thing is.... this all needs to happen right this second! PG&E estimates 8-12 wks for a "normal" job and apparently ours is a bit more complicated than normal so they said 12 wks is optimistic. Of course, we will be well into the building process (hopefully!!!!) in 12 wks so our builder will be stuck using a very loud generator until this all comes together. The only thing we can do to speed things up is have everyone poised and ready at each stage. Our schedule is full of visits and estimates from trenchers and tree cutters and the surveyor- hoping to get all the balls rolling quickly.
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