Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Jun 04, 2012 10:54 pm Hi, We are looking at putting off grid solar on our acreage property. Would love to hear some reviews. What size system do you have? Have you found any problems with usage? What are your overall thoughts on full solar? Thanks in advance. Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 2Jun 04, 2012 11:50 pm I don't have full solar, but I am thinking you would need to consider what is going to be running on electricity? Lights, heat, water etc While I would probably think heating and hot water may be other things like gas and or wood fire, you still may need things like pumps etc. What you to have will partially determine the size of setup you need from inverter to panels, also how essential it is you don't run out may dictate your battery size! Ie how much you hold in reserve. Your best idea maybe to find some local installers and have a chat with them, roof size and orientation will play a factor along with your geographical location! Depending on your location etc you may also ask about wind turbines, at least they can work at night if your in a sufficiently windy area! 2 Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 3Jun 05, 2012 5:58 am I find the energy matters forum useful for solar specific questions like yours. I know the moderator has a totally off grid house. http://forums.energymatters.com.au/ The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 4Jun 05, 2012 6:49 pm Try http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/143. Energy Matters are a solar company who are very good at what they do, however on the whirlpool forum you will get lots of knowledge from experienced people. Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 6Dec 30, 2012 10:36 pm wouldn't be much change from 100k+ more likely. to be totally off the grid you need battery to store power. The guy who did our panels lives off the grid, I know he has battery storage and he has a dedicated shed to store it all in. I also have a work friend who I think is almost/ is living off grid. They use a combo of wood heater for hot water and panels and have battery storage. Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 7Dec 30, 2012 10:52 pm A cattle station north west of Alice Springs went for a split solar/diesel set up. As they had good quality water the cooling was through evaporative aircon during the warmer months and firewood during the cooler months for heating. To minimise the time diesel was used, the washing and cooking was done whenever the workshop was in use for welding to maximise the use of the gensets output. Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 8Dec 30, 2012 11:32 pm well, the main thing you will have to fight with for solar is after dark cooling, heating you'll be fine just store your energy in water (and insulate the hot water tank more or something) I suspect the only way to make it work without spending ridiculous money, is possibly building underground (ironic no?) or maybe building double walls with sand insulation? just make it so your house does not get warm to begin with essentially. Slooowwwwly getting a Manhatten 35 in Middleton Grange Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 9Jan 04, 2013 12:36 pm for off grid some of these guys have interesting systems http://lowenergydevelopments.com.au/ anyone found any others that offer online pricing and tech specs for off grid systems? Slooowwwwly getting a Manhatten 35 in Middleton Grange Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 10Feb 03, 2013 9:14 am Hi We are building with total frame homes in Pingelly West Aus, we are 10 k out of town and will be off grid for solar, as it is initially a weekender we are putting in a 5 kw system for about 20k. The estimates that we have had to get main electricity connected has been between 60-100k. How has your system worked? Any tips for us? Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 11Feb 25, 2013 4:39 pm gvtar1 Hi, We are looking at putting off grid solar on our acreage property. Would love to hear some reviews. What size system do you have? Have you found any problems with usage? What are your overall thoughts on full solar? Thanks in advance. My uncle is running full of the grid solar with a battery system installed. But stormjr is right, you need to know how much power you are going to go though for day time usage, night time usage. also what are the conditions like for winter and summer. There is no point in install a system that will just cover your usage for summer. there is going to be more sun at summer compared to winter. Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 12May 23, 2014 9:30 pm I realise this is an old post but have only just come across it. We are on 40 acres of land and installed a full off grid system for $35k due to a quote of a $45k to connection to the grid. We have been off grid for 18 months with no issues whatsoever, we are a two person household with a 5 day redundundancy and no real sacrifices. My build thread: Custom build on 40 acres viewtopic.php?f=31&t=75656 Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 13May 23, 2014 9:45 pm So which battery chemistry are you currently using ? Lead acid or lithium iron phosphate ? Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 14May 23, 2014 10:02 pm About 40 years ago I was building commission homes and they were supplied with a heat bank, essentially iron bricks in an enclosure heated up during night on off peak rate. Then during the day you would run a fan to heat the house. This seems to be ideal starting point for off the grid solar house heating. Also I don't think being totally off the grid is the way to go. If you can get your base heating loads covered (substantially) by solar then you can just top up as you need with power from the grid. I was looking to find a heat bank but cannot see to find any, maybe they all ended in metal recycling. Any ideas on that Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 15May 24, 2014 8:20 pm bpratt So which battery chemistry are you currently using ? Lead acid or lithium iron phosphate ? We have a bank of Hoppecke Sealed Lead batteries. They made up about half the total installation cost. I initially was very keen on Lithium, but at that stage the battery monitoring/charging systems were still being sorted for standalone installations as opposed to electric vehicle applications. I went for tried and true so that we had no hassles, given that it is our only power source. I'd recommend offgrid totally, but you need to go into it with your eyes open. We currently live in a shed/house, but are building a passive solar house with wood heating as backup, and the hot water is LPG. Get a proven installer to give you a proven system tailored to your needs. Know what to expect and how to use the system and you won't look back. Michael. My build thread: Custom build on 40 acres viewtopic.php?f=31&t=75656 Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 16May 30, 2014 9:47 am A couple of my neighbours are off-grid. They both used second hand, ex-Telstra deep cycle 2 volt batteries to save costs. They also have a small diesel generator which is only used occasionally when the batteries are flat. They are 2 person households. Their cost is ~$50k but with ongoing maintenance. Utility grid connection was about $70k to $100k Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 17Dec 02, 2014 1:40 pm I am considering being off-grid with my home. The only electricity usage I have is recharging laptops and phones and the odd lightbulb. Use LPG for water and cooking. As I'm moving into a climate which is very cold in winter (snowfall is common) and lacks humidity I think a zeer pot/root cellar could actually be a viable option for refrigeration. I learnt last time with a garden that vegetables don't really need refrigeration when you pick them straight out of a garden and eat them. There are many preserving methods that don't require freezing. It's a radical step to living without modern refrigeration but our ancestors did it for ages. I hardly use any power as it is. But then as the power pole in on the boundary anyway, it may be more cost effective to connect to the grid and feed excess power to it for a rebate instead. Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 18Dec 02, 2014 2:34 pm Where you site your house on your property and how far that is from the nearest power pole will have a huge impact on the cost of how much it will cost you to hook up to the grid. For really remote or just plain difficult sites that cost can be enormous so to go off grid makes a lot of sense. If you are relatively close to power it may only cost you $10-15,000 to hook up as opposed to a decent sized off grid system as some of the others have mentioned above for $75-100,000. Stewie Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 19Dec 02, 2014 4:44 pm Stewie D Where you site your house on your property and how far that is from the nearest power pole will have a huge impact on the cost of how much it will cost you to hook up to the grid. For really remote or just plain difficult sites that cost can be enormous so to go off grid makes a lot of sense. If you are relatively close to power it may only cost you $10-15,000 to hook up as opposed to a decent sized off grid system as some of the others have mentioned above for $75-100,000. Stewie Residential power pole on the boundary, it doesn't need a transformer basically ready to go. So yeah off grid wont make sense for me. Re: Does anyone have full Off Grid Solar Power 20Dec 17, 2014 2:13 pm Quote: What are your overall thoughts on full solar? You need wind also for off grid!!! In some ways this site has all you need to know or points the correct direction particularly DIY! http://www.windsolarhybridaustralia.x10.mx Hi Kristy Around $1.7-1.8m or around $4,600/sqm. if you PM me your email I will send you a break up in a spreadsheet so you can get an understanding of the costs for… 1 9977 Would also like an opinion from anyone that has used xcem over hebel for floors. Thanks 1 14235 2 15465 |