Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Off the Grid

For some of you that may just stumbled across my blog or those that follow along. I have been off the grid for about 3 weeks now. So far the system has been running flawlessly since it came online.

I am not 100% off the grid but about 90%. The grid for me is actually the backup if the batteries are not fully charged and I still have 3 things connected to the grid. My stove, water heater and heat, which are all electric. Because I do not have a big enough inverter they can not be connected to the off grid system.

If the grid goes down for what ever reason I will still function as normal. There are other ways to heat water and stay warm.

I installed 6- 250 watt solar panels on a ground mount support. I chose this style because it's cheap and I can clean the snow off them in the winter.

I used 2- Outback GVFX 3648 inverters with 2 sets of 105ahr 12v deep cycle boat batteries for a total of 210 ahr at 48 volts.


 The Outback inverters were from a job that I did earlier this year that I acquired for converting the system over to grid interactive. The batteries are from Menard's. Just cheap boat batteries. I wanted batteries that I could buy locally. Plus I didn't spend a ton of money on them.

I am currently running my computer and lights off grid while I am blogging to you today. I live my life and run my business just like normally when connected to the grid. I really curious to see what next months electric bill will be.

I will continue to post from time to time on how my system is doing. My plan next is to install a small wind turbine. Probably a Whisper 200 on a 80' pole.

If you would like to follow along it is best to like J.D. Stratton Electric on Facebook.

3 comments:

pvc windows said...

Climate is an important aspect that has to be considered before selecting solar water heater and it is said that regions which are rare cold or freezing need to use solar heater with direct circulation systems that pump water through collectors to provide into the houses.

Kurt Amezcua said...

Congratulations! You clearly know how to maximize the use of solar energy. Being 90% off the grid will definitely be helpful to you in terms of savings. It is something to brag when your area experiences an unexpected blackout, and your house is the only one that has running electricity! Anyway, did you manage to install the wind turbine? I bet it would help in providing off-grid energy.

JD said...

I ordered a small turbine today. I will post pictures when done.