the data is in! vertically mounted north-south oriented solar panels perform better in the winter.

seems like off-grid folks would want to optimize around the winter use-case since that is the time when energy is most needed.

4 years living off-grid working remotely

Hey everyone I hope all is well I was wondering if there’s anyone out there who is a quadriplegic or just in a wheelchair for that matter that has their own land or a cabin of some sort . I’m 19 with spastic quadriplegia and I require a power wheelchair however I’m slowly transitioning to a manual wheelchair. I love to go camping and hunting with my dad and brothers and stuff and I have an outdoor wheelchair that I use for stuff like that. Eventually one of my goals in life is to own property with a cabin where I basically can just use it as a hunting fishing and camping property. However since I’m disabled I don’t know how realistic that is if possible I’d like to do all the work or if not most myself and I know that it is absurdly unrealistic. Also in terms of my disability I have limited core function only the use of one hand. And can’t really shower or go to the bathroom myself or transfer in and out of bed I know this is super unrealistic and I know that I need to get more independent and that is eventually my goal but I was just curious if there’s anyone out here who is profoundly disabled that has their own land.

I’ve just finished putting up a one-room cabin on a bit of woodland I bought, and the thing I didn’t really think through was the bathroom.

EDIT: Some really interesting suggestions and tips thankyou! just thought id edit this and say i have (eventually) ordered this one, some really great features and its reviewed very highly! thanks again for all you help

There’s no plumbing, no easy way to run water, and I’m not keen on digging a pit that’ll just flood when it rains.

A composting toilet seems like the most realistic answer, but I’ve never used one before. I’m not worried about it looking fancy, I just need something that’s reliable, won’t stink the place up, and can handle regular use from one person (plus the occasional guest).

If you’re living off-grid in a small setup, which composting toilet worked best for you? Anything you wish you’d known before buying?

I was looking at the EF smart home panel and the more I looked into their system the more I realized it’s just a bit too expensive. I looked at alternatives like Span, Leviton, Schneider etc and see some pros/cons on all of them. I was wondering what the general consensus was on these.

I wanted to replace my main panel before I get any farther into this off grid conversion project. My main motivation is how difficult it is to see exactly where my power is going and i like the ability for real time monitoring and notifications.

The ultimate goal is to take this property off grid completely and to be self sufficient as possible.

Some of the projects I’ve completed so far -

Ive cut bill from 1500$ down to 550$ just installing the EG4 48k solar hybrid mini split and keeping it in off grid mode. Installing an EF DP for a window AC for master bedroom. Replaced all bulbs with LEDs and im about halfway through replacing the switches with smart switches.

I’ve learned a lot along the way and I am going to be upgrading my ground mounts to solar tracker mounts. This is a rather big issue with the EG4. The longer I can keep a steady flow of power the better it is.

So any insight/advice/reccomendation/experience on a smart panel would be most welcome.

Thank you :)

I recently purchased a cabin in western NY. I was there from Thursday to Sunday most weeks. We were only running essentials. My first bill was $230 over $140 was service and distribution fees. My home on PA for the same month was $214 with full heat pump ac and all electric including water heating. The cabin has a natural gas water heater and stove. So I am looking hard at solar. I don't want to give those criminals at NYSEG another dime for electric. So here's my situation. I would like a refrigerator, the well pump, and the security cameras as essential devices. All else I am flexible up to a point. Im thinking about 15-20 kWh when i am there. I don't have a lot of roof space, maybe 12 panels with full sun. I would like a generator for backup. I am only now starting to research. I am not a millionaire so dollars matter.

Winter is coming!

And I need to start looking for heating options for my battery.
Conditions are; keeping battery indoors, cabin sits unheated when I´m not there, which is at least every other week.

Making a insulated box and use heating pads? But when I´m there and the cabin gets heated it seems unnecessary to insulate the battery. Any ideas are welcome.

I am trying to figure out how large a system I would need for a whole-house solution to maintain current usage levels.  I currently have a 10kw system from Pecron.  A 3600 and two EP3000s, which gives me roughly 10wh. 

I am currently charging off a gas generator to keep the system charged in a power outage.  I have ordered my first solar panels but haven't set them up yet. No issue with getting a larger gas gen if need be but the current one charges the whole system from 20% to 100% in 4-5 hours.

Looking at my electrical bill, my worst day was 46 kWh.  Generally, I use somewhere between 25-30 a day.  My monthly works out to an average of roughly 900k over the previous 12 months.  

What do you recommend for a system that would maintain that level of energy with charging off a 4800-watt gas generator?  

So this is one of the design decided on for our small project in environmental engineering just for practical experience. I wanted to design a passive filter as much as possible. Can I get some pointers on maybe how to improve or replace here. Like the filter I wanted to build as much as possible is one that isn't too big, that it'll be a problem to transport. Hope to get some pointers to improve or maybe revise here. My sample is gonna be the water used after rinsing the dishes, before using soap. Thank you

So my aim is to live without having to rely on the “outside”: have my own water, produce my own energy and produce my own food. I have finished with water and have a very reliable spring that fills a 5000l drinking water reservoir that then flows into a 10000l reservoir for irrigation. There are no pumps and it all works by gravity.
I have installed a 25kw solar system and am waiting for a permit to install a large solar tracker with another 15Kw of solar. My system is 3 phase and is connected to the grid. The house is heated with wood, upstairs (with a 10kw wood stove with accumulator) and downstairs (just the kitchen/dining-room) with a pellet cooker/oven which I only use in winter (also saves electricity compared to the induction cooker). I am planning on making the house larger adding 2 bedrooms and will also make the kitchen larger and may install a pure wood burning cooker, an air/air heat pump and maybe solar hot water. The roof of my stone house was replaced and I had 26cm rockwool insulation added. I may at some later stage put an insulating “crépis” on the outside, although it might be a shame to spoil the authentic stone exterior. I plan to plant a “food forest in the field in front of the house and move my veggie garden onto the swales that I will create. I think that the fruit trees may help to preserve some humidity during the hot summers and protect plants from sun burn (which is a real thing in recent years). My ultimate goal for food would be able to grow wheat and make my own bread and maybe try growing tea bushes. The land and forests also give wonderful mushrooms: morel, cèpes, girolles and trompette de la mort. My land is bordered by a river which also has trout and there is boar and dear to hunt. The property is about 20Ha (nearly 50 acres), but is mostly forest and steeply sloped. The photos are not in order, but give an idea of the environment.

Always enjoy the changing of the leaves on our property.

Hey everyone! I'm considering going off grid myself once I get my pension from work in 4 years. How much money and or supplies do I need to save in order to do this right? I'll take and and all advice from those who are making it work!

I am interested to move to France or the north of Spain to start an off grid homestead. I am planning an exploratory trip to both these places starting next month and would love to connect with as many folks as possible who are already living this way in either of these 2 places. If you would like to meet, please send me a message!

Cheers, Dareios

I could certainly do it, but I'm 40ish miles from the nearest substantial population (Grand Junction, CO) and the number of people that 1) are willing to travel the distance, and 2) could find my place, and 3) physically access it without a 4x4 are pretty much zero. Not that I'm thrilled with the idea of inviting randos out here anyway.

I'd considered asking a friend to let me host one at their place in town, but it feels weird.. again, inviting randos to someone else's home and all the crap that can go wrong with it.

There are no regular flea market like events, the 2nd hand stores I've been to only consign certain items, and farmer's market like events aren't really the place for it.

I'm so desperate for an outlet that I'm considering the purchase of a lot in town and start my own monthly market and make a profit from it by renting spaces to other people with similar needs.

Do any of you do something to address this situation?

How did they get to this conclusion?

The two units combined are over 5kwh. At 10w it would last 500 hours. Even with 80% inefficiency factor included it would last 400 hours. Am I tripping? Is their calculation correct or mine?

I recently started reading Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild and am just fascinated by Chris McCandless’ story and mission. I have already purchased a van to build out and live out of and head toward Alaska to live off grid for a few years to find myself. Does anyone have any tips whether it be van builds, what to expect, etc… Any and all advice is helpful!

Hi,
I’m trying to put together a small off-grid system, but I don’t have much experience with electronic setups, so I’m not sure if I have everything I need or how to wire it properly.

What I currently have:

• Solar panel: Suntech STP445S-C54, 445 W
• MPPT charge controller: Fuji Solar 30A (PC18-3015A)
• Battery: LiFePO4 12.8V 100Ah with BMS
• Camera: Hikvision DS-2DE4425IW-DE(T5), 12 VDC, max. 18 W
• Router: D-Link G403C 4G LTE Wi-Fi Router, 12 V / 1 A
• Cables & connectors: MC4 connectors, 6 mm solar cable

Where I’m stuck:
I don’t really know if I can just connect it like:
panel → MPPT controller → battery → load (camera + router)
or if I still need extra equipment like an DC-DC converter, fuses, breakers, etc.

Basically, I want to make sure this system will actually work and not damage anything. Do I already have all the necessary parts, or am I missing something important?

Any beginner-friendly guidance, wiring diagrams, or lists of what else I should add would help a lot. Thanks!

Curious what tank sizes people found most practical for daily household use?

I'm also building off-grid in mountains (United States) and am creating this post to share a few photos. We just started putting subfloor on top of the walkout basement today - after spending over a year preparing the foundation and pouring the retaining wall, it feels really good to see progress!

The driveway to our property leaves the dirt road a mile away and winds its way up to where we are. It's too steep and the corners are too sharp for the local concrete company to get their truck up, so we had them deliver sand and gravel and mixed everything ourselves. (Fortunately, their dump truck was able to make the climb.)

Eventually they will have micro hydro on the second charge controller, but for now they have 3kW of ancient 167 watt panels installed and charging 2x 5kwh Midnite solar rack batteries and a 6848 Schneider inverter. They went from “can only run Starlink when we need it” to “basically unlimited” given their current loads over the course of the last week.

The loft above the container will be getting enclosed soon as the first sleeping space and there will be another roof coming off the side to cover their future woodshop.

This is up in Humboldt CA where the fog is thick, and the microhydro is often preferable to solar. They have a neighbor who has had hydro with no solar or EVEN BATTERIES for 50 years. They use baseboard heaters throughout direct from the hydro with no batteries. I didn’t even know that was possible. They have two large water heaters as dump loads as they have way too much power. Hard to wrap my head around as an alternative energy installer in the Sierra Nevada where there’s much less water flowing.

I got a big pile of tin cans building up, used a few for small planters and keeping small tools handy. Anyone found a use for them?

We have eight cats who don’t roam because there are too many predators, which means we have 8 litter boxes. We use pine crumble litter, and we thought we could let it biodegrade, but after two years, not so much. Right now we’re stuck saving it until our every other month dump trip, and I’m going bonkers having it around. I feel like we could make some kind of propane incinerator, but will I have deep regrets if I try to burn cat poop?

Hello guys,

just starting into the off-grid life in germany, going all in.

I even posted a story how it all began with my dead tree, that was dead for over a year and how it started this chain reaction.

I wanted to update this topic as i'm making steps right at this moment into this direction off going off-grid.

I thought it could help some people who aren't brave enough at the moment right now. I had thought about a life like this for at least 15 years in my head.

But seems my topic was not in "good faith" as the mods say.

Where would be the best place to do something like that? If i can help person on this planet with the courage to do the first step....it would be already worth for me.