Welcome to The Solar Store

Off-grid Solar Power Systems

Off-grid solar power gives people worldwide the electricity to power their homes. In rural America, off-grid solar power makes buying undeveloped land (with no utility power) feasible.

You can build an affordable house and live with all the comforts of a city house powered by the utility—without the electric bill! Off-grid solar systems harness the sun's solar energy and convert it into clean, renewable solar electricity produced by solar cells that power your home.

When the utility company wants to charge you to pull electric lines out to your cabin or rural lot, off-grid power can save you lots of money.

With off-grid power, you are your own electric company. When the sun shines, you store excess electricity in batteries and draw it out later. An off-grid inverter can convert the DC energy from solar panels and batteries into AC electricity, which powers normal appliances like a connected PV system.

Off-grid = freedom. With freedom comes responsibility—responsibility for understanding your power system and for maintaining it.

Planning an Off-Grid Solar Power System

A typical off-grid system consists of solar panels and/or wind turbines that generate electricity. These are connected to a charge controller, which controls the pace at which batteries are recharged and then connected to the battery bank.

You'll also need an off-grid inverter to convert the stored electric current to AC electricity for your home. Unlike solar farms or solar parks tied to the grid, this process operates independently and requires precise design.

Years ago, the high cost and poor reliability of early off-grid systems discouraged many, except for the hardiest pioneers. Today, solar PV technology and solar equipment improvements and the drop in installation costs have made off-grid systems more accessible.

Even families who live near the grid are choosing to go off-grid because of financial incentives, such as reduced utility bills and the potential for a lower carbon footprint. Some may even investigate a power purchase agreement for grid-tied projects, though this setup doesn't apply to off-grid systems.

At The Solar Store, we know that with modern photovoltaic cell improvements, energy-efficient lighting, propane and DC appliances, the cheap price of quality solar kits, and proper system design, you no longer need to rely on backup fossil fuel generators.

In fact, with the use of clean energy, off-grid living has never been more reliable and cheaper over the long term. Our founder has lived off-grid for over ten years and uses the same off-grid products that we recommend to our customers—products designed to reduce long-term upfront costs.

The starting point in planning your system is first to reduce demand. Most people can easily cut their electricity consumption in half. How much electricity you need will influence the size of your system, including the battery bank and solar panel array needed.

Reducing your family's energy consumption through efficient appliances like high-efficiency mini-splits and LED lighting significantly lowers the upfront capital required for the system. Concentrating on reducing energy use before sizing your system will always save you money.

Here are some questions you will need to answer to get started if you would like us to design the right off-grid system for you:

  • List your loads. How many watts per day do you expect your equipment to consume? An off-grid system's most important challenge is balancing your energy consumption with your solar or wind turbine energy supply. There is no easy way around this, so get out a pencil and start listing everything you want to run and how long you usually run it. IE: 5 - 13 watt light bulbs X 5 hours per day = 65 watts. When we say "list your loads," we mean all your loads, from cell phone chargers to hair dryers.
  • How many days without sun or wind do you want to be able to run? (Days of Autonomy 3 days is the normal)
  • What is the largest load you expect to run (Watts / Amps / Volts IE: 240V Well Pump @ 9.5 Amps)
  • What is your budget? First, consider using energy-efficient appliances and lighting, as well as non-electric alternatives such as a wood-burning stove. Every watt you save will help lower the cost of your off-grid system.

We have designed several different pre-designed systems for customers, and these are good starting points for a dialogue on what will work for your needs. Recently, we attended a course on renewable energy systems, and the instructor described off-grid system design as both art and science. There are so many variables.

Please feel free to call, email, or use our quote form at https://thesolarstore.com/quote.php and we can start the process. We design systems for free, so what do you have to lose?

Frequently Asked Questions

How does an off-grid solar power system differ from a grid-tied one?

An off-grid system operates independently of any electricity utility grid, whereas a grid-tied system is connected to the local utility grid. Grid-tied systems allow users to draw power when solar production is low and send excess energy back to the grid. Grid-tied systems can use programs like net metering, which credit users for the electricity they contribute.

In an off-grid system, if you don't have any power left in you battery, then you don't have any power (which is why we recommend you still have a generator for emergencies).

What are the benefits of having batteries in an off-grid solar system?

Batteries allow you to store excess energy generated by your solar system when sunlight isn’t available, like at night or during cloudy days. We typically recommend you have a system built to store multiple days of excess power so your system will still work even if it rains for a few days. This energy storage makes sure you have a consistent power supply even when there are fluctuations in solar generation.

What size solar power system do I need for off-grid living?

The size of your off-grid system depends on your energy consumption, the loads you plan to power, and the amount of sunlight or other renewable energy you can capture in your location. You can calculate this by listing all your appliances and estimating their power needs (in watts) and how many hours per day you plan to use them. Aiming for some excess capacity is important to ensure you have energy reserves.


Twitter
Stumbleupon
Reddit
Pintrest
Newsvine
Linkedin
Google+
Google
Facebook
Digg

QUOTE

  ME

Quote Request