Please Excuse My Ignorance. New home build. Off Grid

Good day.

I am in the process of building a new home 3b 2 bath 1800 sq ft in eastern Kentucky. Power company quoted 46000 to run electric. Now, I plan on wiring the home myself, as I know how to run wiring, install breakers, etc... 13kw system to me seems large enough, with enough battery back up I am assuming.

1. Is it possible to go off grid for less than this?
Home will have LP Range, LP water heater, LP dryer, all led lights will be used. Wood burning stove for winter heat and mini split hvac for summer.
2. Is the EG4, LiFeP04 setup on Will's site diy capable?
3. How difficult is ground mounting?

Thank you.

Bill Ding Homes said:

Good day.

I am in the process of building a new home 3b 2 bath 1800 sq ft in eastern Kentucky. Power company quoted 46000 to run electric. Now, I plan on wiring the home myself, as I know how to run wiring, install breakers, etc... 13kw system to me seems large enough, with enough battery back up I am assuming.

1. Is it possible to go off grid for less than this?
Home will have LP Range, LP water heater, LP dryer, all led lights will be used. Wood burning stove for winter heat and mini split hvac for summer.
2. Is the EG4, LiFeP04 setup on Will's site diy capable?
3. How difficult is ground mounting?

Thank you.

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Yes you can do it for less than the power company want to run grid 46k
the eg4 inverters and batteries will work fine as well
the main issue is cloudy days and batteries with no grid avbl to help charge

I have 2 lv6548 inverters and 12kw solar off grid with 6 eg4 batteries. my system with ground mounts probably cost about 25k doing it all diy

if I were in a no grid situation I would want double my batts and as close to 20kw of panels as I could afford.
12 batts would be about 18k cost, just for batts. cloudy days are a killer
all in, you could do a heck of a system for about 10 grand less than the power co wants and never have another bill

Texican said:

Yes you can do it for less than the power company want to run grid 46k
the eg4 inverters and batteries will work fine as well
the main issue is cloudy days and batteries with no grid avbl to help charge

I have 2 lv6548 inverters and 12kw solar off grid with 6 eg4 batteries. my system with ground mounts probably cost about 25k doing it all diy

if I were in a no grid situation I would want double my batts and as close to 20kw of panels as I could afford.
12 batts would be about 18k cost, just for batts. cloudy days are a killer
all in, you could do a heck of a system for about 10 grand less than the power co wants and never have another bill

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Awesome! I also plan to have generator backup as well but i am confused as to how i would charge the batteries with a non inverted generator. Any ideas

Also, its very windy where we are building. Any thoughts on attaching a turbine as another charging source?

I have 8kw panels (roof), Sol-ark 15k inverter, 25kWh SOK battery rack, and installation/permits. My OOP is $20k (30K with 10K federal credit). I would imagine you can do it for much less than $46k

Just saw over on Ebay a decent deal on a pallet of used 30 - 240w panels with free shipping. That would go a long way to covering a persons needs once all set up. $2600

Bill Ding Homes said:

Also, its very windy where we are building. Any thoughts on attaching a turbine as another charging source?

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There are ways to have a wind turbine connect and charge the batteries that are connected to the inverter.

Bill Ding Homes said:

Awesome! I also plan to have generator backup as well but i am confused as to how i would charge the batteries with a non inverted generator. Any ideas

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The inverter you pick will need to be able to connect to a generator source. Most have a grid connection that could be used as the input from a generator.

Solar Zig said:

The inverter you pick will need to be able to connect to a generator source. Most have a grid connection that could be used as the input from a generator.

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So i would wire the dc generator into the inverter as i would the grid tie? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

Bill Ding Homes said:

So i would wire the dc generator into the inverter as i would the grid tie? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

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The gas generator (stationary LP or portable gas, etc) would be 240v or 120v AC output. You can charge your batteries and/or provide to your loads during low PV (solar) or low battery storage.

Solar Zig said:

The gas generator (stationary LP or portable gas, etc) would be 240v or 120v AC output. You can charge your batteries and/or provide to your loads during low PV (solar) or low battery storage.

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How would i do that? With a extension cord?

BTW, do not forget your well pump (if you are putting in a well I would suggest getting a solar friendly well pump such as Grundfos SQFlex) in your load calculations especially startup current demands.

I am thinking of doing a standalone well with its own batteries and panels. But i will look at the one you suggested. Thank you very much for all these answers

while you are designing your house, consider that if you get enough panels & batts for cloudy days, then there will be many other days where you have charged up the batts and covering your loads but still have excess power avbl. you will ALWAYS be paying for propane, but many time you will have excess free electric avbl, maybe reconsider the propane water heater ? not sure how much power an elec stove or dryer uses..
best advise is to have avbl OPTIONS
if you go propane on the water heater maybe consider tankless ?

I also would advise not putting any money into wind power. So long as you have adequate sun exposure solar power should be a better bet.

Since you are new construction it is a ideal time to setup your electrical system so that wiring in generators, AIO's and any anticipated future expansion plans can be done. It is always a bit more of a pain to add to a previous home setup that did not anticipate alternative energy supplies. Along with the electrical system you might design in a special room that houses batteries, panels AIO's and your mechanical systems. If you centralize it in the building with a entrance door from outside it could prove rather handy.

Bill Ding Homes said:

How would i do that? With a extension cord?

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A stationary generator would be hard wired to inverter just like an appliance or through a transfer switch if you wish. A portable generator would use a cord to a hardwired inlet (30a or 50a 240v) then on to a transfer switch/inverter.

According to most sources, heating water accounts for around 20 percent of your utility bill. That makes it the second-biggest energy expense in the home (behind heating and cooling). Given that, it deserves some serious consideration, especially in your case where you are building your own house and can design and install a great system up front.

My hot water system costs me virtually nothing each year in utility costs. My primary source for hot water comes from a DIY Solar Drain Back System. This is a very cost effective (long term) way to produce hot water. It is closed loop and consists of (2) water heating panels on the roof, an 80 gallon indirect water storage tank, a 20 gallon drain back tank, all connected with insulated copper piping and a 12V pump that circulates the water with a simple (delta style) controller. It cost more to set up initially but the pay back can be very quick.

This system is stand alone and powered by a 100W solar panel and a homemade 18650 Li-ion (30 cal. ammo can) battery. We have virtually unlimited hot water year round. It is backed up by a (thermostatically controlled) tankless propane water heater but it has hardly been needed in the last 6 years this system has been operating.

Key to making it work efficiently, is allowing your hot water tank to get much hotter than the water you want at the taps by installing an auto-mixing (tempering) valve at the tank output. This way you can set your solar controller to allow your tank to get up to 185F (at the top of the tank) and then have the tempering valve mix it down to 120F at the output allowing you to store a lot more heat in that tank. This will carry you through a cloudy day or two. My tank also has a place to install an electric heater element (that could be run off of excess solar) but I do not need it.

Also, I second the recommendation for the Grundfos SQFlex pumps. They are designed for running (stand alone) off alternative energy sources (solar and wind).