Advice for taking historic mansion in the country completely off grid

[Nobodybusiness]

Hi, I am restoring an historic mansion out in the country. It currently has access to power thru electric company but the house still has the knob and tube wiring which cannot take much power(I will eventually update wiring in parts of the house so it will handle modern power requirements). I was looking to purchase a portable solar generator for around $2-3k to power my needs for now, like; tv/stereo, pc, power tools, etc. My question is what would be the absolute minimum investment to start a complete off-grid system? I can add batteries,etc. as time goes on. I can hold off on needing more power at the moment because I can do others things with my time in the house, plastering, repointing brick/mortar. I would rather invest my money into a complete system instead of a portable generator, even if it is not up and running. Like I said, I can refrain from using pc, tv., power tools, etc.,etc. for now. I can’t really spend more than $3-5k to begin with but as I stated, l will add to it in the near future. Any help would absolutely be appreciated.

I’m just hesitant to run K&T wiring anywhere.

We have bought and renovated a few homes and always pulled that old stuff out.

You just never know the condition of the insulation or what it’s running through or covered by or whom has been in there splicing and dicing over the years.

 

[Angeltech]

I’m just hesitant to run K&T wiring anywhere.

We have bought and renovated a few homes and always pulled that old stuff out.

You just never know the condition of the insulation or what it’s running through or covered by or whom has been in there splicing and dicing over the years.

The problem is that I am spending a tremendous amount of money at the moment. I had to buy the house out-of-pocket. Bank will not give loans for this type of house. I do not have the thousands it would take to replace the wiring right now. I know the k&t will be fine until I get around to replacing it.

 

[cj5orion]

As a Contractor,30 yrs,Remodels specialty,3 conditions of "historic bldgs",
1- STAY AWAY FROM THEM !
2- The job cost will be 3-4 times the "normal cost"!
³-STAY AWAY FROM THEM !!! THEN__6⁷

 

[Angeltech]

Do a hand cart build like in Will's videos and get ~6-8 400W panels. If you went with Signature Solar it would be a EG4-3000W AIO ($700), a EG4-LL 5kWh battery ($1,400) and 10 Canadian Solar 400W panels ($2,000). (They sell minimum of 10 panels.) Build a wood frame temporarily for a ground mount for the panels. Make it so you can take the panels inside if heavy wind is expected.

Thank you for the help. What you suggested is something I was looking to start with and I can then add to it as time goes by.

 

[Bluedog225]

But read a few signature solar customer reviews here before making the purchase.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

The problem is that I am spending a tremendous amount of money at the moment. I had to buy the house out-of-pocket. Bank will not give loans for this type of house. I do not have the thousands it would take to replace the wiring right now.

Yup that’s the problem with Historic homes.
You have to have the $$$ to renovate them and maintain them.
Make sure you get good insurance.

 

[Angeltech]

As a Contractor,30 yrs,Remodels specialty,3 conditions of "historic bldgs",
1- STAY AWAY FROM THEM !
2- The job cost will be 3-4 times the "normal cost"!
³-STAY AWAY FROM THEM !!! THEN__6⁷

I can do 95% of the work myself and the house is structurally sound. I plan on spending the next few years working on it full time. This house is special and worth restoring. It is 1 of only 8 places on the historic register in the entire county where it is located. It has it’s own Wikipedia page and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. It sits on 6 acres w/ a creek and has the original barns from the 1850’s. The main barn is the largest and oldest in the county and maybe one of the oldest in the state. Definitely worth the hard work.

 

[cj5orion]

I can do 95% of the work myself and the house is structurally sound. I plan on spending the next few years working on it full time. This house is special and worth restoring. It is 1 of only 8 places on the historic register in the entire county where it is located. It has it’s own Wikipedia page and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. It sits on 6 acres w/ a creek and has the original barns from the 1850’s. The main barn is the largest and oldest in the county and maybe one of the oldest in the state. Definitely worth the hard work.

?????

 

[cj5orion]

I'm looking forward to futu5lre post. About this ! Ill leave it where it is...for now do

 

[Angeltech]

I will have a YouTube channel showing the restoration.

 

[Angeltech]

But read a few signature solar customer reviews here before making the purchase.

Will do, thanks

 

[Supervstech]

The problem is that I am spending a tremendous amount of money at the moment. I had to buy the house out-of-pocket. Bank will not give loans for this type of house. I do not have the thousands it would take to replace the wiring right now. I know the k&t will be fine until I get around to replacing it.

Be smart about this though.

Get the K&T circuits on afci breakers.
That way you will know if any are leaking current into the frame of the house.

Combination afci/gfci protection is even better, and can save you if plumbing gets energized.

 

[SparkyGage]

I can do 95% of the work myself and the house is structurally sound. I plan on spending the next few years working on it full time. This house is special and worth restoring. It is 1 of only 8 places on the historic register in the entire county where it is located. It has it’s own Wikipedia page and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. It sits on 6 acres w/ a creek and has the original barns from the 1850’s. The main barn is the largest and oldest in the county and maybe one of the oldest in the state. Definitely worth the hard work.

As a computer geek whose tries to DIY everything in my house for the last 30 years, can I through out a few ideas? (this is getting outside of the solar, but relates. All suggestestions are based soley on what's been mentioned in this thread and should be evaluated against the millions of other things that have to be considered.)

1. For lighting, skip the whole "light in the center of the ceiling in every room". It's a bad design idea and just blinds everyone in the room at night. If this house was built pre-electric, just use floor and table lamps. This saves you the headache of wiring ceilings unless you need a fan. Light REFLECTING off the white ceiling and walls is easier on the eyes. A light source from directly above or the side is better for reading (try to read in bed with nothing but the ceiling fan light instead of a light from a nightstand.) Just a thought.

2. Design your room before you put in electric. Design it for yourself, and then anticipate the next guy (you won't live forever, sorry) and how would that room likely get used. Do you really want an outlet behind a bed or under a window? If you do, great. Just try to eliminate the outlets in the pointless locations and if possible move ones that always require an extension cord. Since you are keeping this house "historic" that should actually simplify much as you are not likely to need outlets every 8 feet.

3. Crown molding is a cheap and effective way to hide a lot. A lot of wires, a lot of gaps, a lot of misalignments, etc. It also looks nice. It also can be used for UpLighting. "Decorative Trim" is a cover up: it covers the plain and it covers the ugly. Use it to your advantage.

4. Something I haven't seen mentioned exactly, but I would consider (hopefully someone with more experience will chime in): The smaller the systems, the closer you want the solar panels to the battery and inverter. Line loss is a thing. If you have an outbuilding that gets power FROM the house, you might put your system there and create a circuit that feeds power TO the house. Might make for a more aesthetically pleasing and optimal install of panels. Say if you had a well house or small shed, place panels and system there and use the line to feed power back to the house (THIS IS NOT A PLUG AND PLAY SUGGESTION AND WOULD REQUIRE REDESIGN OF SEVERAL CIRCUITS ON BOTH BUILDINGS).

Please post your YouTube channel!

 

[Angeltech]

As a computer geek whose tries to DIY everything in my house for the last 30 years, can I through out a few ideas? (this is getting outside of the solar, but relates. All suggestestions are based soley on what's been mentioned in this thread and should be evaluated against the millions of other things that have to be considered.)

1. For lighting, skip the whole "light in the center of the ceiling in every room". It's a bad design idea and just blinds everyone in the room at night. If this house was built pre-electric, just use floor and table lamps. This saves you the headache of wiring ceilings unless you need a fan. Light REFLECTING off the white ceiling and walls is easier on the eyes. A light source from directly above or the side is better for reading (try to read in bed with nothing but the ceiling fan light instead of a light from a nightstand.) Just a thought.

2. Design your room before you put in electric. Design it for yourself, and then anticipate the next guy (you won't live forever, sorry) and how would that room likely get used. Do you really want an outlet behind a bed or under a window? If you do, great. Just try to eliminate the outlets in the pointless locations and if possible move ones that always require an extension cord. Since you are keeping this house "historic" that should actually simplify much as you are not likely to need outlets every 8 feet.

3. Crown molding is a cheap and effective way to hide a lot. A lot of wires, a lot of gaps, a lot of misalignments, etc. It also looks nice. It also can be used for UpLighting. "Decorative Trim" is a cover up: it covers the plain and it covers the ugly. Use it to your advantage.

4. Something I haven't seen mentioned exactly, but I would consider (hopefully someone with more experience will chime in): The smaller the systems, the closer you want the solar panels to the battery and inverter. Line loss is a thing. If you have an outbuilding that gets power FROM the house, you might put your system there and create a circuit that feeds power TO the house. Might make for a more aesthetically pleasing and optimal install of panels. Say if you had a well house or small shed, place panels and system there and use the line to feed power back to the house (THIS IS NOT A PLUG AND PLAY SUGGESTION AND WOULD REQUIRE REDESIGN OF SEVERAL CIRCUITS ON BOTH BUILDINGS).

Please post your YouTube channel!

I was out of town so that is why I haven’t responded. Thanks for the help.

 

[Angeltech]

Be smart about this though.

Get the K&T circuits on afci breakers.
That way you will know if any are leaking current into the frame of the house.

Combination afci/gfci protection is even better, and can save you if plumbing gets energized.

Thank you, I will look into it.

 

[cj5orion]

I was out of town so that is why I haven’t responded. Thanks for the help.

This is a good thread to give thought/time to...