LakeHouseLiving
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2022
- Messages
- 2
Hello All,
Newly registered member, looking for some input/system information to help determine pathway for power solution on our island property.
Backstory as to how we get where we are today:
We have an island property on a lake in New Hampshire. Small 1 room cabin, nothing large or fancy. Property was built circa 1980. At that time, it was connected to grid power via underwater power cable from the neighboring island property. Approximately 5-6 years ago, the neighboring property underwent extensive renovations when it changed ownership. They upgraded all their buildings/electrical service. At that time, the municipal power company deemed that the connection line from their property to ours was no longer up to code, and disconnected our service. Seemingly, even though we were not renovating/changing anything, it wasn't grandfathered, and we've been without power since.
This brings us to the question of both cost and convenience as we decide what path to take on restoring power to the property.
As we are now fully disconnected from the grid, we can effectively consider it "off-grid".
Considerations/usage plan:
The question/concern about moving to solar power is functional space/ability to size a system suitably for usage without having to "conservatively" use the systems we need.
Basic Information regarding system installation option/details
First, I'll say thank you, if you made it this far.
A working refrigerator and toilet are the essentials.
Too many years of hauling coolers and ice out to the island for a weekend... time to get back to being able to put things in a fridge.
The Incinolet toilet is critical, for the simple fact we don't want to have to keep emptying marine head tanks at the end of every weekend.
Obviously those 2 items are the primary power consumers.
Questions -
Am I correct in interpreting this to indicate that we would need ~3,000W system to run what we're looking at for consumption needs?
24v battery setup, if used with an appropriate inverter, can it be connected to the 120V wiring system that is present in the cabin already?
The refrigerator spec'd above (Link) is designed for either 12v or 24v - so can the electrical system be wired to allow 24V power to the fridge, and also provide power to the 120V system?
What I'm ultimately trying to identify is, if the conversion to utilize solar is going to cost for example ~$20k between Solar system, compatible refrigerator, battery bank... and grid power "only" costs us $30k, does it make "sense" to go through the work to install the solar setup. So really I'm trying to understand what size system we need, so I can begin to price out suitable solutions.
Average monthly electrical bill at the property prior to disconnect was $35, so monthly operational cost was not a concern...
Any insight/words of wisdom/guidance is appreciated.
-Chris
Newly registered member, looking for some input/system information to help determine pathway for power solution on our island property.
Backstory as to how we get where we are today:
We have an island property on a lake in New Hampshire. Small 1 room cabin, nothing large or fancy. Property was built circa 1980. At that time, it was connected to grid power via underwater power cable from the neighboring island property. Approximately 5-6 years ago, the neighboring property underwent extensive renovations when it changed ownership. They upgraded all their buildings/electrical service. At that time, the municipal power company deemed that the connection line from their property to ours was no longer up to code, and disconnected our service. Seemingly, even though we were not renovating/changing anything, it wasn't grandfathered, and we've been without power since.
This brings us to the question of both cost and convenience as we decide what path to take on restoring power to the property.
As we are now fully disconnected from the grid, we can effectively consider it "off-grid".
Considerations/usage plan:
- We typically only use the property on weekends - possibly arriving late in the day Friday, leaving Sunday afternoon/evenings.
- Property is Spring/Summer use only, not used in cool weather/winter.
- As its an island property, and most of the entertainment comes from enjoying the water/swimming/boating, again we typically are only on property when the weather is nice (IE: Sunny weather).
- No TV's/DVDs/Computers
- Music is all Bluetooth speakers connected to phones - charged offsite before coming to the property
- Propane grill is used for all cooking
- Propane water heater is used for hot water/showers
- Bathroom - as we are an island property, we do not have/cannot have a normal waste system like a storage tank/leach field. We have an Incinolet Toilet, which is one of the large power draws, to incinerate the solids.
- Our electrical needs are "basic" in my opinion if I look at our total usage/needs - see chart below
- The property is already fully wired with breaker panel from when it was grid connected
The question/concern about moving to solar power is functional space/ability to size a system suitably for usage without having to "conservatively" use the systems we need.
Basic Information regarding system installation option/details
- Azimuth Angle of 180* (East Facing)
- Approximate Solar Radiation (May-September) - 5.62 hours/day
- 39.8 degree tilt for roof mounted panels
First, I'll say thank you, if you made it this far.
A working refrigerator and toilet are the essentials.
Too many years of hauling coolers and ice out to the island for a weekend... time to get back to being able to put things in a fridge.
The Incinolet toilet is critical, for the simple fact we don't want to have to keep emptying marine head tanks at the end of every weekend.
Obviously those 2 items are the primary power consumers.
Questions -
Am I correct in interpreting this to indicate that we would need ~3,000W system to run what we're looking at for consumption needs?
24v battery setup, if used with an appropriate inverter, can it be connected to the 120V wiring system that is present in the cabin already?
The refrigerator spec'd above (Link) is designed for either 12v or 24v - so can the electrical system be wired to allow 24V power to the fridge, and also provide power to the 120V system?
What I'm ultimately trying to identify is, if the conversion to utilize solar is going to cost for example ~$20k between Solar system, compatible refrigerator, battery bank... and grid power "only" costs us $30k, does it make "sense" to go through the work to install the solar setup. So really I'm trying to understand what size system we need, so I can begin to price out suitable solutions.
Average monthly electrical bill at the property prior to disconnect was $35, so monthly operational cost was not a concern...
Any insight/words of wisdom/guidance is appreciated.
-Chris