Going off Grid in Western NC (Lansing 28643)

[LazyDragon]

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Wondering if this is actually doable without being a total headache

Given all the other headaches associated with building a house, you should definitely consider if you want to fight the solar battle too.
$15k for the power install is painful, but ultimately a LOT easier.
You can still work toward a future solar install by making good choices for your energy consumption.
Propane is the dirty secret sauce for off-grid living. Having a bunch of propane powered high heat devices like water or home heating is sometimes necessary for a location that is required to be off grid. In your case, off-grid is an economic choice. It will be cheaper, easier and greener to take advantage of the grid and avoid burning propane entirely.

 

[nogridhome]

Chapel Hill N.C., today I consumed 60kw in this heat.
My home is much like your config. I have a 1.5 ton AC that runs all day and much of the night. (Yes, it keeps me cool at 72)
I built mine over time and "off the grid".
Cost me $60k and I did it myself.
GOOD LUCK, ALL THE BEST!!

 

[watchdoc]

Given all the other headaches associated with building a house, you should definitely consider if you want to fight the solar battle too.
$15k for the power install is painful, but ultimately a LOT easier.
You can still work toward a future solar install by making good choices for your energy consumption.
Propane is the dirty secret sauce for off-grid living. Having a bunch of propane powered high heat devices like water or home heating is sometimes necessary for a location that is required to be off grid. In your case, off-grid is an economic choice. It will be cheaper, easier and greener to take advantage of the grid and avoid burning propane entirely.

I have considered just doing a smaller “zero backfeed” system since the net metering policies here are so bad and bite the bullet on the $15k grid connection and focus on the “green” aspect of everything and eliminate propane. Cold climate heat pumps work great up here but heat pump water heaters not so much I’ve been told.

 

[nogridhome]

Given all the other headaches associated with building a house, you should definitely consider if you want to fight the solar battle too.
$15k for the power install is painful, but ultimately a LOT easier.
You can still work toward a future solar install by making good choices for your energy consumption.
Propane is the dirty secret sauce for off-grid living. Having a bunch of propane powered high heat devices like water or home heating is sometimes necessary for a location that is required to be off grid. In your case, off-grid is an economic choice. It will be cheaper, easier and greener to take advantage of the grid and avoid burning propane entirely.

LP for hot water, oven, dryer, furnace. YES!!

 

[JRH]

LP for hot water, oven, dryer, furnace. YES!!

I have ACCESS to all that… I also have access to some solar… I also have access to gas and diesel fired equip., also am fabricating a wood fired generation source for different resources..( No, not a still ) but the idea has crossed my mind.. I use the word Access as it means it is AN option, not ThE only option…
The beauty of propane as a back up and main stay is you can safely store it for unlimited amount of time with no degrading of use or quality, it’s container is compact and can disguised or buried .if you have a 500 or 1000 gallon tank it can supply you for years if prudently used or combined with other fuels sources .
all of my gen sets are dual fuel but have never had gas put in them . They can draw fror the small 20 lb tanks or with a custom hose from the big ones . There are many ways I would like to draw from the possible sources of renewable and finite power , but there is also only so much time and so much money to be able to include all of them.
Versatility of assets and skills is the key to a long term plan for security and efficiency in power access and use … do the most with what you have got to work with and be quiet about it if possible.

 

[NC_hydro]

In the mountains of WNC near Bakersville we use wood hot water heater with great success.