If ground deploying in uk weather is it possible to have enough panels to heat and cook through winter with solar alone?

[Warpspeed]

A generator should be the last thing on the list, panels first.

Not if you need to go 100% off grid IMMEDIATELY in some wild totally remote location.

Not everyone needs to, or can afford to do that.
If transitioning slowly from grid power to eventually being completely off grid, I agree, generator last.

But if six of you camp on a small island, and plan to live there permanently, a generator and a tent may be about all you have for a while.

 

[zgk51]

For heating? With cloudy weather? No.
As others have already said, your solar panels will make anywhere from 1% to 5% of their normal output on dark days. Maybe up to 10% on medium cloudy days.
For anything that requires more heat than toasting 2 pieces of bread once, you need to burn lgp, wood, diesel etc. (burning it directly, rather than powering a generator which wastes 80% of the fuel's energy).

 

[OM617YOTA]

A generator should be the last thing on the list, panels first.

To build from scratch? I'd rather have the generator so I have power to get things built with. The path from "show up on bare site" to "able to power equipment" is astronomically shorter with a generator.

By the same token, unless you're planning to build a solar array 100 to 1000x bigger than will be needed most of the year(and that's not hyperbole or exaggeration), you're going to need the generator at some point anyway.

Unless that creek really pans out for micro hydro. I'd be looking really closely at that. Even a few hundred watts is an enormous help when it's 24/7 and the sun isn't shining.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

unless you're planning to build a solar array 100 to 1000x bigger than will be needed most of the year(and that's not hyperbole or exaggeration), you're going to need the generator at some point anyway

Truth! Amazing to me, however, is that I only spent ~$60 running the generator last winter (mostly Nov&Dec which were clouded like normal) for my 12V system.
Currently running ~2kW of panels, adding a 400W facing SE to get some earlier amps.

The champion inverter-gen I have was on special ~$500 or something and it’s been 100% dependable.

A good running generator at the very least offers security and convenience. Cheap insurance!

 

[Chispas]

Currently running ~2kW of panels, adding a 400W facing SE to get some earlier amps.

Have you got a build thread ?