living off grid

[allthegearandnoidea]

Hi All
Spent a week looking around parts of country Victoria for a small rural property to retire on. Some had no ready access to power and estate agents said off grid power was no problem these days with solar/wind and batteries. Is this right? Anyone living the dream? Or is is just a dream still?

Cheers

[TassieTiger]

I’ve literally just finished building a shack that is well deep into the Bush and 100% off grid.

In fact, I’ve got 6 x IP cameras and an NVR on site watching the place, a modem and ultra high gain Yagi antenna reporting to me if anyone goes near the freakin place.

There are several items that do not do well off grid - fridges, reverse cycle air con, elec heaters in general...
Of course, money being no object - anything can be done...and I set up a 450l fridge to run on solar as an experiment/ learning curve...I had to keep throwing parts until it worked.

It really depends how big you want to go, your budget, etc - but certainly, weekenders and similar are reasonably cost effective.

[Oldbloke]

Think caravans. Heaps run off grid.
LPG & 12v solar. Between the 2 you can do it. The hard ones are;
Fridges...go gas
Washing machine....hand washing. Lol
Cooling.....12v fan or generator

Easy ones;
Lighting. TV, radio, hot water, wood heater

[DownunderDutchman]

I built a trailer some years ago so when I go bush I can still have most of the mod cons, sure it is tricky running an air con, but have plenty of 12v solar panels to run a 12v fridge/freezer and lights, recharge anything that uses batteries. So if you apply solar to a dwelling, have enough batteries to store that power living off grid is very doable. If for some reason I would have to leave my country town and move off grid in the bush I am sure my 500w solar trailer would do just fine, heating comes from a homemade stove that uses wood, fridge/freezer runs 24/7 so keeping bushtucker fresh is no problem. I have looked at off grid air con via YouTube and it is doable, but not something I worry about. My trailer is just big enough to sleep in but is set up to carry all my gear. I bought an old trailer some time ago and will start on that next, it will be longer, wider and a bit higher, more like a mini house on a trailer that goes where my Jeep goes, again will have around 500w of solar, but no hot water, no air con or washing machine, but will have a stove inside as it does get cold here in eastern Victoria. I also invested in 18v power tools, Ryobi makes lots of great gear and they make a 12v charger to keep my chainsaw going, have plenty of other offgrid 18v tools.

Offgrid living is very doable, but does take some work. If you can pick up an old shipping container as a base to start with, or get a caravan and add 12v (or 24v) into that. When it comes to water I rely on rain water as I don't trust what comes from the tap where my house is now. Where I go bush there is so much to live off, I park my trailer and the bush provides what I need. The only thing I really miss is hot water on demand and my split system air con.

[Ecobogan]

I live off grid mate, albeit in a pretty basic cabin. Depends on what your needs are but the batteries are the biggest expense in my experience. I'm running a 24v 800ah battery pack through a 3 kw inverter and 8x240w panels, 80amp controller.
Runs the whole deal which is really just the fridge, washing machine, water pump, lights and general domestic plug ins. But you have to time when you use what to a degree.
Never had to charge off the Genny and it's been reliable for 4 years now. Relentless deal shopping should be able to build a set up like mine for a couple/few grand.
I live between Castlemaine and Daylesford, you're more than welcome to drop by to check it out if you're in the area

[TassieTiger]

Wish you blokes lived closer, I occasionally get very, very large banks of batteries that are sometimes only 4-5 years old and have hardly ever been depleted...gave away a 2 x banks of 1320ah couple weeks ago and I’ve got 14 x 12v 212ah bats coming mid month...
The best regulators I’ve found for the money are Rnergy...not cheap, but ex value, and allow for proper gauge cabling.

I’ve also recently picked up a digital 12v thermostat for $7 on ebY - brilliant little device, turns on a 12v cooling fan of temps exceed 45 in battery box. (NVR is running 24/7 creating a lot of heat as does the 2000w inverter).

It’s good fun playing with off grid elecs - just ask Q’s.

[meawls]

Interesting .... we’ve had an off grid system for nearly 14 years. 8 X 165W (they were considered “big” back then!!) panels, 3.5kw inverter, 24 X 2V 830 amp batteries. We were blown away by the efficiency of the system - the house is massive two storey (5 family members) and is filled with all normal appliances including stock standard large fridge/freezer. After a few months we even shouted ourselves a dishwasher - something we were led to believe couldn’t work in our application, such was the potential of the system. All you need to do is run it at a time of high solar input.

The only concessions you’ll need to make are a gas stove/oven (we prefer these anyway), solar HWS of course, and being prepared to run the genny if you need to boost the water ... unless you opt for gas boosting.

Pricing is less now than then, and you’d get much higher capacity panels as well. We’re still on the same batteries, but they will need replacing in the next few months.

It’s a huge thumbs up from us - we only joined the grid 8 years ago so we could put 81 panels on our roof (yep - you read right!!) and export the power at 54c per kw. But other than that we would have very happily remained off grid forever. Just make sure you assess your likely energy needs very thoroughly and size the system accordingly .... this is where many folks come to grief.

[bladeracer]

We've considered it, and I discussed it last week with a guy who is off-grid, but I can't see it being a 100% solution, we'd still need generators to run some stuff. Which makes the initial, and ongoing costs less attractive. Batteries are hugely expensive and require replacing. I'm still leaning more toward a big diesel generator rather than solar and batteries. I saw a rabbit farm that runs off a Scania truck engine that turns a big alternator. Use solar to store enough power to fire up the generator on demand.

A neighbour is building a new place that is off-grid so we want to discuss his setup with him.

[TassieTiger]

Interesting .... we’ve had an off grid system for nearly 14 years. 8 X 165W (they were considered “big” back then!!) panels, 3.5kw inverter, 24 X 2V 830 amp batteries. We were blown away by the efficiency of the system - the house is massive two storey (5 family members) and is filled with all normal appliances including stock standard large fridge/freezer. After a few months we even shouted ourselves a dishwasher - something we were led to believe couldn’t work in our application, such was the potential of the system. All you need to do is run it at a time of high solar input.

The only concessions you’ll need to make are a gas stove/oven (we prefer these anyway), solar HWS of course, and being prepared to run the genny if you need to boost the water ... unless you opt for gas boosting.

Pricing is less now than then, and you’d get much higher capacity panels as well. We’re still on the same batteries, but they will need replacing in the next few months.

It’s a huge thumbs up from us - we only joined the grid 8 years ago so we could put 81 panels on our roof (yep - you read right!!) and export the power at 54c per kw. But other than that we would have very happily remained off grid forever. Just make sure you assess your likely energy needs very thoroughly and size the system accordingly .... this is where many folks come to grief.

Your reselling at 54c per kWh?? Wtf?? Where the heck are you and what is retail costs per kWh? If that was the case here(54c), our only electricity provider in the state would be broke...everyone would go solar and make $$$
We are selling at only 6c per kw and buying back at night at 29c....it’s a rort down here.
In Tas, we can only bank on 2-3 kWh per day on average so many systems kick it up with a wind turbine....these are getting much better and efficient at cold stop, to start up...biggest issue with the wind turbines is over/excess charging / internal brake failures(if they have them) in high winds with gusts...if you tune them to spin hard at 5klm winds, they literally take off in 65kmh gusts...

[Ecobogan]

Wish you blokes lived closer, I occasionally get very, very large banks of batteries that are sometimes only 4-5 years old and have hardly ever been depleted...gave away a 2 x banks of 1320ah couple weeks ago and I’ve got 14 x 12v 212ah bats coming mid month...
The best regulators I’ve found for the money are Rnergy...not cheap, but ex value, and allow for proper gauge cabling.

I’ve also recently picked up a digital 12v thermostat for $7 on ebY - brilliant little device, turns on a 12v cooling fan of temps exceed 45 in battery box. (NVR is running 24/7 creating a lot of heat as does the 2000w inverter).

It’s good fun playing with off grid elecs - just ask Q’s.

WHAAAT!! Gave away 2 1320ah battery banks!? I don't live that far away! I'm putting together a pretty big solar set up for the workshop would be interested in what you could get hold of.
I bought an elec converted '81 Datsun Ute with a 19kwh nissan leaf battery (300hp motor will go in the buggy and car sold as a roller) that'll power the workshop but am considering running the lighting off a separate system.
Def keep me in the loop if that's ok

[Ecobogan]

We've considered it, and I discussed it last week with a guy who is off-grid, but I can't see it being a 100% solution, we'd still need generators to run some stuff. Which makes the initial, and ongoing costs less attractive. Batteries are hugely expensive and require replacing. I'm still leaning more toward a big diesel generator rather than solar and batteries. I saw a rabbit farm that runs off a Scania truck engine that turns a big alternator. Use solar to store enough power to fire up the generator on demand.

A neighbour is building a new place that is off-grid so we want to discuss his setup with him.

Yes, battery technology on the market is still pretty infantile and I'll most likely need the 15kw Genny for the 3 phase gear.
I've been doing some research into this, more for direct injection and not common rail motors

https://usfiltermaxx.com/en/content/9-make-black-diesel

[bladeracer]

Interesting .... we’ve had an off grid system for nearly 14 years. 8 X 165W (they were considered “big” back then!!) panels, 3.5kw inverter, 24 X 2V 830 amp batteries. We were blown away by the efficiency of the system - the house is massive two storey (5 family members) and is filled with all normal appliances including stock standard large fridge/freezer. After a few months we even shouted ourselves a dishwasher - something we were led to believe couldn’t work in our application, such was the potential of the system. All you need to do is run it at a time of high solar input.

The only concessions you’ll need to make are a gas stove/oven (we prefer these anyway), solar HWS of course, and being prepared to run the genny if you need to boost the water ... unless you opt for gas boosting.

Pricing is less now than then, and you’d get much higher capacity panels as well. We’re still on the same batteries, but they will need replacing in the next few months.

It’s a huge thumbs up from us - we only joined the grid 8 years ago so we could put 81 panels on our roof (yep - you read right!!) and export the power at 54c per kw. But other than that we would have very happily remained off grid forever. Just make sure you assess your likely energy needs very thoroughly and size the system accordingly .... this is where many folks come to grief.

Your reselling at 54c per kWh?? Wtf?? Where the heck are you and what is retail costs per kWh? If that was the case here(54c), our only electricity provider in the state would be broke...everyone would go solar and make $$$
We are selling at only 6c per kw and buying back at night at 29c....it’s a rort down here.
In Tas, we can only bank on 2-3 kWh per day on average so many systems kick it up with a wind turbine....these are getting much better and efficient at cold stop, to start up...biggest issue with the wind turbines is over/excess charging / internal brake failures(if they have them) in high winds with gusts...if you tune them to spin hard at 5klm winds, they literally take off in 65kmh gusts...

Here in the LaTrobe Valley, where they generate Victoria's power, we're paying 40c per kWh, just over $3000 for the year.

[TassieTiger]

Wish you blokes lived closer, I occasionally get very, very large banks of batteries that are sometimes only 4-5 years old and have hardly ever been depleted...gave away a 2 x banks of 1320ah couple weeks ago and I’ve got 14 x 12v 212ah bats coming mid month...
The best regulators I’ve found for the money are Rnergy...not cheap, but ex value, and allow for proper gauge cabling.

I’ve also recently picked up a digital 12v thermostat for $7 on ebY - brilliant little device, turns on a 12v cooling fan of temps exceed 45 in battery box. (NVR is running 24/7 creating a lot of heat as does the 2000w inverter).

It’s good fun playing with off grid elecs - just ask Q’s.

WHAAAT!! Gave away 2 1320ah battery banks!? I don't live that far away! I'm putting together a pretty big solar set up for the workshop would be interested in what you could get hold of.
I bought an elec converted '81 Datsun Ute with a 19kwh nissan leaf battery (300hp motor will go in the buggy and car sold as a roller) that'll power the workshop but am considering running the lighting off a separate system.
Def keep me in the loop if that's ok

Not a problem at all - but those 1320ah banks were 3 x 4v cells and each cell weighed approx 120kg...I get 6 x 2v cells with each 2v cell being 220ah but again, each 2v battery is 50kgs!!! So 300kgs for the 12v system is crazy...
If you have a way of getting the batts from A Hobart depot to your place - pm me and I’ll sort you out with something... The Concorde 12v 212ah are in use everywhere in my industry and the larger businesses(petroleum, comms, etc) have to change our the banks well inside 50% maintenance windows...these are guaranteed 20+ years and some are coming out at 5 years...when they are in banks of 8 or 10, if one batt falls out of spec for xxx reason, they’ll often change out the entire bank - won’t risk a potential revisit. They won’t do load tests, - it’s crazy.

If your running lighting, id consider staying with 12v lighting rather than inverting to 240 as losses are a pain...but then cabling has to be a consideration depending on size.

[Sergeant Hartman]

Hey blade you definitely need to try and get a couple of quoted, i know prices are rather high in east Gippsland but still 40c that's exe

[straightshooter]

I have a very modest setup in a shed that was initiated 20+ years ago when things were a little different.
Heating is from wood
Cooking and hot water is gas
60 L fridge, 600w inverter for entertainment and lighting is solar / battery
The biggest improvement came from converting halogen lighting to led.
I estimate I have about a week of fridge in cloudy weather if I forego entertainment and some lighting.
I am on my third set of lead acid deep cycle batteries, 4x12v 100aH in an isolated parallel setup so effectively 12v 400aH, probably due to intermittent under use and not to over discharge.
If I decide to upgrade things for more frequent occupation then I would of course go for more solar and likely use NiFe cells. There is currently too much unproven hype regarding LiPo4 cells for any long term trust in reliability although they do look very promising.
The biggest drawback of lead acid battery banks is a lack of balanced charging of each individual cell and the bigger the bank (ie; higher the voltage) then potentially the worse is the problem.
With NiFe the problem doesn't exist and in LiPo4 the problem is taken care of with electronics.

[meawls]

Your reselling at 54c per kWh?? Wtf?? Where the heck are you and what is retail costs per kWh? If that was the case here(54c), our only electricity provider in the state would be broke...everyone would go solar and make $$$
We are selling at only 6c per kw and buying back at night at 29c....it’s a rort down here.
In Tas, we can only bank on 2-3 kWh per day on average so many systems kick it up with a wind turbine....these are getting much better and efficient at cold stop, to start up...biggest issue with the wind turbines is over/excess charging / internal brake failures(if they have them) in high winds with gusts...if you tune them to spin hard at 5klm winds, they literally take off in 65kmh gusts...[/quote]


G’day Tassie, SE QLD. The arrangement here was a minimum gov’t initiated 44c feed in tariff (FIT) with retailers free to set whatever final pricing they wanted. We commenced with Origin who paid 50c, then switched to AGL @ 52c. Predictably the scheme was massively oversubscribed, and it was withdrawn for new subscribers fairly quickly probably around 2012 ... however the original punters had the scheme set for review in 2026 I think.

I’m not sure what QLD’s FIT is now, but I see introductory deals being offered by retailers of the 20c ... and sometimes a little better mark. A few years back there was a lot of political upheaval in QLD, and around that time we got a letter from AGL ... we thought “hello ... they’re finally cutting out the scheme a decade early” - but we nearly fell over when we discovered it was them actually INCREASING the subsidy from 52 to 54c!! Couldn’t believe our eyes!!

I think the logic is that it’s cheaper for them to buy sustainable power from consumers than to invest in renewable infrastructure to on-sell to consumers opting into “green power” for their electricity accounts. Can’t see any other logic in it!!

Our consumption rate is a set 25.5c, with no access to off peak or other concessions.

[Bill]

Think caravans. Heaps run off grid.
LPG & 12v solar. Between the 2 you can do it. The hard ones are;
Fridges...go gas
Washing machine....hand washing. Lol
Cooling.....12v fan or generator

Easy ones;
Lighting. TV, radio, hot water, wood heater

Nailed it, with council restrictions on sub 100 acre blocks up here, only sheds can be erected and living in a Caravan gets you into a bit of comfort.

With low interest rates seeming to be a permanent thing I'm now looking for a block not too far from a fishable dam (3-3.hr from Sydney)

[bladeracer]

Nailed it, with council restrictions on sub 100 acre blocks up here, only sheds can be erected and living in a Caravan gets you into a bit of comfort.

With low interest rates seeming to be a permanent thing I'm now looking for a block not too far from a fishable dam (3-3.hr from Sydney)

We have the 100acre minimum down here as well now to try to cut the urban sprawl stealing the farmland. We buy hay from a couple that bought 50ac decades ago to retire to but now they can't build on it.

[Ecobogan]

Wish you blokes lived closer, I occasionally get very, very large banks of batteries that are sometimes only 4-5 years old and have hardly ever been depleted...gave away a 2 x banks of 1320ah couple weeks ago and I’ve got 14 x 12v 212ah bats coming mid month...
The best regulators I’ve found for the money are Rnergy...not cheap, but ex value, and allow for proper gauge cabling.

I’ve also recently picked up a digital 12v thermostat for $7 on ebY - brilliant little device, turns on a 12v cooling fan of temps exceed 45 in battery box. (NVR is running 24/7 creating a lot of heat as does the 2000w inverter).

It’s good fun playing with off grid elecs - just ask Q’s.

WHAAAT!! Gave away 2 1320ah battery banks!? I don't live that far away! I'm putting together a pretty big solar set up for the workshop would be interested in what you could get hold of.
I bought an elec converted '81 Datsun Ute with a 19kwh nissan leaf battery (300hp motor will go in the buggy and car sold as a roller) that'll power the workshop but am considering running the lighting off a separate system.
Def keep me in the loop if that's ok

Not a problem at all - but those 1320ah banks were 3 x 4v cells and each cell weighed approx 120kg...I get 6 x 2v cells with each 2v cell being 220ah but again, each 2v battery is 50kgs!!! So 300kgs for the 12v system is crazy...
If you have a way of getting the batts from A Hobart depot to your place - pm me and I’ll sort you out with something... The Concorde 12v 212ah are in use everywhere in my industry and the larger businesses(petroleum, comms, etc) have to change our the banks well inside 50% maintenance windows...these are guaranteed 20+ years and some are coming out at 5 years...when they are in banks of 8 or 10, if one batt falls out of spec for xxx reason, they’ll often change out the entire bank - won’t risk a potential revisit. They won’t do load tests, - it’s crazy.

If your running lighting, id consider staying with 12v lighting rather than inverting to 240 as losses are a pain...but then cabling has to be a consideration depending on size.

Cool Tassie sounds great. I'll look into trans and send you a pm in the next day or so.
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