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Off-grid power
Chizz
Posts: 28,334
Does anyone have experience of using power, off-grid? For example, solar- or wind-generated power, stored in batteries and used as a source of power away from housing?
I am building a garden room at the moment. One of the tasks is to trench power from the house the length of the garden, into a field and on to the new building. That's straightforward (if expensive). An alternative might be to supply power to the building via solar panels and/or wind turbines, feeding power into batteries which could be used to power the building. Expensive to install, no doubt, but much more economical to run and ticking the "green" box.
Does anyone have experience in doing this? Perhaps powering a garden room, a caravan or RV? It would be useful to have some pointers as to where I could get further advice and information. I think this requirement is only likely to become more common in future.
I am building a garden room at the moment. One of the tasks is to trench power from the house the length of the garden, into a field and on to the new building. That's straightforward (if expensive). An alternative might be to supply power to the building via solar panels and/or wind turbines, feeding power into batteries which could be used to power the building. Expensive to install, no doubt, but much more economical to run and ticking the "green" box.
Does anyone have experience in doing this? Perhaps powering a garden room, a caravan or RV? It would be useful to have some pointers as to where I could get further advice and information. I think this requirement is only likely to become more common in future.
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Helped my neighbours build their garden room - only down the bottom of a 65ft garden so not on the same scale. They have solar on the top as well as power from the house. Solar can power the house too. The battery option was not cost effective at the time. They have the ability to add batteries when the tech gets better and more cost effective.
My in laws have solar on their house and made the same call to wait on battery tech.
I've not done it but if I was you I'd want the security of tapping in to the grid.1 -
I looked at Solar for my house when we moved a couple of years ago, to include batteries.
Even with the cost of electricity then, it was marginal as to if you'd ever even break even, batteries have a lifespan and due to our climate and the minimal amount you get for selling back to the grid it was likely to only ever cost me money.
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I live in a completely off grid house in northern Spain so 100% reliant on a solar system that I installed myself. Obviously the uk will be different in terms of amount of sun available but the basics of building a system that meets your usage requirements would be the same.
So the big thing is what you will be using the room for and if you will be using any equipment that draws a lot of power such as how you will be heating it. If you are thinking of electric heating or cooking then the solar system required increases massively in terms of size and cost.If it’s just lighting and small power draw such as phone chargers or tv then a small system similar to those used in caravans and motor homes would do.
You then have to decide on battery technology- lead acid is cheaper but has less capacity and recharge cycles than lithium but lithium is more expensive.
starting point is a honest assessment of what the power required will be in terms of maximum spike (kettle for example) and constant use (fridge) especially if the usage is at night when you will be running of batteries 100%.
hope this helps7 -
I was about to type basically this, except the living in Spain part and um, building my own solar system (I am not a God)dexterbarking said:I live in a completely off grid house in northern Spain so 100% reliant on a solar system that I installed myself. Obviously the uk will be different in terms of amount of sun available but the basics of building a system that meets your usage requirements would be the same.
So the big thing is what you will be using the room for and if you will be using any equipment that draws a lot of power such as how you will be heating it. If you are thinking of electric heating or cooking then the solar system required increases massively in terms of size and cost.If it’s just lighting and small power draw such as phone chargers or tv then a small system similar to those used in caravans and motor homes would do.
You then have to decide on battery technology- lead acid is cheaper but has less capacity and recharge cycles than lithium but lithium is more expensive.
starting point is a honest assessment of what the power required will be in terms of maximum spike (kettle for example) and constant use (fridge) especially if the usage is at night when you will be running of batteries 100%.
hope this helps5 -
Sevenoaks Solar are a great company to do this for you.1
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Interested in your outcome. I had solar installed in January here in Sweden, with 35 x 440w panels and a 5kw battery. It received a govt subsidy of about £8k but still set us back about £19k. The battery only lasts a brief period in early evening then it's back on to the grid, but that's useful as it S the most expensive time of day to purchase.
We get up to 80kw produced in the best sunny days.
I enquired about being off grid and the govt don't like it, so won't give any subsidy for those installations. Apparently they want control of the energy produced. Sadly even in a power outage (which we've had), the grid shuts off power to the house, even though it's producing 10kw p/h on solar.
As for the profit. It's almost nothing. For the 60kw+ excess sold to the grid in summer we don't even get a £1, that said we can run the whole house, cooking, washing, dryer and central heating all at no cost (when the sun is shining).
What I found out which I didn't realise, is that buying or selling electric etc is massively different throughout the day. The cost difference between 14:00 and 18:00 is about 15x more expensive, as lunchtime is when everyone is producing energy, but it's not got many users wanting it.
My feeling is it's not about the money, it's about saving something of the environmental impact of usage.2 -
A trench and armoured cable isn't that hard or expensive.1
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I dug one from my Gran's friends house to their barn 100 meters away when I was 15. Did It again here at my home over 30m. It only has to be 45cm deep, witha layer of sand and warning tape over it before chucking the soil back in.Carter said:
Says someone who has never dug one in by hand over any great distance ;-)Dazzler21 said:A trench and armoured cable isn't that hard or expensive.
I can't see a comment stating the distance you need to cover.0 - Sponsored links:
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depending on the distance of the cable pull, which sounds sizeable, you also have to take into account volt drop, which could lead to a fairly large and therefore expensive cable being pulled inDazzler21 said:A trench and armoured cable isn't that hard or expensive.1 -
Why not use a little generator , some of the Honda generators are quite as mice .Added advantage is it’s portable , so in the event of a power cut you can run your fridge etc.2
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I'm a SAP assessor for new build & residential projects. We increasingly see off-grid solutions for the energy & heating demands. I would be inclined to agree with the above regarding the battery storage. It's becoming more popular but think it is worth waiting for the price to drop and tech to improve. If the garden room is having any wet rooms then a solar diverter such as an iBoost or EDDI is a good shout to allow the generated electricity to heat the hot water.0
