Considering "Off Grid" Electric

[@JoeZasada]

Another thought, can you put in a small "utility shed" at the edge of your property where the power comes in, have it terminate/demarc to that shed with a main distribution panel, then run your own direct burial cable from there to your other buildings, and run them as subpanels? Normally the power company doesn't care about your side of the demarc point so long as things are done to code and permitted.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Yep that is basically what we are doing, our meter will be on a pedestal right next to the transformer which is just on our property at the woods edge. From the meter we will do direct burial to the house main panel, and put sleeves through the foundation for future wire pulls to other buildings.

[@lightning9279]

@@MasonDixonAcres How has your power bill been? I've heard having the meter at the property edge with a long run of cable to the house/barn can produce high energy bills without even turning a light on. Guess it is because it takes energy to push the power from the meter to the house. I've heard people having a $40-200 bill before even turning that light on. Great videos!

[@shawnsmith4058]

A friend let power company run overhead 200 ft for free than payed the extra expense for under ground 250 ft then meter.

[@darinjuliesims354]

Watching the vid I was getting mad too. I appreciate your venting and I do the same thing. Its taxation and its criminal IMO. You guys are doing great job and great videos. Thanks for using detailed verbiage when you're filming.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Haha thank you!

[@stevenfrazier8939]

Our 14.4 Kilowatts of solar was $8,000 - our 13 Kilowatt 240 volt split phase inverters was $2,695 and our 46.7 Kilowatt LifePO4 battery bank cost $6,324 and our home made ground mount around $1,500 for a total of $18,520 Never put solar panels on your house, always ground mount.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Thanks for sharing all that! We may be investing in a setup down the road. What’s your reason for never house mounting, just lack of adjustability and access?

[@stevenfrazier8939]

@@MasonDixonAcres Yes to both of those. Cleaning is hard to do when on the roof. if it is an older roof it will need to be replaced long before the panels fail or expire. Also, depending on the roof mount it can cost more than a ground mount.

[@johnnyg.9809]

Have you filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Utilities Commission against your electric provider for lack of cost transparency as well impeding rural electrification? Also, have you talked to your County Extension office about getting help with rural electrification? Especially, if you are setting up a working farm. I think the PA Dept of Ag should also provide some help in the form of advice possibly grants. Lastly, contact your State Rep. Pennsylvania has the second largest state legislature in the country, (California is the largest) they are full time and well paid. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Very good advice! I looked at the PA PUC website and it says I have to inform the utility of my intent to file a complaint if they do not comply with providing their pricing, which I will definitely do. I’ll look into the ag grants, that may be a stretch but worth a shot. If they are still being difficult after the PUC threat I will have to contact the state rep. Was hoping not to get to that level with all the other management tasks we have going on but maybe it’s the principle 😅

[@dabiz1216]

Back in November 2021 I had to do the same thing. Luckily I only had 180' that I had to do.. Rented an excavator and installed pipe, wire meter and panel. Waited little over 1 month for Electric Company to come connect. They put up a new pole, transformer and ran 200' of overhead wire to get electricity to my property. All for only around $400....NY prices may be high but my electric company came through. Just found your channel, great to see others doing it like I am.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Holy crap that’s cheap! It will be about 25x that (literally) for us to set the transformer and pull the wire.

[@markstipulkoski1389]

Too bad you didn't think to design and orient your your house for solar in the first place. I've been shopping for a lot for a retirement home and access to sunlight is a must. Thanks for the video as it reminds me to check with the power company too because I may want to use them as backup.✌️

[@MasonDixonAcres]

The topography didn't make sense to orient the roof south for the garage apartment. If we do roof mounted solar it probably would be on an outbuilding, the mounting systems aren't the greatest for staying leak free over the long term

[@CDaeda]

How about you running wires through pipe?

[@tom_ad9343]

You guys can't catch a break. The challenges of installing a septic, drilling for water (you were able to get good flow rate at reasonable depth), and now running electric are never ending. As a limited observation, in my rural location in the upper mid-west, the spread between recent lot sales of raw land and developed land (i.e. utility electric, gas, well drilled ready), which are both near roads, appears to be about $20K. It appears any cost savings you guys found in the creative process of purchasing the land are slowly eroding. Hopefully you guys will get good high speed internet hook up - at an affordable price.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Yep it's all part of the journey! Most build-ready lots on the road with a well/perc/electric access go for a bit more here as well, if you can find them outside of a subdivision. However, most of those don't have the intangibles that we are willing to pay up front for - the privacy, acreage, and panoramic views. It's painful currently, but in 20 years hopefully we won't remember it :) Even where we live now, there is no wired internet service (new property might get it in ~50 years I would guess..) so we have to rely on a close-range antenna provider now and will need to use a cellular or satellite based service at the new place. Thanks for following along! Lots more to come this year. -Alex

[@NickKarpen]

In process of purchasing land that will need about 1500' from road to transformer. I am a bit scared of what the cost will be here in TN. Solar is definitely on our radar, at least for the short term.

[@jimw3799]

TN land owner here as well. I was told $15 per foot to run it down a county owned road to the edge of my property (with me clearing trees, etc.) and then $9 per foot to my house location. Plus the cost of conduit, etc. I am doing solar instead.

[@NickKarpen]

@@jimw3799 To run it up my driveway they want $10/ft above ground(with 40' easement) or $8/foot under, but I must install the conduit. The first 750 is free, beside conduit and if a neighbor is closer, I can piggyback off theirs to save some footage. Solar is not an option at our property and would be even more expensive for the size system I would need.

[@Nttt739]

You have no idea how correct you are. The first problem is lack of accountability by the state. Consider bending your congressmans ear on this little game by these (creeps). I had the same issue in Florida. My company would give me 1200 feet above ground but not below. Its sickning . What are they complaining about . Usually, this is a CO op issue. Since their not, even more confusing on no regulation....

[@JoeZasada]

Here is another option. Service your home with a natural gas line only. Run your major appliances off of gas - stove, water heater, dyer, oven, furnace, refrigerator. Install a 120/240V natural gas generator that you can turn on and off as needed. Run a DC lighting system and DC furnace fan off of a small battery system. Flip on the generator when needed for when you are using more power, or to charge your DC lighting batteries. Add solar later if you need.

[@JoeZasada]

if a gas line is too much, propane tanks would enable this solution. Think of it as RV style electrical, but for a house ;-)

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Not a bad idea! Unfortunately we are way too rural to have gas lines at the road. We could in theory do that with the propane tank, but propane isn't getting any cheaper as time goes on either. We sucked it up and bought the conduit :( installation is underway!

[@spiritdeer4687]

We had to pay $12,000 JUST to have run from the road to the house… Then we had to pay for installation etc. All in, our electric cost us $18,000

[@brianroda8695]

SHEESH 🤯 400 ft of trench is a ton. How far down do you have to dig?

[@MasonDixonAcres]

It’ll be 570 just for primary then another 200 for secondary! 3’ down for primary, 2’ for secondary.

[@annettehough2792]

Highway (or off highway) robbery! You should always be able to know where your money is going. Keep pressing on!

[@MasonDixonAcres]

For real!!

[@John.Paulis]

That’s so expensive, I guess I would do the math on going off grid for electric vs hooking up to the power company and choose the cheapest option.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Yep that's what we did, and hooking up to the grid came out substantially cheaper even with the conduit and other added costs.

[@thetundra]

I’d contact Wild Wonderful Off-Grid to see how they did their solar. I’m thinking it was less than 20k including the generator.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

I will check out their videos! I've seen them pop up on the homepage every once in a while. Even if they have good suggestions on the panels and other equipment, we would eventually need those even with a grid tie system. -Alex

[@thetundra]

He is an electrician by trade so is very through with both the why and the installation.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

I watched them! Their initial cost video says their system is right about $15k and the update made it $20k with the newer batteries they installed, not including the shed or a generator. If we were as far from power as they were it would definitely make more sense in our scenario -Alex

[@Steve44036]

I can understand co-op electric is more expensive due to electricity is purchased from third party but install should not be a rip off.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

And our provider isn't even a co-op!

[@skylarkovack2561]

Wow! 🤬💲

[@DanielKezar]

this is why i refuse to ever connect to utilities. I want to provide for myself and rely on myself and not pay ridiculous sums of money for the privilege of then paying monthly minimums, fees, taxes, and the cost of the service itself for something that someone else controls and can shut off. I would much rather incur the up front cost of solar, install it myself, and then have free electricity. something you didnt consider is temporary ground mount arrays. put panels wherever it is convenient now and move them later if you must.

[@melkiziltunc4678]

$20k is a lot of money. Why didn't you start with a small solar system? Maybe few solar panel on a pipe, a small "solar shed" and few batteries, maybe small generator in the beginning, This setup will be enough until you finish your construction. Then you can expand your system little by little. I am sure you could do all this under $20k and you will not have to pay a penny to that "thugs" . Am I wrong?

[@MasonDixonAcres]

There are definitely pros and cons, which we probably didn't go into enough detail in the video. Outside of the battery costs with going off grid, we also have to figure in the cost/hassle of buying and running a generator in times of extra demand / low sun, the remaining infrastructure for setup, visual impact of ground mounted solar, the ongoing reminder of using more power than we're generating, impact on resale value if for some reason we were ever forced to sell, etc. All things considered, we concluded it would come out in the wash in the long run. Maybe incorrectly, but hindsight will be 20/20 as always!

[@Eriiic0]

SHEESH .. definitely highway robbery. I think you guys are making the right choice though. Goodluck!

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Thanks Eric! It is pretty insane but we we are going to try to get the cost breakdown again before we pay for anything.

[@dangda-ww7de]

YOu guys should have figure that out before buying the land, next time talk to the neighbor before buying the land, living off grid is not cheap, if i were you guys i would of do solar is because u will have to do it sooner or later, why pay twice? Since you already bite the bullet its too late now, you guys should do a review that say if i only knew living off grid is this and that for other. 20k is really not that much for solar because u will recoup that back in 20years for not paying the electric company.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

We didn't do solar because we didn't want the headache of a DIY solar setup while also self building a house