How much did our Solar System Cost? | Off Grid Living in Maine

In 2021 we purchased a 2.5kw Solar array, SW4024 Conext Inverter/Charger, Midnite Classic 150, 12 Rolls Surrette batteries, and everything else needed to get electricity to our off-grid cabin here in Maine.
So how much did it cost?
What uses Electricity in our Cabin: • Our Offgrid Solar Syst...
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Hanbleceya Ranch
PO BOX 112
Danforth, Maine 04424
Hi folks, we’re a husband and wife team who purchased ~54 acres of #off-grid land in the #Maine North Woods to build our dream #offgrid #homesteading life. We're not experts in anything, but we're getting things done and making things happen despite all the challenges. Follow along as this pair of #Gen-X city dwellers turn their lives upside down and become full-time Maine Off-Grid #Homesteaders!

[@roballen506]

Glad I found your channel. We also bought property up in Maine and will be developing an off grid homestead. We have a few more years before we retire but we're picking away at it slowly. Solar is definitely on the list to tackle this year.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

We are so glad you found us!! Sounds like you have a great plan. Took us 10 yrs to get out here!! We will be doing a video about how to size your system in the near future!! (If you need that information). Good luck on your journey!!😊

[@Sasquatch__]

Thanks for putting these videos together. Just found your channel and really enjoy it!

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Glad you found us!! Thanks so much for the kind words and support. We appreciate it!😊

[@bigbad27]

Thanks for walking us to through your solar set up. It’s crazy to see how quickly things change with technology. Nowadays there are all-in-one systems that don’t require combiner boxes and have low idle consumption. I recently went through this same process and went with signature solar. 3kw AIO inverter, 2 EG4 LifePo4 batteries (10.2 KWh) good for 7000 cycles, 10 bifacial solar panels (4.5kw), 2 EG4 ground mount for a grand total $6,000. Fast forward 5 years and this will be obsolete. Thanks for taking us on your journey. 👊👊

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

We worked with a friend of ours recently and none of our components were available through AltE anymore… Tech moves so fast it’s scary. Your system sounds great! Thanks for the kind words! 😊

[@dolphinbear661]

Not enough hours in the day, either. Saturday is our slow, easy day. I food prepped for the week, making homemade local raw milk Greek yogurt, made homemade chicken bone broth, made homemade applesauce, planted french breakfast radishes, harvested arugula, buttercrisp and turnip greens for our dinner, cooked dinner, scrubbed off the front porch, which were turning into my canning room off the orchard, whew! Both still working, too. I'm so impressed with y'all's homestead. Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see your garden.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

We love slow and easy days, like today 😊 You were busy for sure! Thank you so much for the kind words 😊

[@MaVolz]

Looks like you have been really busy! The chores never end for sure.

[@HazzyME]

Just found your channel. Saw it said Northern Maine and had to look further. So Welcome to Maine. As I am also in Northern Maine, Limestone. I wanted to check out what you are doing for solar. As I also have a small system I use in the summer for my camp, an RV a on the lake.not far from home. I’ve upgraded panels and batteries as I don’t want to use my generator this year! Top priority was keeping my ice cream frozen when I wasn’t there. That goal has been achieved. Looks like some nice content so I will subscribe and help you out some.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Thank you for the kind words and support 😊 We couldn’t be happier here, even with the crazy weather we’ve been having. Sounds like your RV camp is beautiful, and you’ve gotta keep that ice cream frozen! 🥶 Gonna be a heck of a storm on Saturday, take care 😊

[@LivingFree4All]

Hi Jason, Thanks for talking solar, you know one of my favorite topics lol. Just something about having your very own power plant and producing your own power that is just too cool. Interesting how things change so fast in that field. I think everyone's system is different and we all love what we got lol to each their own. I bought 16 used solar panels for $50 and they tested out great. Not sure I will ever buy new panels again that is if you have the space since you are not going to find 400w used panels. I finally got my system to 3680 watts solar panels, 28kw LifePO4 batteries with a 240v 6000w all in one inverter that is working out great. Guessing I spent about 10k all in total too over several years. I might be adding another 6000W inverter to give me 12kw of power which will put me up another $1800 all said and done and of course, I would want to bump up the batteries and solar panels to match somewhere down the line (Jesus, I think it's never going to end LOL). As you know, the key to any solar system is having efficient usage of your power which is also the cheapest way to save on the solar system. No energy hogs onboard! Thanks for sharing that, your system looks great and if you remember, I did something like you did for the mounting rack back when you did it too and that also works great for me. As ways, I enjoy seeing what's happening at the Hanbleceya Ranch! If you haven't already, you can check out my system, but unlike you, I am not a professional engineer, I only play one on UTube... lol Thanks again, Ya'll Take care of yourselves there in the WILD, WILD NORTH!

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Howdy! 👋 Technology moves so fast. Sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into your system cause it sounds amazing! 😊 My Inv has a 240 configuration but I chose to only use one leg to our cabin. I haven’t used 240 in 30+ yrs so I didn’t see any need for it and nothing we run is more than 1.2kw (coffee maker) anyways. I am happy to see my rack design worked out for you and you’ll have no problem adding additional sections since the rack is scalable. 👍 Thank you for the kind words and your continued support!! 😊

[@MaVolz]

Thank you for the information. Definitely helpful in choosing the solar panel components we need.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Glad we could help. Stay tuned….we are gonna do a video to show you how to size a system!! 😊

[@Gary-wh7ce]

Can't go wrong with name brand gear. I have several MPPT controllers and if you are planning on adding more panels, probably easiest is to add another MNS-150 and set it up to follow me mode on the same battery. That way, you can leverage the battery, wiz-bang junior shunt system as well. You can even connect the MNS to the local LAN basically for free too. Gary from SE MI.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

We are very happy with our system, no complaints except that I should’ve bought 8 panels as opposed to 6. We have an additional MPPT so when we add additional panels we’ll be good. 👍

[@coldsteel1991]

Thanks for breaking down the prices Jason. I'm looking into getting some solar going as a backup and this is helpful info.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Thanks! Glad to be able to help!👍

[@glengillis7775]

Thanks for the info.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Your welcome 👍

[@ocean1233]

Thank you!!

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

You are very welcome!!😊

[@billhighroller2469]

Very excellent episode. I found it very interesting. Keep up the good work 👏

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Thanks for the kind words!😊

[@Nannygoat]

Almost 964k views! Wow!

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Lots of people wanting to know about solar!!😊

[@MrRebar15]

*Hanbleceya Ranch* Bravo well done, thank-you sir for taking the time to bring us along. GOD Bless.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Glad you enjoyed it. 😊 Thank you for the support 😊

[@douglasrobbie9998]

After looking at your equipment, you seem to be at a crossroad- continue with your 3+ yr old system with more panels or move onto more modern equipment. It would appear you have a 24v LA bat bank and a 24v inverter designed for LA. It would appear you can add more panels (lucky that Alte does have some in the 20-30 cent/watt range) and the Midnight classic 150 can have more panel's power sent to it. If the current bat bank can take this added power then you can upgrade your system with just PV panels and some wood racks and wiring. However if you need to add bats, then it gets expensive for old school bat bank. It might be time to consider an all in one 48v MPPT,/Inverter/Charger in the 10k power range that can take 450v pv input (some priced around $1200) and building DIY 48v Lifepo4 bat bank (16 280ah cells at around $90-100 each with 150-200a BMS at $200). Also you might consider an Eco Worthy $400 2 axis tracking kit for some of the panels to catch important AM sun plus afternoon sun. Just some thoughts.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Hi Douglas, appreciate you sharing… we’re very happy with our system. We have no plans to add additional batteries but will be adding another 1kw in panels. Li bats don’t work for me (I have my reasons) and when the time comes we’ll stick with FLA bats, they work for me. I contemplated a 48v system but a 24v system was more appealing given our battery arrangement. That said, who knows what I’ll be looking at in the next 10-15 years 🤷‍♂️ Thanks again for reaching out, and for your support! 😊

[@donnalf184]

Great video, Jason. Going off grid is very expensive, indeed. The land, home, building materials, all the equipment adds up fast. It’s along term investment. You still need a big chunk of cash to begin with. Maine prices for land and homes is quite high, I believe. Lots of people from southern New England still moving up there though. Happy Sunday.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Hi Donna! Thank you! It is expensive. That is why we saved and budgeted for what we needed. The solar, cabins, land, well, etc. were all paid for before we came out here. Prices for land have definitely gone up since we bought our property in 2019. Heck, prices for everything has gone up!! Have a great day!!😊

[@user-hg2tk3xj9y]

Tossed up a close system for 5k mounts and all, but the Growatt inverter I would not buy again, Eg4 would have been better for me, also have 10kwh 48v of batteries only because I have the Grid to fall back on here. Another IL native here, still in IL.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Hi Sarah! 👋 When I did our research, a 24v Schneider system was the best fit for us given our situation. You’re system sounds great, even with the growatt inverter 😉

[@ernestkooistra1559]

Very interesting, thank you!

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Our pleasure, Thank you for the continued support! 😊

[@JimTexas806]

Excellent information and walk through. I have a question about not using any 120V only 12V. I see just about everything I need available in 12V. I've got years of RV time, do you see a mistake in doing this? Thanks again!

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Thank you for the support Jim 😊. I’ve seen folks wire their cabin for AC and DC. However, in every case I’ve seen the DC lines only power lights. DC appliances are much more expensive than AC in almost every case. Also, additional equipment would be needed on a DC system to ensure the battery banks are not drawn below 50% DOD (except lithium). Is there a reason you would want a DC system as opposed to AC?

[@JimTexas806]

@@HanbleceyaRanch seems like most of the problems I see in people on YT have with their off-grid system are related to their DC to AC convertor. Going all DC seems to take out a lot of complexity and points of failure.

[@robertrambo9190]

So if my math is correct you've got 32kwh of total battery capacity with a usable 16kwh. Is that correct

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Your math is good 👍

[@robertrambo9190]

@@HanbleceyaRanch Nice. We've got 1.6kw of panels and 12kwh of usable battery capacity. Planning on increasing to 2.4kw of panels like you have and bumping up to 18kwh of battery capacity when we move into the cabin.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

@@robertrambo9190 We’re really happy with our banks capacity as it gives up ~3 days at 5kw usage per day, but i want to add another 1kw in array to expedite our charging when the sun comes out. Current setup is not an issue in the summer, just the winter… 👍

[@tamaramcgrath3327]

Quick question for you…did you have to get permits for what you have done there?

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

No permits in our town 😊

[@tamaramcgrath3327]

@@HanbleceyaRanchwow what town if I May ask. I’m in Washington county and they want permits for everything

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

@@tamaramcgrath3327 we’re outside of Houlton

[@tamaramcgrath3327]

@@HanbleceyaRanch ahh The county!

[@robbobcat7286]

would love to cut the cord!

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

It is an amazing feeling!👍

[@nolagirlhomestead]

My thoughts ... go big or stay home! I started small with tiny HF 100 watt panel, 35 amp hr battery to run a camping fan. Like any hobby, solar IS addictive. Don't waste $$ trying out ideas. 'Buy once, cry 😭 once!' Thx for actual cost analysis for us common folk!