How off-grid prepper powers his home & greenhouse

[@VictronEnergyBV]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:53 🏡 Victron Energy equipment has made off-grid living in Montana easier for Marty and Leslie, who run their home and woodworking shop with it. 01:31 ⚡ Marty upgraded to a three-phase system with Victron to power his industrial equipment, eliminating the need for a fuel-thirsty generator. 02:36 🌞 Marty praises Victron's ease of use and functionality, highlighting its problem notification system and simplicity. 03:05 🔋 The system includes three 48 Volt Victron Energy Quattro inverter chargers, solar charge controllers, and a Pylontech Lithium battery bank. 08:32 🏠 Marty's self-sufficiency goal is to provide a fully independent haven for his family, powered by the sun, ensuring power, hygiene, and more in any situation. Thanks to Marty and his wife Leslie for allowing us to come and film his system. Aaron and Laura from Intelligent Controls helped Marty choose what equipment to buy. They can be found here: icmontana.com/

[@jambojambo313]

Great installation and video - what a happy life. 👍

[@intelligentcontrols]

Indeed. It's so fun to meet a couple with such a big vision for their property.

[@happyinparis]

Marty is my little brother. He's really smart and a hard worker! I'm proud of him and Leslie!

[@andresguzman9346]

congrats for this installation is good experiences for the owner haves your own solar energy

[@scottpobuk9336]

So incredible Marty I applaud all your hard work!

[@intelligentcontrols]

What he's done in under two years is just remarkable - and it's not nearly finished! Can't wait to visit again when the greenhouse, orchard, and shop are rocking. They are going to be busy bees up there!

[@managersamuel]

There is victron, then there is every other brand. Victron is just ahead of everyone

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Thank you for saying this Samuel!

[@hamadilawson4396]

Just so damn expensive though!

[@intelligentcontrols]

@@hamadilawson4396, we have found there is a real performance cost with the more affordable options.

[@carlthor91]

Great video, Jono. They have a great system installed there.

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Thanks for watching :-)

[@mikeunum]

I'm here in the Netherlands and Victron is my 1st choice for all customers. Nothing else can do it as they need it. Badly i have almost no time to visit Victron once.

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Thats great to hear!

[@netrocker9990]

They need to lower the price

[@mikeunum]

@@netrocker9990 SO as for food and energy and heath care ?

[@ttkddry]

​@@netrocker9990you get what you pay for, buy once, cry once :-)

[@Browneye2566]

Very well done to everyone involved.

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Thanks for your lovely comment.

[@littlegriffoffgridalberta6837]

Great video ! You have an awesome set up at the ranch, The understanding that you have and ability to build what you have is awesome :) I live by myself and set up a small solar system that people can't rap their head around & it's only a 12v set up with a 1000 watts in and 10 Gel batteries, it runs my 18 cubic fridge two 11 cubic freezers & my water system Wi-Fi & Tv , most people just don't know where to start,

[@maxlentsoane]

Hi Marty great work you have done , you will never go wrong with Victron, ITS A BEAST THAT NEVER GETS TIRED' KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK MARTY,

[@WinningOnline]

Nice to see a belt and braces approach to an off grid power system as so many people try to achieve the impossible with the smallest / lowest budget system and experience poor results. We are currently building a full Off Grid electronics laboratory here in the UK, - 48V Victron powered and of course a belt and braces approach also:)

[@CoolMusicToMyEars]

Definitely Victron Energy is a system I've seen that once you fitted it you can forget about the system ❤ it just works so well ❤💚💙

[@intelligentcontrols]

Agreed. It's really fun to work with Victron gear. You really can build anything you can dream up, and with some thought and planning, the results are so much better than what any off-the-shelf or all-in-one solution can offer.

[@Peiratviktor]

Such a gorgeous video footage. And more beautiful voice. I really missed your new videos since you canal journey. Thanks you very much!

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Thank you very much!

[@warrenphillips69]

Hello from South Africa! Cool story.

[@EastonmadeWoodSplitters]

Marty seems to really like orange and blue....hes gotta know whats goin on...great video guys

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Thanks 👍

[@martijnheeroma5492]

Using 8 panels, 1 Multiplus 5kW, 15kWh LifePo4 Is for me enough to live off-grid in the middle of Sweden

[@AdrianMcDaid]

Basically have same setup. 15kwh battery seems be sweet spot so far. with Prices coming down. Had 5 kwh usable to start off with.

[@samhartfieldlewis5247]

Super good setup, have a small victron components setup in our garage that power our garage, cabin were my wife’s office is. Charges up my work tool batteries and portable battery that take to the workshop and on-site. Next task for it is running a cable back to house and powering the TV,sky box and internet. I like that the system is modular and can be replaced if needed too without effecting too much. Thanks Sam

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Sounds great Sam. Thanks for comment.

[@intelligentcontrols]

Yes - Sam your comment about modular, adaptable design really matters, even in smaller cabin systems. Having the flexibility to easily add battery capacity or a second inverter is a really big deal. Marty has since installed the second Pylontech battery bank and wanted to have it in a single communication string with the rest of his system. All it took was a one-hour visit to install a communication hub combiner, and now there are 24 batteries in full communication with the rest of the system. A pretty incredible option to have as needs or circumstances change.

[@NoahLange-kl7hc]

When I installed my Multiplus 2 inverters I put at least 10cm space between them for cooling, as it states in the manual.

[@LetsGoYall]

You get what you pay for! I only have 1 Victron device on my RV, but it is TOP NOTCH!

[@intelligentcontrols]

That's awesome; what do you have that you love? We continue to be impressed with Victron more and more all the time. It's a really fun product line to work with.

[@LetsGoYall]

I have the Victron 500Amp SmartShunt to monitor the battery for off grid camping

[@intelligentcontrols]

@@LetsGoYall Ace, yeah, nothing makes happy campers sad like running the battery down too fast.

[@Henryy980]

The video quality is beautiful

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Why thank you :-)

[@robertdillon9989]

Big bucks he has there !

[@intelligentcontrols]

Yeah, he's a hard worker if you can't tell :)

[@xrpnewzealand1778]

I love Victron gear

[@unwired]

10:22 the place is almost same as was in Yellowstone series...

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Marty’s place isn’t that far away from Yellowstone National Park.

[@antronx7]

Beautiful scenery! The only thing I would add is fire suppression strategy in case one of those batteries catches fire inside that wood structure. Even LFP batteries have the potential for a thermal runaway due to manufacturing fault.

[@intelligentcontrols]

That’s an important observation. As an aside, Marty has some 20,000 gallons of water in a cistern up the hill for wildfire suppression which is probably his most clear and present threat. :) Pylontech doesn’t put fire extinguishers in their batteries and have had zero thermal runaway issues. They’re also a massive manufacturer with a solid (and global) installation record but it’s an important comment because not all brands can claim that, and some brands have built-in fire suppression principally because they have had issues.

[@JTBayArea]

How does winter months work in MT? How do you get power in the snow

[@margarita8442]

good install !!!

[@erroneouscode]

Very impressive.

[@SeymourNeighbors]

Very impressive system! I noticed there is no ground wire. Is this installation completed?

[@intelligentcontrols]

Sharp eye! Yes, those grounding straps were not in there during filming, as Marty had completely redone his system the day before Victron paid a visit :) They are now on, and everything is grounded and ventilated. He’s got two 6” geothermal lines that come from the outside to bring fresh air in. But as you can tell, the house and the shop are still under construction with more batteries, solar and Victron gear to be added.

[@kirahund6711]

@@intelligentcontrols > with more batteries, solar and Victron gear to be added So the batteries will never go below 95% for 11 months of the year? Damn you are making a killing there. I wish I had customers like that.

[@intelligentcontrols]

Hi@@kirahund6711, thanks for the comment. That's correct, Marty's SOC is staying at around 90%, giving him lots of margin for short winter days and rainy months. But remember that everything is still in flux. He's planning for the eventual addition of a workshop with a large selection of tools. With such low DOD on his battery bank, he's ALSO extending the lifespan of his bank by an order of magnitude (the lower the depth of discharge = less strain on the batteries = longer lifespan.) His goal is to be a true, 100% solar off-grid system - and for it to last 30+ years. All to say, it’s a large system, but it's not an oversized system for what he's doing.

[@lovesdoggies1481]

I absolutely love this

[@VictronEnergyBV]

So do we - thanks for watching!

[@gf3803]

Looks like he has 187A going through Pylontech cables that are only rated for 125A. Unless he's set up his Quattro and MPPTs to limit the amount they charge or pull from the batteries.

[@intelligentcontrols]

Good eye! Marty reworked his system right before filming and again since....but every cable is fused, and he may add more battery cables in the future (but he hasn’t blown a fuse yet.)

[@gf3803]

@@intelligentcontrols unless he's got equipment pulling peak power, I don't imagine it would be an issue. Three Quattros can pull 24KW max continuous which is 125A through each cable. Would only be an issue if Quattros pulled peak power above that for some equipment with a hefty surge.

[@JTBayArea]

How much did his solar/battery system cost? I plan on building an off grid cabin and want to get an idea on cost

[@IamMotorHomeless]

HI Jono I watched a video onJBC and their new hydrogen powered generators. I was just wondering if anyone is using their excess solar to make and store hydrogen, to power a generator on those not so sunny UK winter days

[@hennnnerz]

How big is the battery bank?

[@antronx7]

42 kWh

[@intelligentcontrols]

It is a beast of a battery bank, as Marty wants to go through the winters without using a generator of any kind. He has 24 Pylontech US3000C batteries 3.5kWh x 25 = 84kWh of 48V power.

[@gf3803]

How many amps does Marty pull max through the cables from the batteries to the bus? Those cables are rated for 125A max and with the system as large as he has it, it's possible to pull more than that through the cables which could result in a fire. 4 sets of cables (4 positive and 4 negative) means the bank is limited to 4*125A = 500A. So if he's pulling more than 24KW at any one time, or charging with more than 24KW, he'd be putting too much through the wires. Probably not an issue since the three Quattros only pull 24KW max continuous, but they can pull up to 60KW peak power. So if he has some heavy equipment with a large initial surge, it might be worth looking into.

[@intelligentcontrols]

@@gf3803, Marty has six sets of cables installed in his current setup. Of course, he can add more cables as he needs and he has spots for that in his distributor.

[@MattLesak]

Amen!!!

[@lovesdoggies1481]

It's what I want for my future

[@VictronEnergyBV]

It's great isn't it! Thanks for watching :-)

[@chrisgoncalves3533]

would you consider a separate power shed with the additional PV arrays for redundancy???

[@VictronEnergyBV]

He has the space for it. It just depends on cost and if he warrants the additional system away form the house.

[@chrisgoncalves3533]

@@VictronEnergyBV it would be beneficial to add for future especially with the voltage drop

[@agyemanboaten4385]

Nice but what is the battery capacity of this operation especially on overcasted days using 3 phase equipment

[@intelligentcontrols]

Good question. It's not small. Marty has installed another 12 Pylontech US3000C batteries. So he's working with 84kWh of 48V power. And, of course, he's not running shop equipment every day.

[@puccipower]

I just want to know how much money is invested into this setup.

[@intelligentcontrols]

Oh, a lot. This is an exceptionally large system. Still, for most customers building a home off-grid, the cost of a 5,000-watt inverter/charger system + lithium battery bank is still less than the cost of bringing power to the property. Self-reliance and not having a power bill to pay for the next 30 years is a major factor in making that investment. And, because it is a chunk of change, you want to do it right the first time, minimize risk, and make sure you have a way to verify your system's performance (which is why people go with Victron and why we recommend using an intelligent communicating lithium that has full closed-loop communications with the Victron inverter/charger)

[@JTBayArea]

Any ballpark number on how much a large system like this runs? ​@@intelligentcontrols

[@josephheston9238]

Did he name the bear _Yogi_ ? Because for digging a trench to go under the fence, he is smarter than the average bear.

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Yep he sure did! Yogi is pretty smart though tbh :-)

[@intelligentcontrols]

This might be my favorite comment on this video 😂

[@takismenexes6131]

Victron should take a look at mppt hydro.

[@johannesboonstra6917]

We did, the market isn't that big I am afraid.

[@Kosmonooit]

I'm in South Africa and only install Victron equipment. Pylontechs are good, just about zero issues and I am running most down to 30% every night with ESS. Will that second bank of 10k Quatros be paralleled with the first?

[@intelligentcontrols]

Yes, he's planning on paralleling but there is also a good chance that there will be other power systems on-site.

[@mm6165]

why a Quattro an no Multi? :)

[@intelligentcontrols]

Good question. Marty is using them in a three-phase setup. The Multiplus only has that option up to 5k. In the future, he also plans to add more units in parallel to upgrade the 3-phase capacity - a feature which the Quattro is also best suited to as it allows up to 6 units in parallel on each 3-phase leg (total of 18 units for 180kVA in the case of the 10k Quattros). That's also why he's using the 10k, it has 120V, which is required for our US 3-phase. The 15k Quattro only has a 230V version which would not work with the voltages between the phases.

[@magnetoza]

how Victron better then the hybird-interver out now?

[@johannesboonstra6917]

What do you mean by this?, could you rephrase? about all Victron Energy inverters are HF/LF hybrid design.

[@michrech]

Biggest issue I have with Marty going on and on about how he'll always have power is -- there's a LOT of electronics in his system. Electronics don't live forever. Eventually something will break down, and if this happens during societal breakdown (which is what "preppers", well, prep for), he'll be without power -- just like the rest of us...

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Marty is well prepared for that. He has redundant units standing by still in their boxes.

[@kirahund6711]

So he uses photovoltaics to generate electricity and then heats up water with it so he can heat up the soil to make stuff grow during the winter? i guess that's one way to do it... Now all he needs is some electrical light so the tomatoes will grow in December. Sounds like a plan! It would have been cheaper and a few times more efficient to simply heat up shitloads of water using a regular, cheaper, old-fashioned solar thermal system, which isn't affected by partial shading, has no conversion losses and doesn't require a huge, way oversized battery, which is already full by 10am most of the time... which means they use somewhere between 10 to 20kWh per night. I have no idea what kind of parties they are throwing out there in the wilderness, but no doubt they are having a blast. I'm sure the guy who sold him all that stuff is excited, and I can wholeheartedly understand him from a business perspective! Ka-ching!!! I really like off-grid stuff, but when I see videos like this, or others where people e.g. use helicopters to fly in shitloads of fuel for their snowmobiles while burning down whole forests in their barely insulated 2 by 4 framed cardboard boxes in arctic climates .. can't help but shake my head and wonder. Why? What went wrong?

[@VictronEnergyBV]

At 5.15 we do highlight this is excess power from his solar going to his greenhouse. Also, if you know Marty you will soon realise he does his research and very likely 'told' Aaron from Intelligent Controls what he wanted and Aaron worked out if it was feasible or not.

[@intelligentcontrols]

We love solar thermal options, installed them for years. The market for high quality low temp glycolic protected solar thermal systems has unfortunately taken a dive as the major brands were European have largely pulled out due to cheep solar electric and a lack of trained installers. It’s become increasingly difficult to find support. In warm weather climates, solar thermal is extremely cheep and is very effective. Would highly recommend. And yes, Marty is Marty and we get at little intimidated by how many friends he has. I’m sure if he did throw a neighborhood party, it would be a hoot.

[@ferhatdemir7233]

👌👌👌👍👍👍👍👍😊😊😊

[@netrocker9990]

He can easily harvest hydro electricity.

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Only issue is there is a big rail track between him and the river!

[@netrocker9990]

@@VictronEnergyBV underground cabling possible?

[@SlackersIndustry]

This guys trying to save himself while destroying all of mother nature 😂

[@patrickcoyne1292]

man i love off grid but as usual the look of this place gives it a bad name. off grid houses are rarely finished…

[@VictronEnergyBV]

He hasn't been there long. It's not as though has loads of neighbours!

[@intelligentcontrols]

He's been there for under two years, and yeah, it takes some time when you build everything by yourself, but that's part of the fun.

[@patrickcoyne1292]

i don’t care how long or if anyone see it’s. it’s for your self 😂

[@honumoorea873]

This is not being smart to put zillion of panels, inverters...! Being smart is using as little energy as possible, but I guess that as an American this concept just go over your head.

[@intelligentcontrols]

Yeah, it depends on what you want to do, right? As soon as you want to pump water or run some equipment, you need a lot more power, and you need an intelligent battery-inverter system that can share those loads. In the past, living off-grid meant not being able to do the things you did on-grid. That’s not the case anymore. And, with fantastic documentation (thanks, Victron) and support, someone like Marty can do the work, take on the responsibility and make it happen.

[@honumoorea873]

@@intelligentcontrols Not the way to see things, you do things that a small amount of energy let you do. I'm using 600kWh a year to live, why couldn't you do the same ..? Depends on the climate you gor at your place obviously but it do not vary that much. By having a small amount of energy you use your brain and lean tower efficiency, having too much energy and as Americans (mostly them..yes) have done it for centuries now...wasting what they got, for what...? What is the result...? Like a kid with toomany toys, it do not make him happier, the challenge of life with a small amount of energyis a challenge like other but with a big difference, you do not destroy nature for nothing. Cause the guy from the video...AS destroyed nature more that he should have,just for it own interest..... A water pump do not use much power, variable rate pump. In this video the guy got 30kW of inverter....! He even say it himself...we barely goes under 80% SOC, proof that the system is badly sized.

[@ttkddry]

​@@honumoorea873the fact that he barely goes below 80% SOC proves his system has enough buffer to cover rain weeks and dark December and Januari period where there is little sunshine. You can of course opt to run a generator in these periods, it is a matter of priorities and budget. Some people have less solar but run their generator for a couple of hours every day

[@intelligentcontrols]

​@@honumoorea873 We totally appreciate where you're coming from-lots of ways to approach it. Happily, with Victron gear, there is something for everybody, no matter how conservative or ambitious.

[@martylow]

Well, I guess living in northwest Montana were you lucky to see the sun, November December and January I guess it would be better to run a big generator as opposed to having a zillion panels and not having to run the big diesel generator I guess to the idea he would like to do is not use any of the fossil fuels And because of that, he hast to over panel the system to be able to run his cabinet building system