Uncover the Surprising Truth About Off-Grid Solar: Shocking Revelations You Need to Know!

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With two full years of running this system, I have more perspective on it now than before and in this video I give a full tour and share everything I have learned. I also answer a bunch of common questions about solar and my system in general.
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About Curtis Stone:
Curtis is one of the world’s most highly sought-after small farming educators. His book, The Urban Farmer, offers a new way to think about farming𑁋 one where quality of life and profitability coexist. Today, Curtis spends most of his time building his 40-acre off-grid homestead in British Columbia. He leverages his relationships with other experts to bring diverse content into the homes of gardeners and aspiring small farmers from around the world. Learn more at FromTheField.TV.
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[@Mytube8I]

As soon as he started talking about Claus and WEF I thumbed up this guy. Keep the content coming brother.

[@mrfusioneng]

This is one of the most comprehensive videos I have seen, better yet you explained in detail why you did what you did, very well indeed. We live in south Florida so we get much more sun, ( I’m originally canadian but retired down here). Living in south Florida air conditioning is needed year round, and in a typical home down here 50% of energy consumed goes to air conditioning. We also live in town so we opted for a grid tied system, ( around 11k solar). I spent 3 yrs prior to installing the off grid solar basically re-designing the home and all appliances to cut our energy consumption in half prior to installing the main solar. We purchased an Emporia energy monitoring and energy logging system as the first item, and well as temperature sensors at the beginning and at the end of every hvac duct, to measure our temperature losses inn the attic, ( where all hvac goes down here), ( which were huge). We also sealed the home, ( which presents new problems due to humidity control down here). My point being especially in an existing home, take care of all energy in-efficiencies prior to starting a solar project. Too many things to detail here, but it’s amazing to me that there is no connection or correlation between manufacturers of one system to another type system. You find all that out thru monitoring. Best example I have is our electric clothes dryer, ( we don’t have gas down here). Not only does the heating element draw huge amounts of energy, but it at the same time sucks all the air conditioned air out of the house, that has to be replaced and de- humidified again. I see this in nearly every home I have been to down here. Without monitoring I had no idea this was occurring, every time we ran the dryer it triggered the AC system for a couple hours, so every load was costing us 2-3 dollars, after redesign we got that down to around $.20 cents per load. Another example is the electric hot water heater, which was costing us around $700 per yr to operate, we switched it out with a heat pump type hot water heater, ( $1200 bucks), and our hot water electrical consumption went down to $75 dollars a year, ( all measured and recorded). We found over 50% of our ac was going into attic and lost, ( everything was built to code), now we have no more than a 1 degree temperature drop or rise thru any duct in the system, ( all continuously measured with sensors). Our year round heated pool was costing us around $1500 dollars a year to operate and maintain, after re-design, ( and turning the heater off in January, (our winter). We got the operating cost down to around $150 dollar a year. There are a dozen other things we did, but all prior to installing the solar. We went from $400 dollar a month electric bills down to $35-45 per month electric bills, ( mostly taxes and fees). I’m just saying do all that work up front prior to putting solar in, ( 90% is common sense). You will discover the hvac people don’t give a hoot about what the others are doing, the people building the dryers could care less, that they are sucking all the air out of your home. The people building the building, don’t care in the very least what the hvac people do, ( they still build to building codes, which are way out dated). All just things I discovered along the way.

[@FXGLott]

Very impressive! Lots to think about... I'd love to know more about what you did.

[@jameskitzmann6268]

You got down to $45 electric bill before solar? Why go solar at that point or just install a small panel with lots of batteries to power through hurricane season? I would love to see more of what you did and how as i live in Houston and face the same tempature and humidity problems you faced foaming the attic.

[@mrfusioneng]

I think you are mis-understanding what I meant. Doing all the other work up front making the home more efficient beforehand, allowed us to install an 11kw tier 1 solar system instead of the recommended, ( by the installers) an 18kw class 3 system. Which would have been near triple the cost, and worse yet state law requires liability insurance of $3 million dollars, which would have doubled or tripled our home owners insurance, ( according to our agent). And worse yet it is very difficult to get homeowners insurance in Florida, ( they all left the state), actually we were unable to find any carrier who would provide a tier 3 policy. It’s probably a good thing to check into, ( homeowners insurance), before installing any solar. There are many law restrictions in Florida regarding Solar. Our current electric bills, ( after installing the solar) are average $50-$60 dollars per month. The utility has a minimum charge of $25 per month, and the rest is taxes and fees. The way a grid tied system works is on sunny day we produce excess electricity which goes into a reserve bank. On cloudy rainy days and at night we draw from the reserve bank. So at the end of the month on average we pay around $50 bucks a month to the utility, ( fpl). Which sure beats the $400/month average we used to pay before doing anything, ( from 2013 to 2019). Which in todays dollars would be $500-600 per month, ( electric costs have risen rapidly in Florida, the last year alone has a 30% increase. One more point, we also installed a 3000 watt off grid system, ( not connected to the house, or home electrical system) which is a solar powered Supplemental hvac TES, ( thermal energy system) using water that cuts the run time hours of our regular hvac system in half. Down here half of your energy costs are for hvac, ( mostly air conditioning, which must be used year round). Our off grid solar system is perfectly legal as long as it is not connected to the home electrical system.

[@jameskitzmann6268]

Thanks for the reply. Houston, Texas is about the same conditions as you and I am really intrested in getting the AC cost down and cooling the attic to lower the need for ac. I am considering a system just for the AC unit.We have gas heat,stove,dryerand hot water. Lots of can lights and a fireplace as well as exhust hood in the kitchen. Foam is making me nervious ffor leak detection but would really help with the total heating load. Building from scratch i will do lots of crazy ideas .

[@adelinawarriner6259]

​just adding more insulation in the attic to separate the conditioned space from the non-conditioned space makes a huge difference s@@jameskitzmann6268

[@Emerald_Acre_OH]

This is by far the best , most in-depth explanation of how/why the solar rig is built, and why. I am trying to calculate the best ways to reduce my dependence on electricity in logical steps. I live in Ohio, USA, and have a limited/low budget, so my walk is going to be incremental, with one step paying for the next in savings.

[@grinning_owl]

My mother grew up on a rural farm during the Great Depression. Actually the Great Depression didn't impact them that much, simply because they were dirt poor BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER. On laundry day, they washed their clothes in a big black kettle over an open fire in the yard. They used scrub boards and home-made lye soap. They boys learned how to whittle wooden clothespins. During winter, their clothesline consisted of sturdy tree branches cut and brought inside the kitchen and suspended on chair backs near the wood stove. There were 13 children total, and because there were so many, it made light duty of much work that needed to be done. Everyone pitched in, which provided little time to get into mischief. My mom once said there would be less trouble today if more families returned to farming as a way of life to support their families. Perhaps most/all of what we see happening now is God's way, or at least one of His ways, of forcing/compelling/guiding/convincing us to return to an off-grid lifestyle. Just sayin'

[@GinaRidge-z6s]

Yes! That was the great fight between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton back in the early days of our nation. Jefferson turned out to be right. He wanted a non centralized US government, an agrarian society that provided for itself. Hamilton wanted a centralized gov't, big cities, with the citizenry dependent on the mercantile class for their goods and services. Washington was very fond of Hamilton and chose his plan over Jefferson's. We all know (or should know) what became of Hamilton... Must say, though, I have been very encouraged to find many groups of friends across our country who are modern day pioneers as regards raising and producing a lot of their needs on their own land and home schooling their kids. So, there is hope!

[@sherrikarlstedt6442]

And back to God and believing in Jesus Christ being our Savior.

[@Adirondacks4me]

You lost me when you said Tesla. Living in the woods with a Tesla tells me everything I need to know! Even though the new world order stuff was accurate! We have caught them all here in the US plus COG/DEVOLUTION rocks..!

[@charlesbosse9669]

Thanks for sharing this. I loved your story. You're right,that's the way families should be today.

[@davepelletier708]

Your mother was certainly smarter than most!

[@billharris6886]

Hi Curtis, KZbin's video suggestion algorithim just dropped this episode on me for the first time. I have been doing solar at home in various capacities since 2009. Thanks for the detailed explanation of your system and noting the things you have learned the hard way. Being interested in backup power since the 1980's, a retired electrical engineer that has designed inverters, and has built various solar systems, I fully concur with your findings and reasons for going off-grid, with the freedom point being one of my top 3 reasons. I have been doing my current solar system on a budget; I have about $5k invested, for a 4kW output, 5kW in panels, and a 48kWh battery bank. It helps to have the background I have and be a DIY'er to reduce costs. A 1,800 rpm diesel generator is the best type to use. Solar is the best overall compromise compared with other off-grid power generating methods, mostly because it minimizes mechanical problems. Solar tracking panel mounts use an X and Y axis control system, which is complex and expensive. It is best just to add more solar panels on a fixed mount instead. Ground mounted solar panels are the best overall comrpomise. With only a 3.4 btu return per watt of resistance heating, heating appliances consume the most power in the house. I use induction heating for the stove top. With the water heater and oven (electric), I connected both heating elements in series to minimize peak power draw. I live in the US, in central Florida on farm land and don't have kids so, can get away with this setup. I am also a firm believer in mutliple backups for electric power.

[@rid.h.tom.4296]

Great info

[@robertcarless7445]

A 48 Kwh battery pack is how many batteries please? EG 12v 250 amphr batteries

[@billharris6886]

@@robertcarless7445 Robert, you take the battery capacity in amp/hours times the battery voltage to get watt/hours. Using the battery you mentioned; 12V, 250 A/h, (12 X 250) = 3,000 watt/hours or 3kW/h. To arrive at a desired watt/hour capacity divide the capacity needed by the battery capacity you plan to use (48kW/h ÷ 3kW/h = 16 batteries).

[@robertcarless7445]

@@billharris6886 Thank you, that was how i calculated it but wasn't sure

[@billharris6886]

@@robertcarless7445 Glad to help. Also, the battery technology affects the actual working capacity. Lead-acid for instance recommends discharging the battery 50% or less to maximize battery life. Lithium is more tolerant of discharge; Lithium-Ion is 70% and Lithium-Iron is 80% so, they provide more effective capacity, at the trade-off of being more expensive and unstable.

[@witness1449]

I always wanted to know about your solar system. It's very impressive and a mega system compared to my small 3.8kw system. It's definitely more than most people need. The diesel generator setup is the most practical approach next to a wood gasification fueled generator. Wood gasification is the ultimate renewable energy source for alternative power. I really enjoyed this video and tour of your off grid solar system and generator setup. Our little system cut our electric bill by 50% and on sunny days produces 100% of our consumption. I designed and installed my system myself and can double its capacity. I am planning on adding more battery backup storage as soon as we have funds available. My wife and I are in our 70s and raising our teenage granddaughters. My system is performing flawlessly, and this is my first attempt at an off grid solar system, and I want MORE POWER! I have invested $8000 that will keep us comfortable with lights, hot water, and refrigeration. We heat totally with wood and have propane for cooking. Great video, Curtis it's very inspirational and informative 👍 Southern Indiana, Fawn Ridge Homestead

[@offgridcurtisstone]

100% on gasification. Just show me where there's a good turnkey model I can plug and play. All I see is a lot of fucking around.

[@witness1449]

@Off-Grid with Curtis Stone There's a company in Michigan that has a couple of different models of turnkey gasification generators. I will see if I still have their information and forward it to you. It's been about four years since I talked to them. Ben Peterson used to build super gasification systems, but moved away to Europe and built systems for small villages there.

[@serrotserrot911serrot4]

Im also a Hoosier in northwest indiana about an hour away from Chicago!!

[@darelldd]

I enjoyed your video, and thank you for sharing all this with the world. I've been building solar systems for 20+ years, and my home is 100% electric (zero combustion of anything). But... I am sadly still gried-tied. And that's for the same basic reason that you have a diesel generator of course. I can't get through the short, dark, cold days with my PV alone. One day I hope storage is cheap and practical enough for everybody to accomplish this! One small correction I'd like to offer: Several times you say something along the lines of "electric heat is so inefficient!." But the fact of the matter is, at its worst (resistive heat) electric heating is very close to 100% efficient. Heating with electricity does take a LOT of electric energy, and I'm sure that's what you mean to convey. Using a lot of energy to do something doesn't make it an inefficient process (for example, an electric car takes a HUGE amount of electric energy to move, but is still 3x as efficient as doing the same with gasoline). With an electric heater you get out of the system almost exactly as much heat energy as the electric energy that put put into the system. With a heat pump the efficiency goes well beyond 100% simply because you are not actually *making* the heat, just moving the heat that already exists.

[@witness1449]

You're 100 percent correct. Heatpump technology is extremely efficient and can be cost-effective for saving money. I use a hybrid electric Heatpump water heater, and its average daily cost is $1.40 for a family of four. My small 3.8kw solar system can easily run this water heater and lowers the costs to $0 on sunny days. I researched every method for heating water, and a hybrid electric water is by far superior and cost-effective than anything else. Including on-demand gas or electric water heaters. After installing our hybrid electric water heater, our electric bill was reduced by 38% the first year. After installing the solar system, we reduced the cost 50% more. Our overall electric consumption lowered approximately 65%. Our solar system is off grid, and I designed and installed it myself. It's 2 / 3kw Growatt inverters with 12 ground adjustable ground mounted panels. The inverters are connected in 240 volt single phase, which allows for operating the electric water heater. My investment for both was around $9,000, which will be paid back in savings in about 3 years. We're only at half the capacity of our system and intend to expand it this year with 10kw more battery storage and 12 more panels next year. We also use the grid for backup and charging the batteries and for our electric dryer and heatpump HVAC system. Solar power is addictive, I already want bigger inverters and more panels. Since we're retired and on fixed income, our budget is limited, so we have to save and do a little each year. Here in Southern Indiana, we have several cloudy days, especially in the winter. I can appreciate your knowledge of solar systems, but I am proud of my working system and the knowledge I have gained. Just wish more people would try to be more energy self-reliant. Good luck in your future endeavors. Bob

[@darelldd]

@@witness1449 Right on. From my direct experience, I can confidently say that a heat-pump water heater is the easiest, most effective appliance to start with as folks incrementally electrify. I have been astonished with the efficiency. All the hot water we use for a family of three requires at most 2 kWh per day. In the summer it is under 1 kWh. Heat pumps are great for other appliances too (of course we all have the for refrigeration) but I also have them for HVAC and clothes dryer. The clothes dryer comes close, but the water heater is the single most amazing upgrade. Now if I could harvest that thrown-away cold air in the summer, I'd be a lot happier!

[@christineford6763]

Fantastic info … I am in Northern BC … big blue sky here in the winter and I am putting an off grid cabin on our summer ! This is a huge learning curve and I appreciate your input and the comments .

[@TymerTopCat]

Before your buy solar, make sure you understand AC Coupling versus DC Coupling. I replied to another in the video more details read that. Most solar systems are DC Coupled (not such a good idea).

[@lukefiveash1427]

Curtis- Been following and subscribing to your content for quite a few years now. This was possibly the best video I've ever watched from you, and I was NOT prepared to spend 50 minutes watching a video about your solar setup and all its intricacies. What captured my attention, was your attention to detail in the scope of mitigating worst case scenarios and implementing redundancy. I'm down in Oklahoma on 10 acres of my own, and if another dryas event happens, will most likely be washed away with most all of humanity once again. I hope that your elevation will allow you and your progeny to survive and in time start the repopulation of the earth. It would serve humanity well. Thanks and keep us along for the journey. I'm impressed.

[@Robert-rc7jc]

Thanks for this video! We moved off-grid a month after you did and have been slowly building up our power system. We live further north and I appreciate how thoroughly you described the pros and cons of solar power! I too really like solar for "no-moving-parts" and am planning to expand our solar array and battery bank systems. Great job, keep it up!

[@nb117]

You crack me up. I always have the same problem with armchair Solar engineers. You got a great system and a no nonsense approach to it. Mines a little different. I have dual Sol-Ark 12ks and more battery but very similar. Always get people telling me “ You should do this and that” with absolutely no context of my usage or location. Your whole approach from Buildings to power was well thought out.

[@Poorehouse]

Well done and complete video! I’m running as much battery (95KWH) with half the solar for the past four+ years. I’m in a much more southern latitude and my challenge is January/February due to clouds and overcast. I have my generator usage down to about 2 weeks/year but am in the process of adding a ground mount with 6KW of panels. Similar to you, the objective was to not to have to modify our lifestyle, run what we want, and not think too hard about loads. We run multi-zone mini-split inverter based AC in the summer and use it for heat in the winter on those rare days when we have full batteries and sun - it can suck 20-25KWH out of the batteries in a single day. Next time someone starts asking me “what about this” or “what about that” - I’m just going to point them at your video. :-)

[@arnoldreiter435]

Thanks for the walk thru with your experience with this system. There are many videos on installing and starting a solar system but very few where there is any real world experience with a system. I have a small system that is separate from my grid that i use to lower my electric bill and about 9 months in i have seen the abundance in summer and the dismal production around the winter solstice. Now i see that it is not just a problem with my system but a problem with how reality works.... good info and well presented.

[@robzim2023]

Curtis, I was looking for a video on grounding my small 48v 10kw system for off grid camp in Northern Maine and your video showed up. I must say this is the best RL explanation of cold weather issues to go full time off grid and the value of diesel backup. The South and South East panel banks applies to my location and ya just saved me some time with that alone. Thanks, and subbed!

[@digitaldreamer5481]

I just subbed your channel because I enjoy off grid living in Hawaii and I loved your brute honesty of it all. I have four battery banks, two 14v and two 12v. I just don’t have all the real estate that you do to run a 48v system and can’t afford those Texas batteries of yours either. I use golf cart batteries, which are cheap and very forgiving, especially with BLS Battery Savers, which is direct wire Pulse/Desulf chargers for battery banks. I also use just 100w solar panels because they are cheap and doesn’t kill ya on the shipping to Hawaii. I want to use common and easy to replace parts for the whole system. Golf cart batteries are very easy to replace Your Starlink System is an easy fix, build another battery bank for it to run 24/7 internet, even if you just use golf cart batteries also. Dumping great useful power is a no no for me. Try dumping that extra power into a secondary battery bank instead of wasting it. You can use your secondary banks for your washer/dryers and your pulse/desulf chargers to maintain a float on your other battery banks. I’ve been doing this for a very long time to power my ham shack independently and because of the fact that I don’t believe in putting all my eggs in one basket either. Use a battery bank switch or use blocking diode keys with heatsinks to divide your power among your banks. I do that for my vertical wind turbines because I normally have 15-25mph trade winds most of the time. I’ll be honest, I never get snow and get lots of sunshine, so problem with scraping snow off the panels. If I did, however, I would try thinking outside the box. I’ve never tried this for snow but did this to protect solar panels from falling debris from the trees above by covering them with framed clear plexiglass panels and because we have a hurricane season every year. It makes it much easier to wash and protect my panels from falling nuts, fruit, coconuts and falling tree limbs. You don’t have that problem but something similar might be able to trap heat between the panels and the inside of the plexiglass just might work, never know? Sounds like you only need something like this in November through January only. An idea that I’ve done that does work is making your solar panels work and run at night time is to set up rechargeable yard spotlights that you can buy at any Walmart or hardware store that comes on automatically when it gets dark outside or set up another small battery bank to run LED lights at night to point at your solar panels. I have seen YT video shorts of people who put clear plastic sheets over their car’s windshield to avoid scraping the ice and snow from the windshield in the morning before going to work. Only planting a seed for an ideas that you might want to try out. That tower with the two 400w wind turbines, you ever consider getting into ham radio and getting a VA7 or VE7 call sign for your area of Canada? That tower would be perfect for a couple antennas for VHF/UHF and HF. Then you can talk to the world. They even have nets about different topics including off grid applications and off grid living also. It’s too bad that you can’t use those wind turbines but if you want to sell them, by all means, let me know. I can’t wait to see your other videos, I like learning from other folks that have different off grid applications and products. Thank you for this video! ❤ IT! 🤙🏻

[@MJ-ge6jz]

Good video, you confirmed alot of what I have found watching other videos. I'm going off-grid this year and will install a initial 10Kwatt solar panels using bi-facial. The nice thing about bi-facial in the winter is they produce heat and will automatically melt the snow, not to mention the additional watt capability and these panels have a 30 year life and are well built.

[@jakejoeep23]

Hi MJ, I have bi-facials in Michigan and I have to say that I just can't wait long enough for the snow to melt off. I still go out and wipe them. Also, I have them where I can adjust the angle and so for the winter they are almost vertical. I'm thinking to actually put them actually vertical so I don't have to wipe the snow off. It just depends how much output I lose with not having the best angle to the sun.

[@alaskahomesteadadventures7579]

Our pv array is totally vertical in winter here in interior alaska. It seems like it might be the way to go further south as well, cause snow never sticks to it. We get decent watts even during weeks like this week when its snowing constantly.

[@leonhardtkristensen4093]

@@jakejoeep23 I would think that totally vertical would be reasonable as you then also get the light reflection from the snow on the ground. I am sure it would beat getting out in the cold mornings to wipe off the snow before you would get any electricity. I am going to try to use some vertical in Victoria Australia not because of snow (I have never seen any at my property allthough it falls 30km away) but because I am using them as wall covering on a machinery/carport like structure. I need extra power in the winter on grey cloudy days only and these came cheap ($100 for 3kw used of cause). I believe that in the cloud the sun is reflected from all directions. Last winter I had 1kw of these panels leaning agains a fence and that helped some.

[@KiwiCatherineJemma]

@@leonhardtkristensen4093 You are correct in that on cloudy days, the light direction is coming from "everywhere". That's why you can look into holes like a well and see down toward the bottom on cloudy days, but NOT on Sunny days (unless using a mirror or knife-blade-as-a-mirror). Searching among some junk stored against the outside wall of a shed on the shady side ? Go lookin' on cloudy days vs Sunny days, because more of the Sun's rays will be bounced around by the clouds and come from the South and NOT the North (in Australia, of course !). Of course on cloudy days, the iris in our eyes (and cameras) does also adjust which we don't think about. So Solar Panel output will be reduced considerably on cloudy days anyway. Remember also that Solar Panels generally produce more electricity the colder they are (that's why placing magnifying glasses in front of them does NOT work to increase power output). That's one benefit that folks in Alaska and Finland have in Winter. Also when it's fine clear sky but there is snow all around, the level of reflected Sunlight is MASSIVE. Think of those folks who come back from a skiing holiday Sunburnt to blazes in mid-Winter, everywhere their Sunglasses and clothing did NOT cover their skin ! Keep an eye on Orstraya for me, while I'm away, I'll be back in a wee while LOL :)

[@leonhardtkristensen4093]

@@KiwiCatherineJemma I think you covered most of it and I aggree. I think though that there is more light in the shade on sunny days than cloudy days. It is just as you say our eyes turn down their sensitivity. On Cloudy days I find that my panels can be down to maybe 5% of their sunny day performance. As I have lots of space at my farm I try to get as many panels as possible. Most are used second hand but cheap. Cables and regulators add up the cost of cause. Mid winter I usually give up though and stay mostly back in Melbourne on the grid. Even there I try to use as much sunpower as I can.

[@HansKeesom]

Running a system, even if it is only a few panels, teaches you a lot. Cabling, fuses, the good brand (Victron ;-) ) and most of all the limitations and the complexity compared to just being on-grid. Yes summer is easy, winter is about living with limitations and having alternatives :-)

[@hendersonsobers396]

This is one of the better review videos about being off grid. The content was top notch quality. Great job man.

[@lawrenceguinness8797]

You didn't mention about the Battery Maintenance. Otherwise, we'll done

[@glennlewman4186]

I have been living off grid with solar since 1992. Your system is great. I am building a new homestead in the mountians of the Philippines and just installed a simalar system . Wind is unreliable for most locations, and Hydro is less productive and expensive to set up. You are correct, adding additional panels is the best option.

[@jbird6609]

I built an 8 killowat system with a tracker. i can vouch for everything you been saying. Trackers break all the time and they only add maybe 20% more production at best. Winter is a loser. I had a 20 kilowatt Jacobs wind mill 120 feet in the air. Another maintenance problem. My next project will be a geothermal system i hope to run the ground loop through a swamp. Keep up the good work.

[@dropshot1967]

Great overview and lots of good information. Thanks As for solar tracking, from what I have heard about a lot of installations, in 99.9% of the cases it is cheaper to go for an alternative like extra solar panels (not in your case), or, like you did a generator. And the generator has the advantage of being an independent alternative/backup.

[@terryhayward7905]

Solar tracking is a great DIY fun project for a small system, but just too complex and expensive for real work, which is why there are no successful commercial solar farms using it.

[@nmosfet5797]

True, there was a Finnish university study about this. Same cash investment into more solar panel area gives twice the amount of kilowatt hours compared to pouring that money into a sun tracker and maintenance of all the moving parts.

[@robjohnston8632]

Great vid and you and your family have an amazing set up. I have a much smaller system in southern BC, 1k of solar and 12k of batteries. We use our property mostly for 3 seasons but I wanted to monitor my system all year and I found a cellular hub ( Telus or Rogers) are way more efficient than star link. If you do have cell cover, have a look at those. You can get 100Mb and I run it off a DC to DC converter and it draws between 5 -10w

[@berettaboi]

that is exactly where to save a bunch of power, if you have a little bit of knowledge of electronics and electricity. it does not take much to figure out either. many of our typical daily use gadgets actually run on DC power, with aid of an AC adapter. there's a power loss, albeit sometime small, when you need to convert DC to AC, or vice-versa. for the sake of energy conservation, is it worth the effort? the only issue you run into is, do you want to run a separate DC power system in the dwelling, or can you simplify that and leave DC power hook up, and all those components that require it, near the power system components - electrical panel? in the case of a internet service provider - modem and wifi router, do you have an acceptable range if the components are tucked in this room?

[@ZeeCaptainRon]

Excellent vid, thanks for taking the time to show your system off. I have 3.5kw solar on my boat, plus 800ah at 24v of LiFePo4 and 3phase Victron inverters at 5kw each. It's the perfect off grid lifestyle and it moves if I get tired of my neighbors. I just love reading comments from folks who obviously cannot do math on these types of vids, it's quite entertaining. One joker insisted that a solar panel on top of an electric car was the end all of free transportation. Sure, 350 watts is going to move your car uphill. LOL You earned a subscription.

[@sciglassblower]

Nice System! I did staging of my panels on my newest system, but did 2 instead of 3. A great way to optimize early to late in the day charging. Collecting late in the day is very important for heating in winter and cooling in summer. I do agree that adjustable tilt mounts are very good, but I went with fixed for many reasons, 1 the panels produce near full output with the sun angle up to 30 degrees off perpendicular with gradual loss beyond that, 2 wind (and we get high wind and twisters), I did multiple easy fixed angle ground mounts with 2" gaps between panels. Large arrays, especially trackers, must be very very strong with huge concrete and steel or you will loose the whole thing. Trackers are expensive and fail, so more panels are cheaper in the end. We heat and cool with solar by using mini splits but our winters are mild at 2700 ft in Arizona. We have less than 30K of PV and about 60K of Battery and nearly never have to run generators. We do utilize the batteries because they should last longer than I will be alive, just keep them cool, heat kills (ask me how I know). I will be SOL without electricity, but living in the desert means we will not die like cold snowy if you don't have wood to burn. Clouds are the enemy LOL.

[@keithd.2722]

As someone who's spent many, many hours digging into this as an autistic special interest, this is really high quality content about the reality of fully off-grid solar. Hitting that 80-90% mark is pretty easy and cost effective for most people, but if you want to just unplug and be fully self-reliant, it's going to be a _SIGNIFICANT_ investment of time and money, and ongoing maintenance in terms of replacing aging batteries, worn out components over your lifetime, etc. It's certainly doable, but it's not _NEARLY_ as easy and straightforward and accessible as just having solar to offset your power bill and a basic battery backup system to keep you going through a few sporadic grid outages when you're living in a city or suburb or what have you. Fully off-grid is going to either cost a fortune up front and ongoing, or be a _SIGNIFICANT_ permanent lifestyle adjustment for everyone in your household. It's not as simple as "buy solar panels from Harbor Freight, throw them on your roof haphazardly, and you're golden forever" like so many people think it is or should be. It's the margins and redundancy that the utility grid provides that's extremely complicated and expensive to build and maintain. Doing that right will easily double or triple your costs, and it's not a one and done deal either - it has permanent re-investment costs, too. Definitely not for everyone.

[@RickDenzien]

We have been off grid, since May full in town with everything electric. 45 KW of battery backup (LiFePO4), 2 EVs and we feel that freedom and security. Plus, zero health changing pollution. I'm still putting up more to compensate for winter. Loving how our DIY system works.

[@timothyvincent7371]

Like your video. I've never owned and operated a large photovoltaic system but I have read a great deal on the topic over the years: was a long-time subscriber to "Home Power" magazine, attended a two week seminar on off grid photovoltaic installation, took a college engineering course on solar and even built my own fairly large solar oven (16 sq.ft. concentrating collector) that could track the sun manually. That was the only way to control the temperature, you had to check on it often and aim it away from the sun slightly when it got too hot. It would bake bread in southern AZ. The friends I left it with found it needed extraordinary measures to secure it in windy conditions and it ended its life as a stationary water heater. The thought of what it would take to control your rigs in a high wind is mind boggling, if they were on pivots. And because I took the engineering course I do know how to run the numbers. Most civilan solar advocates including many of your commenters have wildly inaccurate ideas about what the costs of renewables really are and what you can get out of them, so I thank you for speaking truth to dogma. Good on you, Sir!

[@ShortVersion1]

Great round up. After living with solar roof and batteries for the last couple Winters, I can mostly agree. For us, the grid is like your diesel, and we have a ~4 month period where we depend on the grid. However, the battery arbitrage and TOU has made our financial benefits significantly higher. Honestly though, you're just in that area of wild diminishing financial returns. Love to see it. I think once the main home is built, you'll see big efficiency improvements. If you've got a month on diesel, maybe heatpumps will bring it to 3.5 weeks haha Once annualized, our old school dryer counts for a Spring/Fall month's worth of usage. If we heatpump it, then it would count for 2 week's. Only really matters because we're grid-tied. For you, it maybe not pay back in Winter diesel. Some day, maybe in 10 years, we'll add a battery/solar generator to the mix. Now that we may use a tracking arm to maximize, and use it to take a few circuits in the house "off-grid" with a transfer switch. Only when the price falls that it doesn't totally sting for a few thousand kWh a year. Thanks!

[@ChrisM-tn3hx]

Love the video. This gave me a lot of good info. I'm planning on doing something similar within the next 5 years or so. There are some new "nanotechnology" hydrophobic sprays for glasslike surfaces that are supposed to provide a permanent or semi-permanent coating that makes it impossible for moisture or ice to stick. Not sure if it's viable on a solar panel, but might be something that could ease the workload a bit in scraping off the panels. Might even eliminate it, except where it would pile up at the base. Just a thought from someone completely unqualified to make any suggestions :)

[@nmosfet5797]

My panels in Finland are mounted fully vertical. Best energy yield in wintertime due to light reflected from snow, and no snow on the panels so no maintenence. Plug and forget.

[@berettaboi]

good thought there. i have not seen or heard anything on "waxing" (like you would a car), or other coatings - Rainx, onto solar panels. if there are negative impacts, like reflecting some some radiation. I'm interested to try the experiment now...

[@pauloconnell7668]

Enjoyed your video. I was wondering about the feasibility of installing a solar tracking system ,but you addressed that excellently. It would be a no go here in New Hampshire as we have similar snow and ice problems. Thanks.

[@AngelDjay]

I live up North Uk power going off all the time through the weather so I went solar in 2012, I use separate systems for every job with five banks running to batteries and a diesel generator for wash day. We don't get the best sunlight up here so the systems were built to produce 5 times more than required which brings them into producing just enough to charge batteries and supply what we need a part from in the winter when we have less sunlight so two years ago I added two 2kw wind generators which are ample for a house up here. The most expensive thing I have ever bought for the system has been the wind generators but with the wind up here they have been fantastic.

[@danielsteele7225]

Great setup and description. We have had solar since 2007 including battery backup. My thoughts re improvements for your system would include having more battery storage associated directly in concert with added PV, either by swapping out existing PV for more efficient ones or adding a few more panels that are more both more efficient and bifacial, in a location favorable to winter conditions. PV prices and efficiencies are more favorable today than ever before and new battery storage choices such as the PowerWall 3 offer opportunities for both streamline EV charging and addd redundancy during winter.

[@dbf1dware]

I'm very late to this party. I am glad you addressed the micro-hydro. As you were talking about "dumping load" during peak summer production to fill uphill water tanks, I was thinking... yes, then you could use it for micro-hydro in the leanest solar months. BUT I did actually think about something you said, and that is freezing. Yeah, that pretty much shoots down that idea. In some places it would probably work well. Great way to dump excess power in the summer. And then use gravity and micro-hydro to supplement the lean solar month(s). Too bad your system would probably freeze just when you actually needed it. Very thorough and interesting video. Thank you.

[@RB9522]

Good advice. The most efficient way to convert solar energy to power is by heating water. You can get 15% efficiency in electricity production at best, but you can get 60% with heating water. And you can efficiently store heated water. I wonder if you have considered this option? Thanks for the comprehensive overview of your system.

[@plane_guy6051]

How so? Are you suggesting using the solar power to heat water to use to heat the home? I'm just curious

[@RB9522]

@@plane_guy6051 NO! I'm suggesting directly heating water with purpose-designed panels. No electricity is involved (except for a small circulation pump). This is the oldest form of solar energy collection and can yield more than 600 Watts of heat per square meter.

[@sonictech1000]

I always thought it might be practical to heat a very large underground tank full of water in the summer to use for heat in the winter.

[@brettfox6816]

Wise man throwing the true Boom's on everybody !!!!

[@noodle3768]

Great video! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I am thinking about off grid too. I am tinkering the idea to have a plug in hydrid with reverse charging to complement the solar system. In deep winter, the hybrid can charge and heat the house. And in summer, solar system can charge the car. And the car has 13kwh battery to surplus home battery.

[@grandsea2]

Thank you for a very thorough review of your setup, the pro's and cons, and dispelling alot of the armchair type misconceptions...like other comments say, this is one of the best communicated off grid video's of offgrid systems I have seen...to the point without any sales pitches or fluffy bs...but informative and well thought out, and as a bonus I didn't fall asleep. Keep up the great content. Found through KZbin autplay so you're channel is getting helped by the algorithms, Congratulations!

[@jjseibert]

Thank you for the no bullshit explanation. You're to the point and concise, and you give factual prices. I would get a couple of small UPSs to charge any small items, I have APC 1500 that works perfectly, it also is the backup for my Bypap machine.

[@danielroehm2822]

Amen on the freedom brother! Thanks for the video. I wish I had the space to grow my system.

[@gilberthale7777]

Outstanding video. We have a 70 panel solar system for our 2,500 Sq Ft ranch house in the Upstate Western part of New York state, and a 48 panel solar system in a house we own in Southern California. Because of the latitude difference between the houses the amount of solar energy falling per square foot in SoCal is measurably higher than the energy falling per Sq Ft in NY, Being you are in Canada your latitude is further north, so your energy per Sq Ft is even lower than we have in NY. No matter, our maximum kWH output per month at the SoCal house over the past 7 years was 2,283kWH (2.28mWH) in mid-June - mid-July, 2020. In comparison, for the NY house, with its 70 panel system, the most in a month we have generated is 2,920kWH (2.920kWH) in May, 2018. I calculated the power per panel for both locations for their respective maximum solar output in kWH, and come up with 41.7 kWH per solar panel per month from in NY, and in SoCal we produce 47.6 kWH per solar panel per month. The panels in the two locations have similar, nearly equal production specifications, although they are different manufacturers. Yet, when looking at annual solar production the SoCal home produces just a little less than the NY house. I attribute that to the latitude in part The rest of the difference is that in the Winter months, where we get snow, our panels are covered - and they are roof mounted. Accordingly, there are days we get next to zero (0) kWH output, although that is the rarity even in the coldest pert of Winter (much lower kWH output daily, yes. But 0 kWH days are rare). unboundsolar.com/solar-information/sun-hours-us-map We do not bother brushing the snow off, as in looking at the cost-benefit of higher solar production vs a broken leg (or worse) it simply is not worth it for me to trudge outdoors, and try to use a long handled broom to sweep off the snow. A quick aside, I am 68 years old and have a medical limitation following some brain surgeries, and am a 9 year brain cancer survivor. I do not take needless chances with my safety or health. Ana as you put it, there is no financial benefit in trying to remove the snow via some kind of heating contraption. Anyway, I am glad I came across your video. It has helped me solidify in my mind that going off the grid in our case would be phenomenally costly, and in Winter months especially it could prove deadly. For the SoCal house, with a large whole house battery battery, if we could work out the efficiencies properly, could likely go off the grid. But, while running at a net $0 cost for electricity, why bother? As you also say, it is all about freedom, or in our case relative financial freedom. Gotta love it.

[@gilberthale7777]

@WhqtsApp458 I see your reply, but am confused by what you mean by: "let's converse right away the above digit" I am fine with you and I chatting in depth, if that is what you meant. My guess is your response was made on a smart phone and there are some words that got misused as a result of an auto-correction "feature" of the smart phone. My iPhone is notorious for doing that to me.

[@rickcounts9787]

I agree with mounting it on a receiver hitch. The only issue would be making sure the pole is high enough and can handle the wind loading, and if mounting on a receiver hitch welded to your RV, the vibration and noise will be heard through the chassis of the RV.

[@WVRetreat]

Thanks for the walkthrough. Very informative and candid. I've been considering solar for many years. The conclusion that I have come to is that that if you just look at the economics perspective, you are spending more time and money using solar versus using on-grid power. I realize you are doing this for more than just the economics though.

[@clovermark39]

I agree I have cut my electric use down to accommodate the size of the solar set up I have got. I am getting bigger panels and batteries as I can afford but it’s nice to be independent. I am in the UK and only had a few days that I didn’t have enough power.

[@MattRios-jn1qx]

This guy is fantastic. I've come up with same ideas about solar is the least maintenance cost, wind isn't practical. It isn't practical to make the panels track the sun etc

[@audrunasgruslys9243]

Regarding tracking - the right counterfactual is not even diesel, but more panels. For the cost of tracking one could easily build yet another stationary bank of solar panels with another charge controller.

[@TheDigitaldoug]

Wow, an honest guy that doesn't hype solar as the all inclusive perfect solution for an utopian future. What I like about this video, is the common sense he displays in discussing the economics of his system. If only Justin T and Biden had only half the smarts of Mr. Stone, our countries would be booming. His expose on wind power was totally a class act, as England has felt the pain of massive wind farms minus the crucial element of wind. Good job. I was somewhat amazed at the energy draw of his Star Link transceiver at 200 Watts. Such a power draw indicates massive active duty circuitry that is used for amplification and error-correction of his received signal and transmission of the upload signal. I can only imagine a lot of forward and backend error correction as any wireless connection if fraught with signal to noise issues and the concomitant errors.

[@OhmSteader]

I have broke all the rules of solar 30 years ago and now figuring it out. The more the merrier. Have a Lp dryer but like the sunshine most for drying cloths. We have 3000 lbs of fork lift batteries. Went through many other battery types which have been a waste of time but a learning experience,.Cables are a nuisance always corroding . Made a wood oven/heater from a 300lb propane tank which works well for winter time. on the roof is mish mash of panels making about 2500 watts. Batteries are usually full by 11:am. When leaves are off the trees more sun hits the panels so winter/fall/spring is when we are at the height of power. A meter in the house for everyone to see and know when to run the washer or vac. I have always been perplexed when people with $500,000 houses ask me how much for a system to run their needs and I say about $50,000 they gasp and I have to ask what room in their house is worth that much. I agree about putting the panels where you can clean them off yet where the mower or weed eater can not break them. Thanks for your info

[@HeilagOlav]

Good video, I agree on everything you found out. And about wind, I made a calculation on a 10kw and 50kw mill, ended up on 128 years payback on 10kw. The 50kw about 25years since both rigs used same tower. But we know, this setup need maintenance. Then I have just one advise for you on this mountain top, since you already consider woodgas generator. Build a big good insulated waterpool to dump power in the summer and use for heating in winter. But you most probably thinking of it allready😉 I have no panels yet, living on the grid, but educated in your field. I find stock market more attractive now. And if zombie acopalyze coming, I have food and heat😉

[@SaltGrains_Fready]

Yes nice 2 C your statements of usage and system description. One thing 2 do in the winter is take 2 or three of those panels in series and hook them to a 600-1000 Watt old fashioned Nichrome wire coil only heaters that glow. And they are more efficient on DC than AC. We are trying a setup like that here in the Prairies this winter with several panels nearly vertical for cold sunny days when you get the additional reflection off the snow onto the south wall of a new well house and regular old farm house. The shortened exposure bell curve will give heat between 8 AM and 3 PM into the rooms. As the sun comes back north in Feb and Mar to change the climate back to summer, there is all the more heat for more hours until it's completely unnecessary by late April and the panels can be reconnected back to the rest on the Schneider Inverter. ALSO, I have a nearby guy who has a roof full of panels on an outback system, who directs several of them into a large 500 Gal or 1800 liter tank in his basement which connects into the tubing in the heating system in the floor.

[@offgridcurtisstone]

Dude, at the lowest point in the winter, we're lucky to generate more than 5kWh in a day. Using that power to heat coils makes no sense.

[@HarryKnuckles-the3rd]

Great video. No BS which is very refreshing these days, right from the title to the content, great job. I’ve always said, if you’re young and ambitious and looking for a hobby, go solar. It is not just hang a solar panel and call the ATCO ‘s of the world and tell them to go pound sand. I see I’m about a year late in seeing this video but, I’d like to know, from you, how useful those solar systems they’re installing on the houses like you had in Kelowna actually are. My hunch is it’s 90-95% gimmick and 5-10% helpful.

[@LeroyDurfey-c3r]

Curtis that was great !!!!! I watch KZbin all the time and I just ran across this video it was great ,was very good explaining! I just hit the subscribe button and plan on going back to your beginning to start watching them all.i own land off grid in the north of Maine . And I think you just did a lot of ground work for me! So thank you and keep doing what you are doing!

[@etchediniron4249]

What I love about this type of living is, you can do it however the heck you want to. And that is the beautiful part about it. To the haters.... “Those that aren’t doing shouldn’t interrupt all those that are.”

[@patrickhart306]

I asked solar seller the motorized following the sun tracker question too and he said. Just put out another solar panel instead of worry about parts that you'll need for the tracker.

[@silvertonguedaywalker9116]

Long the way the Trees Look with the Snow. I first saw your Off Grid Page today. Very interesting. I can't wait to dive in and watch your Journey from the Start. We live in England. We want to move in 4 years to buy a Home with about 10 Acres. Saw the one in Texas the land was lovely x We have chosen 3 Countries to Retire to, i say Retire not me . Where we live in England we have Houses all around us. We are Debt free do not owe anyone anything. We have 4 Grown up kids and quite a few Grandkids x

[@ashforkdan]

I hear ya on experts. I've been off grid for thirty yrs now. Over the years you learn what it takes by living on it. There isn't any books then or now that tells the truth because they don't live on it. What all needs to know is make it the best you can because you get older and your not going to do what you used to do. Also plan for the future growth because you never stop growing. I live in northern Arizona and I have 40- 240 watt pannels 2 - 5000 watt midnight solar DIY inverters and 2 -48 volt forklift batteries. It works.

[@frankphair4675]

Love your video .First time seeing your video .Very realistic and practical and not too technical

[@TurtleWaxed]

The most important reason to over provision and to use solar is that it beats the hell outta freezing to death in -40F if the grid is down and your diesel is gelled up. At least with some form of power, you can preheat the diesel lines to get them moving again and other cool things that you could not do if you dont have at least say a small battery storage, inverter, and grid power.

[@glennsonne9786]

good review of context vs. real pricing. I have a natural gas ice generator that I am trying to recover heat from as it's hugely wasteful re: heat, but I am ready to go off grid and not even grid tied. This is the reality of going off grid, $$$ vs. pie in the sky. I am not solar due to climate change, or green energy, but because it works and I am anti slavery and price controlled energy. I am down to about 12 dollars a month, and hope to be totally free in about 1 year. I have about 7 KW of panels but due to my usage, it's almost all I need. I am in S. Oregon and 10 months of the year I am golden. 2 months are iffy.

[@sherrikarlstedt6442]

I am with you, unfortunately the funding isn't there. Trusting that God will provide what i need and cannot do on my own. Thank you for sharing and great information. I believe in our God given inalienable rights and the basics to be able to live, and any blessings given.

[@colinwiseman]

Best answer. Even if folks don't go off grid, you still have real independence from the grid and the powers that be, and any fluctuations in pricing.

[@terrancevangemert7508]

Well you built it and the question I like to ask is the cost to get Grid to the house. I know that power pole is 5k CAND and transformer at 15Kw is 20K which is paid up front. however when shared the neighbour pays for half to you upon connecting. But not for the poles that you pay for to get to where the transformer is placed.

[@HolzMichel]

great rundown of your system. what you should focus on now is eliminating loads you don't need.

[@darwinjina]

Perhaps, something to keep in mind, is that the size of the system is like the 'estimated gas mileage'. There are a lot of factors that will determine the peak % of that 'system size' that you can get generate. (Had a neighbor curse when his 10kW system never peaked higher than 7 even on a summer day)

[@greggdenike1376]

Curtis,as usual, Super job explaining cost efficiency benefits of Ur solar, diesel,pff grid system.applied realistically ,in Ur situation, MAHALO!

[@johngordon1175]

How many truths are there! There’s wrong then there’s right!

[@sylwesterlazar9441]

Hi, It's nice that you show how your system works. Thanks for this. If I can add anything to your opinion about trackers, I'd suggest the following: I like your video very much and I admire that there are people in Canada who prefer going back to nature. I immediately say that I do not (yet) have a tracker. However, I am convinced of it. I have chickens :-). If you change your mindset from "it doesn't pay off" to "how to make it pay off", the following advice will be useful: You have perfect conditions for a gradual conversion of the installation into trackers. I would suggest reworking one first, then you gain experience and rebuild (or not if you don't see the benefits further), the second and the third. Thanks to this, it will not be costs 10-20, but initially 3-7 (k$). In addition, if you already find the answer on how to do it cheaply, it will only be $2k. You have to decide for yourself. But remember: to draw energy you must look directly at the source, you will not gain energy if you are not looking at the source. You'll get leftovers. It is wrong to say that you have a lot of leftovers in the summer. It is not about the average annual production, but the use of the potential energy of the sun, i.e. not in relation to the year, but in relation to the sum of hours from 365 DAYS (not nights). Because we live there. We don't care about the night. And you say it yourself when you describe your mornings and winter days. Warm greetings from Poland.

[@NickWindham]

Burning more diesel makes sense until the generator malfunctions and you’re snowed in. Then it’s be nice to have more solar incentive addition to your backup fuel sources, assuming you’re able to scrape the snow off the panels. I assume you’re already using a hydrophobic coating on the panels to prevent snow and ice from sticking, right?

[@kevinbrown5321]

I'm in the UK and have received a 100% grant to improve the insulation and heating of my home which I rent privately. Every external wall has been heavily insulate. I have 8 x 450 w solar panels on my south facing roof and am about to add a further 8 at my own cost. I've also had an airsource heatpump with rads and my cottage is totally transformed. From cold and damp it is dry and cosy. My electric bill for May was £13

[@Hopper138]

Awesome video. If I was could not pick on one issue. You said running electric heater on your panels wouldn’t be efficient. Electric heat is actually 100% efficient. It just doesn’t make sense in an off grid system to use electricity to make electricity.

[@omegafile]

Hi Curtis, I'm living in Delta BC and have designed a thermoacoustic system That makes high voltage ... around 63,000 volts. If your able to make a transformer to make it useful I can give you the CNC codes for free to make the parts. This device is very powerful and also makes hot water from the air. It spins water droplets in a torus to make high voltage. It also makes hydrogen and oxygen and heat. No need for the sun or wind and works day and night from sound and feedback... and way cheaper to build...cost nothing to run and wont break because no moving parts... only 2 wires.. one to the positive and one to the negative... It's Ac but still needs a ground rod and a transformer. No magnet or coil or battery is required for the device... but it does make it's own magnetic field from the current conducting through some vibrating disks. If you have access to a cnc machine shop then it's only the cost of the metals.. probably under 1500 dollars. The most expensive part is a 90 hertz singing bowl that you can spin on a lathe and make yourself. Believe it or not... it's powered by a heavy duty xylophone key a singing bowl and feedback. There are only 13 parts. If you want to make sense of it.. picture a drum box with a hole on top and you make a vibration in the center of the box that is 0.224 up the center pipe of the singing bowl... all the hot air is pushed up the center by sound and all the cold air comes in from the bottom hole.. the hot air vibrates the bowl and it blows like a horn to the xylophone key that sits on top of the box and this xylophone key bounces on some granite speakers that collect water by condensation for electrolysis. The hydrogen gets exploded from the water droplets and goes boom right back into the microphone in an endless feedback loop... and this creates more heat in the box .. you get a doughnut inside... all the hot air goes up the center and all the cold air goes to the bottom hole. The hot air rising in the center of the bowl spins the water droplets in a torus creating incredible high voltage.. that blows up the hydrogen. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKS2oq2ChbKVatU It only takes a half a cup of water to make all the electricity you want.. and it will make it's own water. If you use a 500 lb xylophone key..500 lbs of force on a quartz crystal releases 12,500 volts per cubic centimeter.. in granite about 4000 volts... that about a billion volts on 12 inch granite disk.... but it limits to 63,000 volts because of the spark gap. If you go over 70,000 volts you will crack the disks. Gold is magnetic when it gets hot and so it's optional to change the center cog from copper to gold.. it will have a much higher magnetic field when it gets hot. The ideal center cog is made with 4 metals.. iron.. magnetic when cold... copper.. conductive... silver.. thermally conductive.. gold.. magnetic when hot. Wood also vibrates when it gets hot and so the box is tuned to 90 hertz... and so the whole box will be vibrating at a 90 hertz tone once it gets hot... and so you have to suspend the box off the ground at the nodes so it can vibrate like a wind chime. It will run forever once it gets hot because the sound from the exploding hydrogen and the feedback will keep it going. Everything is obsolete.. thermoacoustics rules.. batteries suck and need to be replaced.

[@greenstar3411]

His point about Cost reward of sun tracking is obvious. 👍

[@feman43]

Wind energy in the zero wind winter "nothing burger" well done. Just like the whole video based on truly rational evaluation - Very Well Done. Thank you for putting this together and bringing it into context...

[@murray7851]

I love that you are charging your Tesla too! You are basically making your own gasoline (electricity) for free!

[@Engineerboy100]

Super informative video, making me really think about do I want to even do this lol took 5 minutes to get started but once it got going hand on to you hat lol JK Thanks for posting Great job!

[@RobertHales-gb9oi]

I'm on the grid which has been very reliable. The longest power outage that I have experienced in 80+ years was 4 days but I'm familiar with a nearby 7 & 32 day outage. I have 4 large freezers and a Refrigerator/Freezer that must have power. A portable gasoline generator would be the cheapest, I have two. Three years ago, Texas had a major problem. Even if you had a generator, could you buy fuel for it? Terrorists or an EMP could take the grid down for a long period. A friend who works for the NYISO says that NY's increasing dependence on unreliable power is of real concern to them. My panels produce 90-125% of my electricity with the surplus is used in the winter for electric heat. (My net metering pays wholesale so that this surplus electricity produces heat less costly than my 98% efficient propane furnace.) My 3.6 KW Outback system with 3.8 KW battery storage is my backup to the grid. Some of my grid-tie panels treat the Outback as the grid. If the battery gets low, we have 3200 watt inverter generator connected to my 500 gallons propane tank that will come on automatically if the battery is low. SNOW: My roof panels have an 8/12 pitch and frequently covered by snow from Lake Ontario. We have 3,500 watts of panels on a pole which we change the pitch twice a year. In the winter, they rarely, typically 1 day, have snow on them because of the 19/12 pitch or a gust of wind. I liked your presentation based on your experience. My goals are different; I want my most critical loads to be off grid if necessary.

[@alphabravo2671]

Interesting to see your experiences so far north. I live in South Africa where we have a lot of sun all year.

[@retireeelectronics2649]

The one I love is "LED lighting is so energy efficent why are you not using it." Duh, I have electric heating for the house and that means the other light bulbs are 100 % efficent 10 months of the year, Light +heat = 0 waste. Very nice video, well explained, especially the no moving parts for solar.

[@williamparker8318]

Great video. Thanks for your hard work. Cheers

[@slartybartfarst9737]

Superb practical system insight. Agreed Starlink sucks on standby power, 250mW 24/7........its the receiver array (it gets hot/warm that tells you somethings going on, advantage, snow melts, disadvantage pigeons warm their feet / butts cuts signal)

[@Pabz2030]

We live in South Eastern Spain where we get ~3500 hours of sunshine per year. Even here it's difficult to be 100% Off grid (power wise) We have an 8kWp system with 2 hybrid inverters and 22kWh of batteries which gives us ~95% of our annual power needs...but to get that last 5% when we have a few cloudy days in Jan/Feb would mean doubling the system size and cost ~ another 9000 Euros. Considering what we have means we have virtually zero reliance on the grid and annual power bills of < 400 Euros it just doesnt square to go that last bit to fully off grid and permanently pull the plug. Funnily enough regarding the dual axis tracking, we looked at it and doing the numbers we would get maybe an extra 5% most of the year when we really didnt need it so in the end decided it was far simpler and cheaper to just add a few panels to over drive the inverter (as long as its within the electrical specs) than even attempt it.

[@omm7763]

You are absolutely correct. At the end of your video where are you state about the location and non-tracking. You're doing it kinda right! You're doing it just like a farmer or a massive scaled farm field filled with solar panels. They don't track the sun. They just set them to optimize, just like you did. The naysayers just don't know what it takes. They need to buy three solar panels for themselves, and then optimize it. But if they only bought three, they would be OK with spending $5000 on tracking.. Now get them to purchase three pallets of solar panels or 93 solar panels and get them to put up 30 tracking solar arays. This is absolutely dumb. This is why anybody who is a solar farmer just leaves their panels fixed and optimized, sometimes with a little bit of a tilt function.

[@evantspurrell]

ground mount is better for maintenance and for cooling anyway

[@jefftucker9225]

I have a very small diy solar setup, my home is grid tied but I wanted to have back up power incase of outages, I basically converted one room in my home to run on solar, it is a 10x15 room, that has my internet modem and router, some two 7w led light strips, a small 24 inch tv, and a 400w window AC unit, the AC I can only run with it's sunny out and during the day, but this is for emergencies and not everyday use

[@denvera1g1]

43:54 I live in a normally hot humid climate, often over 110f, but the winters can get down to -20f. ON my solar system i plan to use an oil based heat exchanger to cool the pannels and dump that heat either into an air to oil heat exchanger, or into a pool during the cooler months. But you've just made me think, why not take some geothermal or some other heat to temporarily warm those pannels to melt snow and ice, i wonder if it would be effecitve enough to offset the power. Maybe you'd only need a bit of heat to melt one set of pannels and then as those pannels heat up from the sun, heat the oil, and a manifold could redirect that hot oil to other pannels. Not at all reasobable for your system but maybe someone who's already planning to use a hybrid solar+thermal system

[@LMTipping]

AC in summer is fine for most people as there is extra energy in the summer Hot water can be put on a timer for mid day and off the rest of the time so you are not heating it overnight I find this works better

[@va3vad]

I use RainX on my 4KW solar system. It is making the snow sliding off easier.

[@air_dragonclash1576]

Thank you so much for your video. I learned so much about the solar system and practical experience of your grid. Look forward for your update about your system inn the future.

[@bogbrookauto]

I love your attitude! Keep on keeping on!

[@johnqpublic9074]

Totally off grid here in Canada, people just don't grasp is the panels are only part of the equation. The batteries are IMO are an even bigger part. The surge current from the well pump maxes out the inverter and batteries... City folk don't think about power management.

[@Juan-VargasJV]

@1:51 you got me there 😅 I can tell we can be friends. I agree 💯 %

[@ForbiddTV]

You have given what is an unspoken truth for most channels who claim to be "off grid". Even with as massive of a system that you have, you still have to burn something in the winter to fulfill your energy needs.

[@tomasdale5306]

KEEP GOING, INSPIRING !!!!!! PEOPLE LIKE YOU CHANGES THE WORLD !!!!!! DON'T GIVE UP !!!!!!

[@toddmarshall7573]

Re Freezers: Consider canning all your food. When I went off grid, my biggest load was refrigeration. By switching to canned food storage I got rid of refrigeration completely... and that made all the difference. Plus, meal preparation is simpler with more variety when you use canned food. And canning maintains "all" the flavor and nutrients. They have nowhere to go.

[@twinkletoes22221]

Where are you near which city? I was off grid above Westside Road 10 yrs... first mountain woman off grid ... propane to run generator cost over $3000 a yr. You are correct... stationary rigs and the angle is great! I had 8 panels for a 2200 ft home.

[@Janisg616]

24:48 Large chest freezers if fully stacked should be OK to be without electricity for 16hours and 8 hours on (if no fresh unfrozen food is added, especially in winter, with low ambient temperature.) It will not save any KWh /24h but freezers will work harder during those 8 hours, to get the temperature down and do not drain batteries when it is dark. That way they will kick on only when panels are generating energy and not drain the batteries. You can put a temperature probe in one of freezers, turn off power and see how much the temperature rises after 8, 16 or 24 hours, should not be much. Similar thing can be done with large water boiler during summer, it can be turned on only during the day, so it does not use batteries at all. It will store solar energy as heat energy. That will not work for regular refrigerators, and built in freezers in them. Those dont have thermal mass and warm up quickly, they need 24/7 power supply.

[@RVingwithG]

I'm glad I found your video too bad it's a year old I missed out a whole year of your goodness. 😅

[@jonathanrogers8341]

Awesome video Curtis. great job covering all the practical options for generating and storing power off grid. looks like you did your homework testing them in a real work environment. Southern BC on a mountain top is one tough environment, especially in the winter time. A lot people pushing the green agenda don't understand that up in Canada, there is very little energy to pull from the environment in the winter months. Now, if there was just some economic option for seasonal energy storage, that would be the holy grail for solar in the north. Anyway, your video is a must watch for anyone looking to put in a off grid power system.

[@SeanRaynon]

I am also off-grid (Deye Hybrid Inverter) may I suggest to have SMARTLOAD feature. excess power goes to certain heavy load appliances (heater/pump/teslacar).

[@nikolasmiller4075]

I'm an engineer in the utility scale solar Industry and found this video very interesting. First of all, thank you for your genuine honesty in all of your work. Second, have you done any research on low voltage DC circuits for lighting? If so, I'm curious what your thoughts are on it with your setup.

[@muthatrucka76]

His thoughts on that would be...not existent..He thinks he has to dump power instead of letting it top up right after saying he tries to keep from cycling the batteries..Built pylons were built to bedrock for panels weigh a few hundred pounds...Talks about how much better the two panels work than the others.. but discounts any movement system..which would only consist of a beam underneath that pivots and a couple winches and pulleys that could also cycle occasionally to sweep snow back and off....Never heard of products to keep dry snow from sticking...Doesn't realize that a electromagnetic pulse could wipe out his fancy computer control that sends percentage to load and another percentage to batteries..somehow isolating them percentage wise while only using generator power to load...Shows that travesty of 10-3 running through holes drilled by a toddler.😅 then the other cables inside rubber hose..Wanting to talk on ROI..it definitely takes a long time to get right side up when you took one hell of a beating upfront..For 100k..I could have everything on the hill...And yes..I have a system better for about 3k..But I'm also a product of ADHD...very diverse set of skill honed for 46 years of learning and still going..How about figuring how much diesel you could buy for 130k..and how easy making bio diesel in the cold...I know about those comments from ignorant folks but this guy just makes it easy..lol...Sorry..really..send

[@jpederse98]

Curtis, I just found your content. Excellent review of your solar system. Very well done. I have the same system, I have the same Central Boiler (this is my first winter). You may have made the same mistake I made in the design of the Schneider Conext system. If those are the same MPPT80 charge controllers and 6848 XP Inverters and a 48V battery system. You will find that the MPPT80's are capped at 80 amps DC x 50VDC = 4000 Watts DC. If you have 3 of those, your chargers are limited to 12kw for the 20k of panels you have. My system is about half of yours at just over 10k in panels and I have 2 MPPT 80's maxing out at 8000 watts. I haven't decided after 3 years that it's worth splitting the circuits up into 3 lines instead of the 2 I currently have. It certainly doesn't hurt but I see the output max out at 8kw for a couiple of hours a day in the middle of summer here in Kansas. I'll be checking out your content and your blog. John