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

FREE WEBINAR: “Find Your Dream Homestead Property” → freedomfarmers.com/op/land-as...
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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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▶️ Buy One Of My T-Shirts. You know you want one → curtis.freedomfarmers.com
▶️ Check out the new From The Field KZbin channel → bit.ly/3p8s1c4
▶️ All my livestreams are also up on Rumble: rumble.com/c/OFFGRIDWITHCURTI...
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Music and Footage commonly used on this channel:
Sweeps - / sweepsbeats
Biocratic - birocratic.com
The Muse Maker - / themusemaker
David Cutter Music - davidcuttermusic.co.uk
artlist.io/Curtis-38762
Images - licensed via Envato.com
Video Footage - licensed via Envato.com
Music - licensed via artlist.io

[@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

[@brendonmasters]

Your evolution is truly an internet success story. From neighbors yards to where you're at is an astonishing difference. Thanks for bringing us along

[@offgridcurtisstone]

Gratitude!

[@gernotfrohlich6978]

@@JOHNDANIEL1 nice "feedback" setup!

[@devore1776]

Curtis thanks for the tour. I am an electrical engineer who builds infrastructure for a living. This was a very nice explanation of a well thought out system. Based on the knowledge that you demonstrated here I am sure that you are aware of what I am going to contribute however, I would like to comment about your diesel engine from a maintenance perspective. Generally speaking diesel engines like to be fully loaded at a constant load over time. They are made to run and don't like to sit unused for a great length of time. In instances where we specify diesel generators as backup power we always ensure that they are run at 100% load for a minimum of 1 hour at least once a month. Biweekly is better BTW. Diesel fuel that sits in a tank also has a tendency to grow algae over time. It is a good idea to either keep the fuel moving by using it up or secondly "polish" fuel occasionally if it is sitting for long periods of time. This is an advantage of using propane fuel for long term storage as an aside. Though I agree it is awesome that you can make bio-diesel in shtf. Again thank you for all that you do!

[@Growmap]

@@offgridcurtisstone Curtis, does it make any sense to try to maximize your use of 12V appliances as alternatives to 110V? On a different subject, do you have a video that explains how you use your water storage tanks in the winter? Or do you drain the system before the first freeze?

[@svenshanah]

@@JOHNDANIEL1 I read this and thought, "that's a good idea", then I saw that is was u John.. you should do a dedicated video or 3 on that brother.

[@devore1776]

Curtis thanks for the tour. I am an electrical engineer who builds infrastructure for a living. This was a very nice explanation of a well thought out system. Based on the knowledge that you demonstrated here I am sure that you are aware of what I am going to contribute however, I would like to comment about your diesel engine from a maintenance perspective. Generally speaking diesel engines like to be fully loaded at a constant load over time. They are made to run and don't like to sit unused for a great length of time. In instances where we specify diesel generators as backup power we always ensure that they are run at 100% load for a minimum of 1 hour at least once a month. Biweekly is better BTW. Diesel fuel that sits in a tank also has a tendency to grow algae over time. It is a good idea to either keep the fuel moving by using it up or secondly "polish" fuel occasionally if it is sitting for long periods of time. This is an advantage of using propane fuel for long term storage as an aside. Though I agree it is awesome that you can make bio-diesel in shtf. Again thank you for all that you do!

[@ZeeCaptainRon]

Excellent point on running the diesel genset. I have a 12kw genset on my boat and I used to have to run it 24/7 while aboard and away from the dock at about 2kw loads. Needless to say this was bad for the unit. I installed a LiFePo4 19kwh battery bank and now run the genset 4 hours/day in the cold months and only 2hr/day in the summer and it runs at 10kw loaded. A much better way to run, plus less diesel and much less oil changes.

[@mtnphot]

I disagree. No one runs their backhoe or d9 cat at 100% unless they are trying to break it. Prime movers for generators generally have a peak rpm of 2000rpm, however unless you are building a cheap system, an alternator on a genset's rated capacity is about 85% of the maximum horsepower ofr the prime mover, so running the system at 100% is difficult without blowing up the alternator. We test alternators at 100% but not motors From 1980 to 2007 we generated our power with diesel gensets. WE finally went to an izuzu genset with a stamford generator. We put about 35000 hours on it 75HP @ 3500 ropm driving a 25kva generator. it ran 16 hours per day so but not at full load. While an alternator may be rated for 25kw, in reality it is designed to run at 80% load. We decided it was time to overhaul the engine; the local dealer said on tear down it looked like it had 5000 hours on irather than 35000. I put this down to the fact that the engine is essentially running at a fast idle and never is loaded to its design capability. This was the third engine. One was lost in a fire; (electrical protection on meter wiring and metallic fire resistant hoses with a thermal fuse is essential in an installation. The second lost its coolant and overheated.( Do not rely on temperature safetys; ensure your installation has Murphy type level switches for both oil and coolant. The third engine is the one that was overhauled with 35000 hours and has at least that many on it now. I was the facility manager at a local penitentiary for 25 years. Standby generators are essential to the operation of a jail. The original standby generator was a Waukesha natural gas engine with propane backup. There are inherent issues with natural gas for standby. This system relied on a compressor to bring gas pressure up to the required pressure. It would bleed down, so it would take 30 seconds cranking before it would start. That coupled with magneto ignition made the unit more or less unreliable and was replaced with a kohler generator with a mitsubishi prime mover. Fuel polishing, was installed but next to useless. Far better to annually get a fuel analysis and clean the fuel as required. The only place I would install a natural gas or propane generator is in the city where a diesel generator is impractical.

[@keithd.2722]

​@@mtnphotI obviously can't speak for everyone, but to me, if I read that someone is running their generator at 100% load, I'm going to read that as 100% of sustainable, continuous load, not peak, maximum load. But you're right to call that out because probably a lot of people will read "run it at 100% load" and think "crank it up to the rated maximum and just leave it there". Ideally, you should never do that, or at the very least, limit it to emergencies where it's absolutely unavoidable. Internal combustion engines are their most energy efficient typically around the 80-85% load range in terms of unites of work done per unit of fuel consumed. Low idle is nearly as much a waste of an engine (and its fuel) as 100% maximum load is.

[@Tom-gs7yk]

Talker loves a talker

[@canadianman76]

Also, a propane generator could be more easily converted to a generator that runs off of gasified wood. This is a good option if you are looking at generating power with wood.

[@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

[@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'

[@user-oo4ww1hf1c]

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!

[@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.

[@cthncthn7405]

I frickin love the video. About a year into learning about solar and just bought my first system. The first thing that was a major help in learning was designing my system by determining my needs, then going back and forth endlessly playing with different scenarios to determine what I would need. Watching content like yours is like an advanced scenario I’ve never come across but I love hearing you go back and forth explaining WHY you did it the way you did. Makes so much sense.

[@concernedpatriot9314]

Me too !

[@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!

[@offgridcurtisstone]

Time stamps: 01:26 - Why are we off-grid? 04:30 - Greater Context for the system 07:57 - Solar Panels 15:42 - Main system 19:43 - batteries 21:04 - Electrical Loads 27:27 - What did this cost? 29:27 - The generator 34:50 - The Seasonality of the system 39:48 - Correcting the record 40:36 - The most common questions 41:31 - Solar Tracking? 43:44 - What about something that can melt the snow off the panels? 44:42 - Wind power? 46:39 - Micro-Hydro? 48:04 - Adding more solar?

[@HansKeesom]

Great, timestamps for a premiere :-)

[@mlgprez8498]

KZbin thinks each of those is hour:minute:second and therefore skips the video entirely trying to click one.

[@offgridcurtisstone]

Should I put zeros at the front?

[@offgridcurtisstone]

Fixed

[@mlgprez8498]

@@offgridcurtisstone I don't think you have to, but its workin great now

[@bearupfarm1818]

I have ran my generator this winter for total 10 days for one hour to charge the battery. The farm is running total sustainable.

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

Cool!

[@casitaverdeibiza2023]

Many thanks for making this video, which, as you say, covers just about everything for anyone considering following an off-grid lifestyle. At Casita Verde on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, we have 9 different systems with a total of over 13kw of maximum capacity. We have all the modern conveniences you could imagine, but have not used our generator for quite a few years now. It's all about adapting to the prevailing conditions and learning to live with what you collect. No-one can turn us off, which in today's crazy world, is a big advantage!💚😇🌻

[@WillProwse]

Finally finished the whole video now. Yeah lots of trolls in the comments. I lived 100% off-grid for ten years and have a massive grid tie and off grid system at my house for three years, but the trolls just need to be educated. They need help. It's hard to ignore them now that you have two years of experience, but it's always an opportunity to educate these people when they show their ignorance on the topic. When I first started, 110W panel was $500. And even today, I get people complaining that solar and batteries are too expensive 😂 it NEVER ends haha buts it's a great opportunity for you and I to help people by educating them. Just responding to your comments near the end.

[@daveauman2339]

Love It! Great job! That is a big system... Impressive. One of my neighbors has an offgrid tiny home that I have played a role in creating and maintaining. He currently has 18, 320 watt panels charging his 3 batteries, that are about the same capacity as 3 of your eg4s. His system is more than adequate for about half of the year, but struggles during the other half... he's North facing against a very steep 2500' tall mountain. The game changer for him was microhydro. He has a year around stream that doesn't flow much during the summer, but he has plenty of solar during those times. We had a very dry fall (no rain until October 22) and his solar was waning to the point that he had to run his generator a bit. During the fall, I was doing some work at his headworks and needed to build a small bypass around my work area. There was so little water that I was able to do it with a 1 1/4 inch line... small sandbag dam and just shoved the bottom end of the 1 1/4 onto the top of his 4" penstock. With his 288 feet of fall (125 psi) it was surprising to me that we were still able to make 450 to 500 watts, 24/7 and that was enough to keep his system running without the generator. During the winter, there is so much water that he is only running the microhydro at about 20% to meet his needs, while his solar is making very little. Anyway, the reason that I mention this is because in your video you say that you don't have a hydro source, but you do have a mountain to which you pump water to your holding tanks. My question would be... on that mountain you have absolutely no flowing water? Even a small amount might make a significant difference during the month or two that you struggle and the expense is comparatively low per kw. If you have absolutely no falling water, disregard my suggestion. But, perhaps someone reading this may still benefit? And, thank you for sharing your incredible content. 😁

[@berettaboi]

he may not own enough of that land to reach a point of a running stream to utilize for a hydro-electric generator. he currently is pumping water up to some holding tanks, that is his house supply i guess. i like the idea of "water storage battery - using excess solar generated power during summer, to pump water up to a reservoir, then when the solar system is done producing, flowing the water back down to a lower reservoir through a hydro generator. the size of the reservoirs, the height of the hill for head pressure, and amount of water are the concern really.

[@VinceBadovinatz88]

@@berettaboi very interesting. I'm building a little solar system down here in San Diego California. It's such a small little system I've seen will prowse and all the videos. I have put a lot of time and effort into it and I'm barely gotten anywhere I don't know how these other guys do it so much time invested

[@thegreatone11]

​@@VinceBadovinatz88in the same boat as you fella

[@waslarkin]

I’m also in East San Diego county, just got my system up and running 4 days ago. Love it, couldn’t be happier. Purchased all the gear from Signature Solar.

[@groundspeed3954]

Thanks, Curtis. Great video! It's clear your system has matured based on your knowledge and experience. I'm building out a solar system on my farm and you've given me practical insights to reflect on.

[@patricke.987]

A big Thank You! I have had a 2 small OG solar system (2kw) at Cabins in the Canadian woods. Just for the basic needs... Game changer... Now looking at a 48V Hybrid 18KWH for PV and 12KWh load with a 30KWh powerwall. I will be using it as an Off-grid system. i will also have a generator. I will be located in Central Alberta... ANYWAY... I was forgetting about offloading excess load during the summer. Also redundancy is key....So I wasn't looking at 2 water heating options or having a gas and electric stove. Now I get the importance of it! A big Thank you! I became a sub!

[@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.

[@ericrmaki]

Thx Curtis for all you do! I can tell you have worked your ass off to get where you are and am currently going through all of your videos from the past. You have answered all of my questions in videos from the past, so no questions at this time. Keep up the good work!

[@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.

[@whitnt2922]

I have an offgrid cabin in the Cascades in Washington, so similar conditions. I can confirm that the systems in these types of environments have to be way oversized due to short winter days and snow, and in most cases will still require some amount of generator back up. Luckily, this is the worst case scenario and most locations can get by with a lot smaller systems at a fraction of the price. But was pretty cool to see that this is possible with a big house, no real sacrifice in creature comforts, and an EV. Very cool, and great video.

[@weathertrainsrandomniss1083]

Debating solar for our home. Offgrid is my ultimate goal. With a growing family as well, training all of us to utilize creacher comforts when the sun shines will be difficult. I like your explanation of your setup! Cheers from Wisconsin.

[@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).

[@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!!

[@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.

[@MattRios-jn1qx]

I am only starting on this stuff and will never be a tenth as big, but I have run into most of the concepts he has explained and the common sense to his decisions. He's absolutely beyond amazing. What a tremendous video; I wish to thank him very strongly for the valuable information he's provided

[@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.

[@FreedomToRoam86]

What I think you should do, in my expert opinion of watching a lot of KZbin videos while considering solar for my home, is keep making occasional videos like this that are down to earth and common sense! I learned far more watching this video where you discuss capabilities, limitations, and alternatives, than from the majority of videos I’ve seen. Thanks!

[@markoredano9141]

This is the most informative solar review for what most of us would like to have and the realities about the limitations even huge, well thought out, very expensive solar setups are faced with. Thank you!

[@pjoutdoorservices775]

Great video!! All the points you made were absolutely spot on. There's way too many armchair experts out there. Really enjoyed this and seeing your massive setup! I would say I think wind has a much better case with larger more efficient wind turbines. But then you get in to serious investment, way more than the extra panels you'd need. But it also depends on your location. Thanks for a top quality video! 👍👍

[@Zorlig]

I'm really impressed with you, very few people understand the theory behind solar sizing and fuel usage on the generator!

[@VinceBadovinatz88]

Agreed

[@RM-gy8is]

Great information and I like you’re ok with giving costs and explaining the why and cost analysis over the years. I’m excited about the wood boiler and what that does for your entire operation. Will that run the radiant heat in greenhouse ? Great way to hear soil. Signature solar seems to be a favorite for off grid folks - I think they have amazing service and spt. Thanks for the great information

[@offgridcurtisstone]

Yes. It'll heat both greenhouses.

[@borispetkau1246]

To supply the woodboiler with wood is full-time job and not funny

[@darrylmartel547]

I am also off grid with starlink . I use a 55 ah AGM battery with a 150 watt true sign wave inverter and a 12 volt pulse repair charger with a small changeover switch to power my starlink at night. Works perfect. Much better than a UPS system. Main power system is magnum/Midnite with 33kwh forklift lead acid.

[@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!

[@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 :-)

[@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!

[@WillProwse]

In instances like this a small modular nuclear reactor would work so well. All the energy generated could be stored by your battery bank, and it can generate power 24/7. They will probably not be around for another few decades but your situation is perfect for them. Winter is tough at your latitude, it truly is. But a small reactor would make it much easier. Great video! Loved the discussion

[@offgridcurtisstone]

Oh ya? Who's got those for sale?

[@WillProwse]

@@offgridcurtisstone sadly no one lol. Would solve quite a few problems in the world. Really surprised they are not being sold yet.

[@offgridcurtisstone]

Sounds like another DIY rabbit hole.

[@WillProwse]

@@offgridcurtisstone absolutely haha

[@jamesphillips2285]

@@offgridcurtisstone Not sure individuals will ever be able to buy them. The nuclear non-proliferation treaty requires you to prevent nation states, including the government of Canada, from diverting material toward nuclear weapons. Though the the Betavolt battery built around Nickel 63 is probably suitable for individual use. Only 100 microwatt power output though. They hope to make a 1W version in the near future.

[@filippomagaraci5802]

I just watched your video out of curiosity, and I’m glad I did it. What I found useful were some of your general comments on how to analyse and approach problems. Thanks, it was worth it. All the best!

[@karendoupe1830]

Great video. Been watching from the start. Appreciate the updates. I think people fail to realize how much electricity it takes to live ‘normal’ life aka always on the computer or watching tv. We watch our power closely since we are on Time of Use. Makes a huge difference if you pay attention.

[@offgridcurtisstone]

That's right. However, the bigger the system, the less you have to compromise.

[@vernt4583]

Great video of your system and I am a licensed electrician and you are spot on with the evaluation of efficiency of solar and wind turbine and diesel power…. I am retired now and living here in East Texas have completed a power system for running internet platforms off grid 100 percent using wind turbine and solar panels producing a consistent 3 kw hours a day 365 a year. I installed the wind turbine up on towers 100 feet and like you the cloudy and rainy weather in east Texas working with about 7 years payoff

[@dwightlilly4208]

Thanks Curtis, your video showed up on my feed so curiosity led me to watch. I live in the most solar friendly region of North America, Southern Nevada. I started with a grid tied system that produces more than we can use, and then built an off grid system to compliment it in case the shtf. I'm extremely impressed with your approach as your location and situation has a lot of head wind I don't have. AND we share one similar situation, the number of people who judge, question, criticize and believe they know it all or more than we do, yet haven't a clue as they have never done it. No two situations are alike.

[@pianogal853]

I especially resonated with your "why" - that's my motivation to be off grid to the tee

[@HolzMichel]

same here

[@bearupfarm1818]

Good job Curtis. There are mini split that runs very little power design for solar. I have 220 split phase from the inverter and run the hole farm.

[@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! 🤙🏻

[@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.

[@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. :-)

[@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.

[@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.

[@AdventureWidely]

I converted my Starlink to DC for portability. It may give you a little bit of savings by switching out your Starlink router to something lighter weight (power draw) and then powering the Starlink dish with 48v DC (PoE supplied, with a little bit of re-wiring).

[@Boringcountrylife]

Awesome walk through, Curtis! Kindred spirits here. We are nearing 1 year since my husband started buidling our system. We are 100% off grid 80-90% of the time this winter. We still switch back to grid power if clouds persist a 2nd or 3rd day. (Zombie mode would just mean limiting our power usage.) One of our summer solar dumps will be a pool pump and filter. 🌞

[@Greasyfingers60]

Freedom, man. That’s what it means to be totally off grid. I’ve had 5 companies try to sell me a grid-tied, net metering system, and I just can’t swallow that pill. The payback (in my case) is not worth the risk still being dependent on the utility. I was glad to hear you explain the redundancy built into your system, and the strategies you have for managing it. I want to do something like you did, so this helped validate my thinking on the sizing and design of a system.

[@boblatkey7160]

Have fun running your generator and dealing with all the maintenance living off grid. There is nothing green about it and it is very expensive. You will absolutely love it during cloudy weather when you're nasty generator run six hours a day.

[@troyf1]

Thanks for sharing your experience over the past two years! Very practical and useful information.

[@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?

[@chrisklugh]

Very impressive setup. A dream of many, including mine if I must admit. But it also goes to show how much it takes for a family to live somewhat 'independently'. Its not cheap. Its much cheaper/efficient living 'in town'. If only the people 'in town' could all get along. War is expensive. And War is looming in all our towns...

[@offgridcurtisstone]

Only efficient to live in towns as in you externalize most things you need to industrial sources. Not really efficient in the holistic context, but for convenience, no doubt.

[@FlyingSugarCat]

Nuclear winter could make solar very hard. Something I wouldn't want to dwell on.

[@chrisklugh]

@@FlyingSugarCat Why do you think the Boring Company exist. lol

[@ebarrett3735]

You are my hero. If I had the means and land available I would do this all day. You are very well versed and have done a lot of homework on this, brilliant

[@jasonhutchins9239]

Your reasons are the exact changes i want to make for my life. Independence and working with the seasons. Thanks for the video!

[@kevinlauzon7665]

Great video. I'm a first time viewer of your channel. I fell into the solar rabbit hole about a year ago and I can attest to your findings. My current house also consumes about 800 watts continuously.

[@Kangenpower7]

Kevin Lauzon, You might be surprised to find out that a GFI receptacle consumes power! Measure it! I think I can recall they each use about 11 watts all of the time, but not sure, and I did not measure it myself, I just read about the problem from another subscriber to Home Power Magazine. So they shut off power to a couple of circuit breakers that had GFI's on them. I wonder why they did not string all of the GFI's onto one circuit breaker, then send that GFI protected power all over the home.

[@jamesphillips2285]

@@Kangenpower7 The GHCI breakers cost $250. The GHCI dual outlets are $50/pair. So you need to wire up 10 duplex outlets to break even. But you are only allowed up to 6 duplex outlets on a circuit.

[@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.

[@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!

[@Cotronixco]

~$100k USD initial payout. Including diesel generation, life of the batteries being about 10 years, and the panels about 20 years. That's about $500 per month continual. Electricity can be generated from firewood in two ways: turbine, or Seebeck. Both are expensive and labor-intensive, but doable.

[@whitnt2922]

If the batteries are LFP, good chance they will last 2x that, especially considering they have a huuuge battery that is probably rarely completely cycled. Solar panels can at least last 35 years, and probably more if you don't mind a little degradation. Inverters and charge controllers are the only component with a 10ish year life span, though I think that is improving.

[@sanukcanuk1282]

Great video, I really like your thinking and how you look at effeciency. I think the only possible way your could financially justify adding more renewable energy would be to find a simple system that you could run efficiently in winter (rules out adding solar), that works in your location (rules out wind or micro hydro). Since you have already invested in the generator my thinking is that from a purely financial standpoint there is no way you will financially justify expansion of your solar system unless your demand changes radically. Your comments on solar tracking and heating the panels are spot on, plus think what it would do to your yard to melt all that snow, you could have your own skating rink for fun I suppose. From a purely financial perspective, If you could go back in time I would wonder if you might actually go the other way, slightly downsize your system to save a bit on the front end and run the generator a bit more. Obviously as you mentioned the money is not the only consideration and it is easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. I just stumbled across this video, will subscribe and go binge watch your others, Thanks again.

[@dynamicenergysolutions180]

I just stumbled across your KZbin channel. Excellent video! There is obviously a lot of intelligent thought put into your system. I would recommend using some good cold climate mini split ductless heat pumps for when you do have extra power available in winter. These units also offer very low energy use in the summer for AC. I understand you have more power production in the summer than you can use, but this would add to your redundancy for heating options. Don't let yourself be convinced to use multi zone mini splits, stick with 1:1 systems to maximize efficiency, performance, and redundancy. I am partial to Mitsubishi and Fujitsu for high performance and quiet reliable heat pumps. For those dark days of winter when you need to run your diesel generator for extended periods, consider setting it up with your wood boiler as a cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) system. Plumb the generators glycol coolant system into your wood boiler loop with a heat exchanger so your generator is already warmed up by the wood boiler loop when starting "cold". Use a thermostatic mixing valve and a normally open zone valve and small circulator with a couple simple aquastats to control flow when the generator is running so you don't overcool the glycol system. While operating a generator there is a rule of thirds commonly referred to with cogeneration or combined heat and power systems . The rule of thirds is a simple way to look at the energy use by the generator and where this fuel goes. Typically 1/3 for electricity production, and 2/3 of heat production. Simply put, while you consume enough fuel to generate 10 Kilowatts of electricity you are also producing about 10 kilowatts (34121.4 BTU) worth of heat from the water jacket of the engine and another 10 kilowatts (34121.4 BTU) worth of heat out the exhaust. So there is a potential to capture 20 kilowatts worth of heat or 68,242.8 BTU of heat from your generator and dump it into your wood boiler loop for space heating and domestic water heating. Maintain your current cooling system on the generator for redundancy. If you are using radiant floor heat, dump a little extra heat into your floor thermal mass on those cold winter days and nights. Just some ideas to help prepare you for the zombie apocalypse. Keep up the great videos! Matt

[@calipete]

👏🏻 Bravo! Finally, a video on off-grid/alternative power made with common sense! Thanks for taking the time to explain your real-world experience. I've built a couple of systems for remote hospitals in Africa. The variables were completely different, but the considerations were largely the same. One additional thing we had to plan for was panel theft prevention. That, and unavailability of service parts. Using mostly Outback Power equipment, I designed the system in a way that it could use any of a variety of novel power sources to charge the battery bank. It worked out well. 😁

[@monikapetrikova3076]

Great real content Curtis. Thank you for sharing and giving us the recap. Curtis can you please make video about Roxy as well ? How she entered your life and how is it to have her around and how are kids with her and animals around property....Thank you so much Always such a joy 🙏

[@aviccilostboy1755]

whose roxy , a woman or a pet?

[@FantailValleyHomestead]

@@aviccilostboy1755 A dog

[@pierrebeausoleil5885]

@@aviccilostboy1755 both

[@jakewallace6077]

I'd love to see a follow up video after adding a decent vertical wind system added into your system.

[@trevorwhalley7466]

Curtis, your detailed description is excellent, as is your planning of your system, well done!

[@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.

[@SeanMurphy00]

Very comprehensive overview of your system. I love learning how different off-grid systems are set up and the “why” behind each system. Thanks for sharing!

[@coal.sparks]

This was really educational. It's nice to hear from someone who's living it and who has figured out what's a priority for him. I love that you acknowledge that it's inconvenient and there are tradeoffs. And you drill down into what those tradeoffs are and your thought process. Sad that the wind turbines are a non-starter - is it just that the wind isn't strong enough or are there design flaws or what?

[@offgridcurtisstone]

Ya, just not enough wind here. But it sucks in general. Basically, the sun shines more often than the wind blows. So solar is far better.

[@TYMWLTL]

I liked that you told people that wind generators really don't pay back very well for the majority of cases. Your logic is spot on and you do have a practical outlook on life off the grid. I would be curious to know if you farm much and how much you depend on the outside for food supplies etc. Good luck in all that you and thanks for sharing on you tube.

[@stefanmosiek3873]

That's a wicked system. Nice job. I can't believe it puts out that power on a cloudy snowy day.

[@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...

[@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.

[@J.Eddie.T]

Wife and i are planning to move to montana and are doing lots of research for good info on solar and off grid living. This was an excellent breakdown of your system combined with the disclaimers of your needs vs what someonenelse might need. I can take my est needs and get a good idea of my cost with this info. Thank you for the well spoken breakdown.

[@jeremylanders1110]

I’ve been off grid since 2007. I’ve used solar because grid power is not available on my property. I’d like to thank you for giving people the straight truth about solar/wind power. We have plenty of wind in Fallon Nevada USA, but the wind generator has a clutch that will disengage when the wind is too strong causing no power generation. About the sun tracking system I found that it produces an increase of power in excess of what it consumed, but not enough to cover the cost of building the unit so I opted for fixed panels that are currently on my roof. This spring I’m moving the panels to a ground mount to fix the problems you mentioned in this video. My system is much smaller at 4k solar array so conserving power is a must. When the ground mount goes in I’ll be adding 1.9k to my array. Keep sharing off grid info, there are a lot of people looking for it to build their own off grid lifestyle

[@WilliamRNicholsonLST-1195]

Good video Curtis ! Love your down home style . Stay away from Wind since the maintenance is super expensive. My local tribe near San Diego , California has a huge casino & wanted to help reduce electricity costs via a wind farm. They are in a high wind area & bought best tall generators built by experts in Holland or somewhere near that area . Cost a fortune ( installed area used to have wind farm run by U.S gov't & they pulled them soon as WW II stopped ) Anyways the bearings have not been reliable enough to not need replacement on a regular basis & you can imagine the expense & time of taking those tall heavy towers down & installing new bearings etc ! Tribe basically gave away the entire system a few years ago to escape the maintenance expense. Foolish California government is still saying they support Green Energy so they steal money from taxpayers & then give it to their friends " Investing " in Green Energy whom now Miraculously can afford to run a money losing system ! Maybe if you go for wind later , just get small ground hugging units & invite politicians to give campaign speechs at your new restaurant / vacation resort ............ You'll have lots of wind ................ Nick , NavyBlueSmoke , LST-1195

[@paulwilliams200]

I have no experience with PV solar, and am certainly no expert, BUT.... I wonder whether a powered tilt (but single plane) system might work with an array - so that the panels could be raised to a vertical or even slightly negative position during a snowstorm? Diagonally placed square pavers would be relatively easy to snow-blow away, and the array could then be returned to its optimum plane/orientation. I wonder if this might be an effective but relatively inexpensive option?

[@billm5433]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. I have property in Colorado at 7,600’ elevation. In the winter it gets -40F we also have good sunlight 300 days a year. I’m 74 years old and thinking of building a small 16’X48’ 1 bedroom one bath home off grid. I won’t need that much power to live. I’ll have a wood burning stove, also a propane stove.

[@MitchOfCanada]

Biggest thing for me in winter and summer is utilizing concrete and floor heat, radiant heat, and cooling to keep the slabs cool or hot and not have to have a system go on and off so much. Energy audits and trying to getting auto timers/smart home timers etc to keep lights, devices, audio amplifiers off etc when not in use can save SO much power, almost 50% some months.

[@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!

[@twc9000]

Excellent video. I'm impressed with your organization and redundancies. I would like to have a system like that to be independent as well.

[@emitissimo7618]

That was the most logical solar install video that I've seen in quite some time. I agree with you on everything that you said.

[@brettfox6816]

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

[@wheelersway]

I'm 100% Offgrid too. I'm in the south, so everything is different

[@anabelaramos8399]

Yes, heating must consume a lot of energy plus there's plenty of sun in the south, nobody around here has so many panels. I'm in south Europe.

[@ashleyshrader6679]

Wheelers, do you have a video with your numbers?

[@benoitbrunel1421]

Hi Curtis, great setup! I have a similar off-grid setup in QC, 12,5kw solar, and we also get a lot of snow. I made different tests and at an angle of 72 degrees in winter you get the same output and the no-snow removal at all, it slides down by itself! Maybe 1 or two times, the snow needs a bit of morning sun to slide, but not much.

[@offgridcurtisstone]

My problem with snow in the winter is that it blows in from the south most of the time. I would need to make my panels near 90 degrees to make it slide.

[@virgilwhetsel5289]

Thank you for a very good video review. We are not off grid with our 7.2KW solar array here in western SD but the system does provide 70% of our electrical needs year round since mid 2019. That includes charging our model Y. $3657 yearly average ROI on the initial 25K investment. 14.6% ROI is better than any investment fund I've ever had. Our powerwall doesn't appear to have lost much capacity even after fully charging and discharging nearly every day since installation in mid June of 2019. Our car is set to charge above 50% on excess solar and, because we are retired, we do most of our daily driving in the mornings while the powerwall charges and then the car recharges in the afternoons. The car has just under 47K miles on it over the past three and a half years.

[@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.

[@dubrd5926]

Great practical information Curtis. As far as tracking the sun with your solar panel arrays, I came to the conclusion several years ago that it was not worth even setting my panels to the optimum angle, on my roof, with the cost of the solar panels coming down in recent years. It was better to put the panels flat to the roof so that wind, ice and snow would not be able to destroy the panels. I was able to do that because my house is facing due south with an east and west shop roof all at a good pitch. I just ordered two racks of the same batteries you have to replace my lead acid bank since their cost has now decreased and with the destruction of the money and coming of the CBDC I may not even be able to get batteries in a year.

[@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.

[@stevenhumphrey1838]

Yeah! A lot of useable practicle info. Thank you.

[@jsvz9333]

Awesome info. Thanks for posting!

[@PavolFilek]

Good man, I live off-grid too, but my system is small 16 kW of inverters, 30 kWh of LFPs and 7 kWp of old poly / nonPERC or shingled with 10MBBs / panels with 50 mm Al frame and thick glass and thick 180 um Si cells.

[@markgeorge2069]

Very nice system and, great presentation. I have three smaller systems off grid. Everything you say is real and completely honest.

[@niallwildwoode7373]

Wow! .... you've come a long way. I've been off grid for 20 years and my system's a fraction of yours, but I currently build to match needs. My experience is that you must add as many free generating systems as possible, to cover all inputs. I'm primarily solar, but I've a wind gennie which is great on windy nights, and have several flowing watercourses which I'm getting my head around for generating off, as they alter levels and flow rates in an instant. Off grid is hard work and not for the stupid, but it's well earned freedom.

[@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.

[@michaelcanto6175]

Great Video ! Fantastic System, Thank you for sharing it all !!

[@SGT19671971]

Really enjoyed your post. I'm not sure many people could afford four systems (solar, diesel, propane and wood), but it's an individual choice and depends on how long you plan on living in that one place (amortize). My hat is off to you for what you've accomplished!!!

[@VinceBadovinatz88]

Gosh I agree

[@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.

[@mlaub66]

I thought you did a great job of explaining your current situation and the up and downsides to it all, very well spoken, very well done.

[@karlschulte9231]

Was a northerner in N. Michigan, Wisc Army NG. Even Illinois looked like your yard in this video. Have been in BC summer and winter ( beautiful place) and Calgary and Prince Albert in Jan. I really miss Winter and snow ( half Norwegian) as I am in FL. Wife happier. Getting head around difference in thinking. No need for extra blankets, fire starters, long johns or snow shovel in truck at all times! Flashlights and inflatable raft and 2 way ham radio with first aid and sun screen is about it. And water wings. Hurricaine is the new issue not snow. But need for AC power b/u is still a really good idea. Am retired radio systems engr and have goid experience in 3rd world and govt b/u systems. So i can say you have done an excellent engineering job! Good thinking with redundancies as well. Watch out for diesel issues such as algae, and cold pipes causing it to become like butter ( unhappy thoughts of using propane torches i. -20 deg on a Turkish mountaintop to get it to flow to our 3 each 100kw generators. Run engine for an hour or so every week or two. We have been lucky here; last few storms only grazed us. But starting small solar now within HOA limit. Just enough for ham radio, cell phones and small tv to keep in touch. Gas grill and charcoal for cooking plus rooftop solar hot water. Bitter cold here is 32 F and rare. We now feel cold at 55 degrees! Adding panels as I can up to few hundred watts of panels and 200 AH batteries is goal. Same principles. Everything is electric here so going off grid is not feasible. Too old now for payback. Our super smart president is trying to outlaw wood stoves. Gas. Gee wonder how that electricity is made? Foxes and coyotes know to sit under wind turbines for free geese delivery. So we are limited. One thing you did not mention is if you have running stream on land. If so hydro is easy with small dam and pipe directed to ac generator. I had that on my land i had to leave to come here. Health issues. Hilly land and hard to get up hill. But a few hundred watts from steady stream is doable with auto parts a d concrete. This can give a little extra input at night. I was working on 5 ft head with small dam at end of spring fed pond in drought still had goid flow. But had to leave my woods and hilly pastures for here. No hills all flat so no hydro. Irony is having designed/ built sytems around the world like yours i am now limited to a mini hunting cabin grade for myself. Wish you continued success. Love Canada: been in all but NWT, Yukon and PEI. Sad about Ottawa policies though.

[@zeothorn]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about solar off grid it is the most honest,realistic and detailed video I have seen so far.

[@dythewitt]

Really like your setup! Great video as well! In the Caribbean where I live, I use 1 of your panel rigs, (26 Panasonic HIT) 1 XW Pro 6848 and 2, Conext 80600 CC… 30KW/h lithium (LFP) storage. I offset 98% of my energy usage with my system.