Off Grid Solar: A Beginners Guide

Most people who install solar panels through a leasing program, loan, or upfront investment think they have a hedge against blackouts or other utility disruptions, but unless you have a battery backup or special inverter capable of islanding, then your lights will go out just the same as everyone else in the neighborhood, except now you will have several thousand dollars worth of energy generating equipment sitting on your roof doing little to help your present dilemma. That’s partly why I created this course, to help spread the message that battery-backed solar systems have finally arrived and are rapidly going to close the loop between onsite generation and consumption.

But how you might be asking? Well, thanks to the emergence of high-quality, secondary market battery packs from companies like Tesla, Nissan, and Chevy, building your own high-performance solar system has never been easier. Most people think that battery based solar systems can only power a handful of items like a fridge, lights or a computer, and they can only do this under ideal circumstances with great effort. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Even with a modest solar system, you can easily run an efficient A/C unit, electric tank water heater, washing machine, electric cooking appliances (like a microwave, induction cooktop, or toaster) all without breaking a sweat. Off-grid systems of the past used heavy, space-consuming flooded or AGM golf cart style batteries. This antiquated battery tech requires ongoing maintenance, has a low discharge capacity (only 50% per cycle for maximum life), and needs to be replaced every 5-6 years even with very delicate handling and care, to add insult to injury they take up 2x space and 3.5x the weight compared to Lithium-ion.

The goal of this guide, even for those of you that don’t intend on building every piece of your own system, is to show you how simple, affordable, and relatively maintenance-free modern off-grid battery-backed solar can be.

In my case study project, I was able to design a high-quality 5kW solar system with nearly 20kWh of battery capacity at $3/watt. A typical grid-tie solar contractor is going to have a difficult time coming anywhere close to that price, especially when including battery storage. Throughout the 80+ page PDF and bonus videos, we’ll guide you from start to finish on:

• how to calculate how many panels you’ll need
• how to size your charge controller and inverter
• sizing breakers and disconnects according to NEC and sound engineering practice
• figuring out how much battery it will take to run your loads
• sizing wiring for safety, code compliance, and optimum performance
• how to wire your system according to the NEC and practices of good workmanship

The idea behind this guide is to show you using a real-world case how relatively easy solar can be so that you feel confident about installing your system or having one installed for you. In purchasing this guide, you will gain a thorough understanding of how all the components work together, plus bonus videos on some of the specialty aspects of solar such as crimping and grounding. If you’re at all interested in the next generation of solar whether or not you decide to install it yourself, this guide will be a tremendous asset to your knowledge.