TOTAL COST Of Our Off-Grid Solar Power System | Powering Our Mountain Home
Vložit
- čas přidán 30. 07. 2024
- Let's answer your most asked questions and cover the cost of our entire lithium battery, off-grid solar power system.
Download The Complete Spreadsheet HERE: ➡️ mailchi.mp/4bf2ddd1fb77/power...
☀️ Solar Panels (PROMO CODE ambitionstrikes5) : www.santansolar.com/?ref=Ambi...
🔋48V LiFePO4 Server Rack Batteries: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
Battery/Rack/Cable Bundle: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
Victron Quattro Inverters: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
Charge Controllers: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
Lynx Distributor: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
Lynx Power In: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
Lynx Shunt: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
Cerbo GX: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
PV Disconnect Switch: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
PV MC4 Connectors: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
PV Wire: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
PV MC4 Crimp Tool: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
Battery Cables: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
Exhaust Fan: amzn.to/3v5RIfp
Current Connected Videos: • Massive 20kVA Off-Grid...
*The links above are affiliate links, and we might make a small commission when you purchase something.*
We're a husband and wife team who bought 20 acres of bare off-grid land in Northern Idaho. Follow along as we turn a pole barn into our dream shop with an upstairs apartment!
► SUBSCRIBE for videos every Sunday: bit.ly/2VUaUOJ
► JOIN our mailing list: mailchi.mp/ambitionstrikes/si...
Support Our Channel & Get Exclusive Content: / ambitionstrikes
Shop Our Favorites:
👖 Riley's Pants: bit.ly/3nZaxgc
🥾 Best Shoes: ariat.dkkdet.net/Ea65MP
The Best Ratchet Straps: amzn.to/3yAklSA
Renogy 10% Discount Code: ambitionstrikes
Video Music: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Drone: click.dji.com/ACjnj0gW_9VJVhd...
Handheld Camera: click.dji.com/ANJOV_T3imQ3QPY...
Instagram: restless_re...
Amazon Wish List: www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls...
Mailing Address:
Riley Casey
105 Vermeer Dr
STE 2 PMB 141
Ponderay, ID 83852
00:00 We went HUGE!
00:39 The Container
02:33 Solar Racking
04:13 Solar Panels
05:15 Batteries/Inverters
07:51 That Is A LOT Of Money
09:02 The MOST ASKED QUESTION - Auta a dopravní prostředky
What do you think, will this system be enough to keep us powered this winter?! ☀❄
More than enough. We are following closely though. Headed to ID in the next month or so to look for our own little piece of respite from the craziness that is everywhere.
I think you better have plenty of gasoline for that geni and propane or firewood for heat :). Regardless, it was the right move for the channel.
You should have plenty if you conserve power during bad weather. You mentioned a daily usage of 20% (12kWh) but if that is what you actually take from the batteries each day and not total daily consumption I can’t imagine just how much energy you use each day. At the end of the day you could easily get your daily consumption to around 3kWh per day if need be.
I expect it will provide plenty of power through the winter especially given the fact that you also have other means of heat. It’s a perfect solution for your situation
As you mention you are only using 20% of the battery capacity a day so even if that doubles in the winter due to being indoors more the only issue is replenishing that capacity. Solar capacity might be your issue.
I may have a pro tip, how to improve the batteries endurance in your system. You can mount a thermostat with a fan heater inside the container and set the temperature to 15 celsius degrees. You can use excess energy to keep the batteries in the optimal temperature just by adding this small system so you can enlarge their lives by a few years 🙂 Good luck!
Heat pump system may be even more efficient
In deed, heat pump is more reliable, way more effective and efficient in keeping your container cooler for summer and warm in the winter. 👍
Just need a small mini split
Also limiting the max battery charge in the controller (?)
Limiting the max charge to 95% will also further prolong battery lifespan (prevents overcharging issues while still provides near full capacity)
@@sihamhamda47 most controllers do this behind the scenes.
Hi guys! if you paint the container bright white and spread white soil on the ground you will be able to get a higher generation with the bifacial panels due to a higher Albedo. Nice PV System, congratulations!
Snow under and around the panels would work too.
hey Pablo.. please explain how that works ? I've heard a little about that but I dont quite comprehend.. yet.. help??
@@violettownmicroenterprises1528 white stuff reflect the light
@@violettownmicroenterprises1528 Some solar panels can use light from the back of the panel. The panels usually use a glass-glass sandwich, instead of a plastic back side.They are usually used in large installations on white roofs. Modern solar cells are very thin (0.2mm) and partially transparent. Some have a mirror coating on the back of the cells, so the light that passes through the cell can be reflected and make a second pass through the cell. (these panels can't use light from the back of the panel, since the mirror layer reflects it before reaching the cell.)
or just insane amounts of cocaine
I don't know if anyone will read this comment, but here goes anyway. In 1995 My wife and I bought a small piece of property. (2 Acres) We put a nice 14x 70 mobile home on the property. We were only 2 power poles from power, but the Power company (Elko Nevada) want me to give them $12,000 for the privilege of paying them $150 bucks a month. This made me mad!!! At first we just had a generator, so I started to make our solar array mount. We had eight 80 watt panels. We had eight Trojan L16 six volt lead acid batteries. We had a Trace 2400 watt inverter, so that meant that we only had 110 volt for the house. We upgraded to an Onan 6500 watt generator powered by propane.
The house had a propane fridge, a propane clothes dryer, a propane water heater, an infrared propane wall heater, and the existing propane forced air furnace. Since the insulation under the mobile home was all screwed up by animals, (we bought it used), I cut all of the underside plastic off, and installed 12 inches of fiberglass insulation, which was held in place with a system of special made brackets and plastic tarps and nylon rope. It worked so well that after doing that we never ever fired up the floor furnace. We also had a wood stove, but after 2 years of getting wood, hauling wood home, splitting wood, stacking wood, and dealing with the ashes, we just used the wall heater, which did an awesome job. The home had real good insulation and 2x6 walls.
We had a well drilled and since the generator did not have 220, we installed a 110 volt pump in the well. We filled a 600 gallon water tank that lived in the battery room, and pressurized the house with an RV 12 volt water pump. Everything that I read at the time said that the RV water pump would not work long with continues use. But being the bull-headed person that I am, I did it anyway. The RV water pump worked just fine. It ran the dish-washer, the clothes washer, showers, toilets, virtually everything. I will admit that I supplied the pump with a 1" line right off the bottom of the tank, and then tied into the 3/4" pipe for the house. I did not know how long the water pump would last, so I had a spare. It lasted 4 years, and I changed it out in 10 minutes. Not bad for a $68 pump.
All in all, I had $12,000 invested in my system, and I did not have a power bill for 5 years. There were things that had to be done differently than if the house was on the grid, but it was not a big deal. Like one thing was the the inverter would not run the spin cycle on the clothes washer, so we would leave the lid up while doing a load of clothes. When it went to the spin cycle the washer would just stop. Who ever walked by the washer and saw that the washer had stopped, they just had to walk 20 feet and push the starter button for the generator, close the lid on the washer, and turn off the generator after it was done. Like I say, not a big deal.
They did not have these great batteries at the time that I did my set up. I could have just bought a 3600 watt inverter for the washer issue, but I am cheap. It was not a big deal. In the summer when it was too hot, I bought a window A/C unit for the bedroom, and it would run 1 hour before we went to bed, and then turn off 1 hour later. We had a swamp cooler too, but if we ran it at night it would drain my battery pack.
Courtney and Riley are doing a first class job. I did not have the money to do mine like that, even if it were available at the time. I still have no regrets. I sold the place 20 years ago, and have not been back.
side note on the plastic tarps holding up insulation...hopefully there is enough air exchange using tarp, seen some pretty nasty mold issues from trapped moisture with similar setup (full plastic sheets instead) as generally speaking, it would act as a vapour barrier, but on the wrong side
Wao.
That was a lot of work & I bet it is satisfying now.
Thanks for sharing that story
Will you help me out to build an offgrid place
Hi. Thanks for the video, I've enjoyed watching it. And I don't want to feel disappointed, but I want To share a few thoughts as a PV installer:
1. Changing the array angle for winter is a good idea. But using the PV power optimizers (like Tigo) in your case would increase the system efficiency even more. You will have a lot of shade in winter, and the optimizers will help you to solve the problem.
2. 445Wp panels for 230USD is 0.51USD/Wp. It's not a killer deal. It's actually 2,5 times more than what we pay as an installer for this kind of solar modules. It's normal price 0.195USD/Wp for container volumes. And 1848USD for 100Ah/48V battery is 1,5 times more than what we pay for it.
3. I recommend you be extremely careful when changing the angle of the array. The bump may cause micro-cracks in solar cells.
My CPA wife wants me to remind you that the tax credit on your solar install for 2022 is 26%. Give your spreadsheet to your CPA and get the ball rolling. Take care.
Thanks for the reminder Frank!
@@AmbitionStrikes I am assuming that the $50k price is before the 26% tax break?
@@keithviolette5870 That is correct.
@@AmbitionStrikes I hope to be energy independent at some point - our power is not all that reliable, and our rates increased 40% this month. Love the use of the container as a foundation.
Just a quick calculation - $37k for your system over 10 years would equal my average monthly power bill - about $300 for about 1400 kWh/month
Actually, since this began operating in 2022 and the Inflation Reduction Act is signed, the tax credit was bumped back to 30%.
This only applies to new equipment and I'm thinking your SanTan solar panels are possibly used?
This was the easiest video to watch about a home solar setup. Concise and informative in a quick pace.
My thoughts exactly. All just under 10mins.
Hope to see updates on things like battery life and efficiency of the solar panels over time. There are lots of vids of installs but it's harder to find honest videos about what happens in the years after and what troubles to expect. Most people struggle with the fear of the unknown, so it helps to know what to expect
Excellent video, love the way you lay out the price as you go along. I love the shipping container idea and the tilting array. Best wishes to you both.
Nice video. I have few advise on my experience from solar (if interested).
So here it is :
1. Make sure temperature during summer months in that container is pretty low. 20C Degree is the best so about 68F if you go above then inverters will suffer and it will show in long term.. If you can't then buy cheap aircon.. It will work only during summer months so no need to worry about extra electricity it will take..Also you can change mode on it when needed so it will heat as well when needed.
2. Make sure SOC don't go below some limit if possible (about 20-30%)..it isn't problem for summer at all.. but for sure it will be big problem in winter time.
3. Don't believe that nonsense that inverters don't need extra cooling.. Take out that blue sheet that is on top of the inverters (mostly during summer time) to reduce heat and improve air circulation as Victron Energy inverters will not start inside fan till temp is high or load is also high..
4. Also after some time ..check your battery packs..they have BMS ..so you can checks each and every one(how much KWH they cycle)..I did see how you connected your battery packs and it isn't the best . You will find that some battery packs are cycled more than others and those will be first to go ..
5. Be sure there are no bugs in that container...bugs like to go every where and that could kill inverters and all electronics..
Even then Those battery packs will be first to go.
Don't kid yourself with 20-30 years of life of your system. Battery packs will start failing about in 15 years ..if you are lucky and you do as i suggested then in about 20 years inverters and chargers will go ..So be sure to prepare small amount of money(every month) so when time will come you can buy it any time you want ..
I wish you the best.
Very true, I’m thinking will battery and inverter last 10 years. All those spec talk, I don’t think people test it in real life🤣
@@jakeliujakeliu Those Batteries are Lifepo4. They WILL last 10 years and STILL have 80% of their rated capacity, and that assumes a charge/discharge cycle daily. They likely will last 15 years or more.
@@HutchinsonJC I know I got couple LifePO4 too, I’m just saying nobody really use those battery 10 years yet. I see most people replace inverter within 2-5 years range.
Good solar inverters should have at least a 10 or 15 year warranty.
@@GregHassler well should it correct wording..but in reality it is unlikely you will find such capacitors that would be able handle it for long they will eventually dry or explode or anything between and that will cause fets to spike in wrong time so it will damage inverter at the end ..Capacitors are real reason why any electronics doesn't last so long ..there are special ones that might last but you wouldn't able afford them .. In general normal ..even crapy inverters should last about 2 years..a bit better one about 5 ..very good one about 10 ..and after that it is only luck and ofc ..environment and all that and between..
I love your honesty actually giving us a breakdown of exactly what it cost yes 50,000 is a lot of money that being said your sweat equity probably doubles or more the value of your system again thank you for being so honest of how you have Made this happen with the help of your viewers and your hard work! I am so impressed wow!
I second that. We are looking at putting in a grid tied system at our place, but are going to contact the company they got all their components from as we're here in the Pacific Northwest too!
A monthly electric bill of $200.00 a month would take 20 years to get back $50,000.00 they spent. At that point you may have to replace batteries. Not to mention fuel cost of a generator on cloudy days. Where the savings? Not to mention the maintenance of a solar system. Solar pricing is still to high at this point in time.
@@roywaite5793 After 20 years at their current usage they have estimated that the batteries should still be able to hold 80% of their original capacity which would be be 48kW. They won't need replacing for several years beyond that and at worst they could simply add another couple of batteries to restore original capacity if needed. Then as the older batteries start to fail they can be replaced individually.
You also have to factor in the ever increasing costs of energy so in a few years time that $200 estimate could quite easily become double that. Battery technology will improve and hopefully become more affordable, more efficient and more durable in those 20 years so it is absolutely worth it.
@@roywaite5793 Think of it as paying for 20 years of electricity up front. Then there's no monthly bill, ever.
@@roywaite5793 I guess you didn’t hear the part of what it would cost for them to have power brought onto their property! I have had that done on property and it far exceeded the original estimate of the power company to bring power on to my property!
I love the enthusiasm of you both on your project, you both are excited on your project and support each other, you are match made in heaven 👍
I really love your setup! Have you considered building a sand battery silo next to the house in order to keep the the house warm throughout the winter? The thermal insulated silo contains a coil which heats up just plain old sand at around 600 degrees Celsius and it'll stay hot for months.
I really like your solar system. Money well spent. The only concern I have is the snow build up on the bottom row of panels since they are almost touching the ground at the winter angle. You may want to dig out a few feet below the panels for snow "storage". Plus, a couple electric heaters set at 40 or 45 degrees F will keep the batteries above the lower charging limit of 32 degrees.
Great idea!
Pelonis disc furnace are very efficient and set and forget. They don't make them anymore as far as I know but you can find them for sale on the web.
You can get major power gains (when needed the most) with low to the snow arrays in the winter, the sun reflects off the snow! But yeah, gotta keep them clear. I accidentally discovered this when I saw higher charge rates then ever before, looked outside, and saw my 1 KW (at the time) array had tilted down to almost vertical.
Some of those reptile heating mat things stuck to the bottom of each battery would probably work great, plus that way you aren't heating all the air too, just the batteries.
@@GaryVirta No way that would be acceptable, consumption wise, in the winter. A battery can get by below well below freezing, they do all the time in our cars! I'm sure the manufacturer has a preferred operating range for their products, but it's not like they are going to freeze and burst. My 20' container solar equipment build (for a customer who sprays urathane foam for a living) has been in operation 10 years, unheated but the container insulated (foam of course).
I teach two off grid living classes at a local high school and wish to use many of your videos in my classes. I think my students could learn a lot from you both. Thanks so much for the awesome content.
Old comment, but could you recommend a couple books for off grid living? Maybe subsistence farming, canning, etc. Basically how my grand parents survived in the south (not that long ago). Any help would be appreciated.
@@psycomutt sad;y, I haven’t found much in the way of useful books on this subject. Lots of CZcams content though.
@@timburk6097 just shows the lack of quality books out there. Thanks anyhow
@@psycomuttself sufficiency for the 21st-century is one I got, I got several more too, there are tons of books, just type off grid living in google and there are a lot
Literally like 3% of your students will ever be able to dream of having something this extravagant 😂
This is my first video with y'all and found it amazing. I'm also working on my future home on a lot of acres that doesn't have running power to my location. I'm so glade I bumped into this video and has given me more ideas to work with. I gotta say I'm loving the price. Even if I could get someone else to due with and though of Tesla, their pricing on just the battery packs and everything built in was over 11k more then your system is and that's not including solar panel purchasing. Away to go and I'll sure be back to watch more things on your channel. Happy 2023
Great story of success.
And it all came about because of your followers and views.
What a win win for everyone.
Society needs more of these kind of stories.
Great work!!!! May you continue to be blessed.
Im Happy for you, and I appreciate the Solar approach, especailly considering my family has been living off of solar in bonners ferry for over 40 years.. but on the downside, I loath the fact that these videos are making more and more people move to north Idaho where it used to be such a beautifull place and a place where working class people could survive... not anymore becaues of the massive influx of people moving here from Cali, and other places where they couldnt afford to live so they had to move to our town and now the cost of living is outrageous.
Not the typical videos I watch. Your D8 dozer brought me here and your personalities kept me here. You both do really well operating the equipment and WOW you’re not afraid to dive in and do ANYTHING it takes to fix, maintain, and build whatever you need. I’m really impressed with both of you! Great channel I wish you all the success and happiness 😃
Love the way you are open about the costs, and broke it down. It allows others to see what is in involved. Especially the modular build up.
Thank you for being honest and a full breakdown. We are just getting ready to start a similar off grid build right off the Appalachian trail in North Carolina. Yet we are paying for the installation, and this comparison does help us understand the value and the extra expense we're paying for someone else's labor. Rationale for our system was almost identical for yours, for it was gonna be about $100,000 to bring power to our property. If the national forest would even permit it and their comment was no or it would take a very long time to get permission for we are 100% surrounded by the national forest. Plan on documenting it as well and trying to pay it forward not gonna use this channel that I'm replying on another one don't wanna take away from your experience, hoping to pay it forward to others
I recently found your channel as I am looking to do some type of rural / off grid property so that when I hit retirement , that I will have a home to enjoy the great out doors and peace and quiet. Your channel has provided a lot of answers to some questions and to some I did not even consider. Both you and Courtney are real troopers and inspiration. Love your content :)
You two kids are great! Thank you for giving us long timers the opportunity to live vicariously through you. I was beginning to think I wasn't doing something right because we see so little of you. How is the driveway coming? How is the d8 running? Did you ever get concrete poured. I sure am looking forward to seeing the shop 100% done. Thanks again and God bless you both!
Lot's more road content coming your way next week!
I'm thinking they're so focused on the road right now precisely so that they CAN get the concrete poured in their shop! It's much more likely the cement trucks will actually be able to get back in to their place once they get that road done.
Great job, guys. I have learned a lot from y'all. I'm old and my retention span is fading, but I still enjoy learning, and living vicariously through you two fine young people. Keep on keeping on.
Using the shipping container for multiple purposes on this installation was brilliant. Very nice! Great forward thinking. On our little 6.5 acres, our house is oriented in the worse possible way to even consider roof mounted solar. This shipping container concept would almost be a no brainer for us. At 70+ years old, doubt I could recoup the costs though.
Lol have you looked at vertically mounted bi facial solar panels? Or with a white roof?
My system has the same number of panels, I have 2 6500 watt inverters and 20 kWh of batteries. Cost $20,000. I am in Florida so I use the most power in the summer, I can easily save $1000 a year. I am 71, my dad is 93, I should live long enough to recoup my investment even if the cost of electricity does not go up.
@@daddio7249 Fantastic on your family's longevity. Decades of world wide air travel for business causing massive numbers of blood clots, Afib, uncontrollable BP, would seem to put me in on the net loss ROI end of the spectrum.
Thank you for making these videos. I actually learned a lot this way and it gave me a good feel for the cost involved. Great!
Another solution that could help with the wind issue is a deadman up on the hillside. Then put a cross brace at the top of the panels and use a cable ratchet to hold it in place like the tilting of the panels.
You guys are so awesomely transparent with us your viewers as well as humble as you learn and transfer your knowledge. Keep up the great work.
Well done folks, this is certainly a fantastic investment. I hope it brings many years of power to your home!
Greetings from the UK
Proud of you guys! Keep up the good work!
I have been in that part of the country in the winter time. It’s amazing how little sun light you have and how it even effects your body. So time will tell how the solar does during dark winter. 😂 But you have a few back up plains already in place. Wood stove,generators your camper and ability to move. You guys will be fine ! You adapt well and can handle anything with the right attitude! You two rock !
Thank you for breaking this out, always wondered what the costs were. Would dig out the container and seal it, build a barrier wall and seal that with drainage and run off so the container doesn't rot. Might also dig a few feet down in front of panels so snow has somewhere to go when it melts off. You guys are SO great to watch!
Great video. Just discovered you guys today and thought that it was really cool of you all to thank your viewers. Don't recall seeing that before. Kudos.
I am coming across your channel for the first time, and I absolutely love this video. Thank you so much for sharing it and giving hope for others to do the same. I have solar panels on my house. I am not off grid but I love my panels.
only change i would make is to step your bifacials ahead to make them like a set of stairs and paint side of shed shiny. keep panels slightly more vertical winter and summer. put a short shiny wall back 8ft to deflect wind. looks good. will give you more power on cloudy days and in winter and keep panels closer to ground or you can raise up more
Hi guys!
Thank you for the cost break down. I think the 50K is actually reasonable. Especially when you consider all of your labor. 60K to bring in grid power, then add in a monthly energy bill you will be in 10 years way ahead. As always, love to hear from you guys. You rock! 🌞
It's not even clear if those 60K to connect to the grid was a price offer or an initial estimate, the real cost might be much higher, and after all that they are still paying for the electricity from the grid.
@@Sindrijo And what about potential power outages associated with the lines coming out to the property....
For a DIY system that is an excellent setup. Using a packing container is genius move, it provides weight and structural stability while providing a perfect housing for batteries and electronics. I am an electrical engineer and I can't really fault what you have built there. The price you paid all in may sound expensive but for the capacity you have there it is really inexpensive.
@owlhuman They built it themselves so it's DIY, the cost is irrelevant, they spent the money on this system rather than getting grid connected which is why it was worth spending that kind of money. I have seen a lot of DIY systems and built one myself and this is a well designed and implemented setup. If they had gone for a professionally installed system with this capacity it would have cost a lot more.
Stoked on your new solar installation! Also thank you for showing me the SOK battery setup you've installed the LiFeP04 cells and dimensions fit incredible well all around for an innovation I am creating!
The "no monthly bill" part is tremendous. In addition to being $10K cheaper on day one, the solar system gets cheaper every day after that. If you have an EV or plug-in hybrid, surplus power can get folded into that and reduce your day-to-day costs even further.
yeah, let's just wait for EV based on LiFePo4 batteries...lol
My exact thought as well then start reaping the additional benefits instead of paying through your neck with modern feul prices.
Just wait a few months they will find a sponsorship
Yes, having an EV to do runs for stuff, maybe some E bikes to get around the property too
Electric D8 as a project coming?!?
Besides your acquired skills, I think the underlying element of your success is that both of you are very intelligent.Most people can’t read a bulldozer user manual and replace a seal in the torque converter as Riley did or watch a CZcams video and skillfully edit succinct videos as Courtney did. Don’t be too modest! I love your channel.
It helps to be rich for sure
@@mindfullygreen2870⚠️Resentful loser detected⚠️
My fiancé and I bought 21 acres in hawaii and are going to be going through the exact same thing. We will need power to supply the house we are going to build and my woodworking shop. Essentially a carbon copy of what you guys are doing. So very happy I was recommended this video. Instant subscriber and I will definitely be watching your other videos and using your advice. Thank you so much you two are awesome!
Native Hawaiians can’t even afford to live in Hawaii…
@@b.rokeneyesyeah i dont understand these rich people tbh. They say stuff so non chalantly. Just bought 26 acres in hawaii to live off grid while paying thousands for solar. Lol
Great video guy's! I'm researching solar now for my build starting this year. Love the way you have built it...
We are off-grid in the Central Coast area of California. We spent about 12k for the panels (15 x 400w) from Unbound Solar, inverter, and four 2.5kW Amperetime lithium batteries (for 10kW 800amps total). Because we put them on the roof, we were able to do most of the installation ourselves, calling in an experienced - and licensed - electrician to wire it all up (approximately $2500). As we're in CA, we get a LOT of sun, even in winter, so the system has been more than needed and we'll never have to pay a power bill again.
What was your total cost?
Both of you guys have done a great job! Looks professional and I'm sure it will last many years. You guys work great together, well done.
Many as in 10?
Then it's back to a generator lol
Thanks for the spreadsheet guys, it’s Super Helpful!
Now this is amazing! Well I would love to see a winter update video for how this stands up with the current crazy storms coming in
Especially since I should be finishing up escrow for my own land in Montana soon
I think this will work well with wood primary heating. Living here in the Selle Valley for over 20 years, we have seen so many variations in our winters. The general pattern of northerlies in winter and southerlies in summer holds true, the critical thing is cloud cover. No cloud cover means extreme cold and lots of clouds mean 29 degrees. I would encourage you to consider a simple rail wiper design to easily remove snow and I agree that you need some reinforcement for northerlies. Sadly, I suspect your road maintenance may be more time consuming than your power. To the good, when you eventually decide to sell your property there are lots of preppers, who will love your design.
i'm the same. never thought i'd be 'off grid'. ended up getting a beautiful house WAY out there that was already off grid. i upgraded some components of the system for how/what i need to do with the power. and now, i'd have it NO OTHER WAY. being self reliant is an amazing thing.
for when the zombies attack, of course! ;)
Thankyou for you're spreadsheet. Your solar power system looks amazing.
This has to be one the best, well detailed and explained how to do videos. God bless you. I know what to plan for now. Great info.
I've used solar on our properties for many years and recently helped a very good friend who moved from California to Montana. We installed some additions to his solar array system to boost his output in the winter. Basically he was DC coupled through charge controllers charging his batteries, then inverting and send AC power to his loads. This works very well in summer with a string connected system to your mppt charge controllers. HOWEVER, in winter was a VERY DIFFERENT STORY, he found that with strings partial coverage by snow was very problematic for output (ask your installer). I have the same problem in winter. My solution was to install a 5000 watt Enphase micro inverter array which is AC coupled to my system. There connected directly to the AC buss and bypass the charge cycle, by supplying loads first then if there is extra required for charging your inverters will charge your batteries works great in winter because snow only affects the covered panels. Food for thought FYI hope this may help if you need it later. PS love your channel. Fred
Given all that is going on in the world, that seems to be both a wise decision and a bargain. The attitudes you both show are uplifting. Thank you for sharing.
you two are very inspirational. Would love to do something like this here in India too.
I did this in 2005. Grid tied with only a 1kw wind turbine 1kw solar at 48v system. Single Outback inverter rated around 3.6kw output. I transformed a 2nd leg of 120ac for my water well. Had to use 1000lbs of lead acid batteries. No fancy batteries back then. The system was Tiny compared to yours. & I spend 20k. You guys are awesome keep up the hard work !
I am happy to see that you guys are living your dream. You have worked hard and you deserve it. I am also happy you are sharing the adventure with us.
Thanks for following along! 😊
I am forever amazed at what you two can accomplish. You really are an inspiration. Thanks as always for sharing. 🙂
Now that's what you can truly call " thinking outside the box". A challenge but you folks slaughtered this one. Great job & with a little determination, anything is possible..
Man, I am saving up to do something similar in my home country Fiji Islands. Thank you so much, you both gave me many ideas. Good luck to you both.
Seriously, you guys are absolutely AWESOME! Great choices and money well spent for sure.
These guys are actually super cool in real life, not just in their videos.
They told us a little about their channel, but this is the first time I've seen their videos. My son & I helped them with their drinking water storage Totes. Nice to see their the same in their videos as they were when we met them.
Thanks again for helping us find those totes. They have been perfect!
I've learned our containers stay warmer if they get direct sunlight but they do get cold at night so hopefully your ground insulation has worked in your favor
Incredible setup. Nice work (AGAIN). There's an underappreciated beauty to making your own power from the sun/wind. I actually find solar panels and wind turbines really nice to look at (almost majestic), because I have a deep appreciation for what it means (reducing our reliance on fossil fuels). You two are leading by example.
wind turbines are not really to be used anywhere, they make noise and are dangerous in winter and so on, solars are good but then you are slave to constantly replacing parts - panels have some lifetime, batteries also and these things are not cheap and must be taken into consideration in budget creation... nobody really cares at this moment and its mistake...
What is the best really are water turbines, if you have any flowing water nearby and you can use it somehow, do it and with it I would suggest to build also double reservoir one above the other and let the water "fall" when energy is needed or "pump it" up when in excess. This is "natural" battery system.
Hi, I hope this finds you well, looks like a great system!! I've just installed a 12kW Hybrid system on my place in New Zealand.
I've installed hundreds of systems, mainly in Australia... One suggestion that will make a BIG difference to your yield in winter is to lop those few trees down that will partially shade the panels... it's a shame for the trees but will will pay dividends as any panel in more shade will bypass (through its internal bypass diodes) to prevent them becoming a load.
photovoltaic / solar thermal technician here: my hat off great job, i wouldn't worry about wind hitting the back, same thing goes with stand alone systems, you can add corrugated panels if you want to stop the wind from hitting the panels. love that you buried the container and that your panels tilts 👍
Is it feasable and worth it into scaling this idea for a multiple MW solar farm? Thus giving energy also at night for the grid? Assuring the containers keep optimal temperature for batteries and all that is needed? Giving you have some arid terrain where farming isnt quite productive?
That looks like a GIANT SAIL! OMG.
I would have separated those solar panels a bit to allow airflow between them so as to not have a northern wind (which is the most common) blow that thing off the hill or at damage the solar panels.
Nice tour of tour system. It all looks well thought out.
Please remember that the sides of the shipping containers aren't designed to have high loads on corrugated side steel. Floor, top and corners are the support structure. You need to make sure that backfilled side docent cave in.
That's a good point
It's a common mistake people make when burying shipping containers, the walls are weak and dent in a lot.
Dad has one thats been burned for as long as I can remember. If the walls has pushed in its not noticeable....
Love the new solar system! I know you guys have a lot more property improvements to do, but being a Machinist/ Fabricator, I can't wait for you guys to get back to your fabrication episodes. BTW, what are your plans in future episodes? I'm assuming lots of fabrication while snowed in during the winter and maybe some camping adventures in the summer? Looking forward to it all!
you deserve every penny though. Its soooo hard to come by a simple realworld breakdown like this, that actually gives you the realities and the cost benefit analysis. Even governments don't seem to have these stats when they're talking about renewables, one way or the other..
Most price breakdowns ive found in the past are from old school self sufficiency people still running lead acid setups...
Super inspiring seeing this config. Appreciate you guys taking the time to spell out the details 👏👏
Now that you’re a few months into it, what would you say are the biggest downsides or perhaps changes to the config now that you’ve put some miles on it?
Thanks much!
We’re going to do a follow up video on our system very soon that covers this!
@@AmbitionStrikes awesome, def looking forward to that follow-up video! thanks fellas
Great review and will be so helpful to those embarking on this type of project. Eventually most of the components will cycle through their lifespan. However, those maintenance and replacement costs will be offset by the very likely increases of electric utility rates and the politicians taxing consumption. I think you have a system that should keep performing until the next ice age. Well done!
Courtney is the only woman on CZcams that can make overalls look great 😊
Love your channel, you both inspire me to build more and complain less.
great setup, only concern is the wind loading on the panels, i think if you did the calculations you will see under high windloads that the panels are more likely to break before they tip the shipping container, you have to protect the most valuable part of the system which is the shipping container, best you can do is to level the panels in high winds and hope for the best, a beast of a setup and very nicely implemented.
So cool!! you have made adjustable solar pannels! :)
Wow!! What an amazing accomplishment you two!! Congratulations and thank you for all the entertainment! God Bless
Thank you! We can't believe how far the property has come in a year.
Keep eye on the shipping container wall where the sand/dirt is piled to, it can have risk of that dirt eventually making pressure pushing the wall curved. It is at least one thing of concern you might check few times in future if it holds or not. Also anything related to rainfall water you might check the container corners stay dry.
The walls will rust out super fast being in contact with the dirt/wet soil
Thank you for an emphasis on the numbers. Valuable to us considering future plans.
Very informative! Thanks for the video! Nice set up!
Great video / Break down / Explanation! It’s crazy that you can get that system cheaper than trying to buy a new vehicle! Next project idea- if you end up needing another box, install above the array, and make the side of the box reflect the sun to the underside of the panels (polished aluminum maybe? :-) As always - I enjoy the videos! Side note - it’s fun talking with people you know (at various get togethers) and discovering that you both watch your channel 😊
Great video again. Now i need to think how i will go solar here on a farm in Thailand. You inspire us, keep it up. Cheers
thank you for this great info, helps a lot when you are on an island with no power. i appreciate the info.
Great Video, Thank you so much for posting the pricing this is my problem with my cabin and now I have the answer I need - Thank you for posting !
Beautiful couple. I like what you guys did. I am fighting my HOA right now because they don't allow solar installation. My system without batteries is running close to 50,000 for an 11.6KW system. I like those panels you guys used. I will talk to my solar folks about those 440 watters. Good information you guys!!!!
Partial burying, 'integrating with the hill' is a huge aesthetic advantage, I'd think doing a little of that on other two available sides could further improve it in addition to possibly eliminating the need for guywires which have their own drawbacks.
Large rocks and fill half way up on the downhill side would substantially secure it.
Yes, the backfill on the uphill side is constantly 'pushing' on the container, something needs to balance that force. Securing some PU panels to the exposed sides would help to keep the container warm in winter, at this point it's acting like a heat sink, similar to the steel helmets worn by Germans fighting the Russians during World War II.
This is EXTREMELY helpful!!! Thank you for the video. Looking to build a fully off grid tiny house, fully electric, modern, and I need insane power for it. This is a life saver. Although the cycle life on the batteries is a bit low for lithium iron.
Just to move power to your area is 60k alone. That’s insane! You guys made the right choice. Here I am just trying to put together a solar panel work for my future Toyota Tacoma. I’ll definitely check out your links. Thank you for sharing.
It is crazy to go back and watch to see how much progress you 2 have made in a years time.......Keep it up
Sometimes we get frustrated by how long a project is taking. It’s fun to take a step back and look at our total progress. It really puts things in perspective!
Hey, C & R! Great video! Would love a video like this with an update on the apartment (water system, heat, etc.). It's been a while since we've seen work on the house.
That is a great idea!
Great video - thank you! Have you guys considered unlikely events such as fire in/near batteries or major weather events? We've similar battery capacity but have the batteries in two seperate locations just in case a fire occurs and takes the area off line for a while.
Good work you two have done.
Really impressive and happy for you two!
Now it's time to Tackle the Water Question! Septic System? It's so much fun to watch you guys solve problems!
Hello from Ukraine. Freedom is worth the money you paid. Good luck guys.
I hope you and your family stay safe and I hope your country prevails, WINS and finds peace soon. 🇺🇦 Ukraine 🇺🇦 Forever🇺🇦. 🇨🇦
wheres my 99 percent rebate?
I think a good way to handle high wind situations would be to have a 0-tilt setting for your panels to go flat against the top of the container for any high wind events.
Great idea. A "stow mode" as we call it.
As some one who has lived off grid for 10+ years, you guys have made very good choices! You will / should add a small heater, 12v diesel electrics are well worth it
Solar is not currently worth getting as a stand alone power source unless you live somewhere that doesn’t have access to the power grid. When factoring in initial equipment cost, maintenance, repairs and equipment replacement costs solar is a drastically more expensive power source than a grid power source UNLESS you live in one of the few states that pays for the extra power you feed back to the grid. Maybe in 10 or 20 years when the technology advances and becomes more cost effective it might be. The ONLY off grid power source that is cost effective is hydro IF you have enough money to buy land with a constant moving water source.
@@jessebarnett4205 Well you forget the other usecase: It allready pays for them because getting on the grid is more expensive than building an island system.
I just made a quick calculation and used a small 8kw diesel generator as reference. It would cost 50k USD in Diesel to operate such a generator for 4,5years at 50% load for 18h/day if we use a price of 4,5USD/us-gallon. This system should survive 4,5years without major maintenace. So I guess it is a good solution.
An idea I wanted to offer with you both in case it's helpful. When your array is in the winter angle, you're going to want to ensure there's room for the snow to fall off the panels rather than pile up and shading them. You could snow blow it or push it, but that's a big pain compared to just leaving it. You may need more room than you think as it's the snow from the area of the panels piled up in one spot. Potential for erosion on that south side is also worth thinking about.
Hello Andrea
@@williamwoods8765 hello? Do we know each other?
@@ripplesandleaves no we are not we are friends under the comment
I found out that exact thing. Unless you have a hard surface (read : concrete or blacktop) most snow blowers are just too hard to push because the leading edge keeps digging in. After 3 neighbors thought their machines could handle it (and couldn't) I came across a new Honda tracked snow blower that has an adjustable front lift that keeps the front scrapper either 1", 2", 4" or 6" off the ground so it glides right over dips, small racks and dirt clumps. It wasn't cheap but it works fantastic after some of out central Minnesota snow storms.
now I know right where to go during the zombie apocalypse. Thanks for building all this for me!
See you there 😊
Great video, Folks! Thank you for sharing your experience. I do have one question in which I am having difficulty finding an answer: How are you able to protect your system from over charge when nobody is present at the property? Suppose you may be traveling for 2-4 weeks; what can be done to prepare for such a leave of absence? I also have a similar off-grid solar power system, albeit smaller in scale. It seems that regardless of which charge controller one may have, if the panels are receiving light, they will be producing photovoltaic energy as well. With the battery bank being fully charged, how can one prepare for this additional energy pass-through without damaging the system? I hope this question is intuitive and clear enough, my apologies if not. Looking forward to your point of view. Cheers!
Love your setup, and it gives me some ideas, as I'm trying to design a NON-grid-tied solar system to power my own home. I have an Emporia whole-house monitoring solution clamped to each of my breakers, and it's showing I consume a modest 32kWh-40kWh/day, in a super-efficient home that doesn't really use a lot of power. I have smart plugs monitoring current for all of the larger devices/appliances, and they sip power.
But this also means I need a minimum of 50kW-60kW of battery storage, likely more to cover those cloudy days where I can't recharge them back up fully via the panels every afternoon. We get maybe 3-4 solar hours per-day of good sun (northeast US), and so I'll need double the number of panels you have just to cover half your generated power.
The way his wife looked at him at 8:46 warms my heart. Seem like a couple of great people.
Spot on
I would just make sure that the con-ex (shipping container) is adequately anchored, because you have a surcharge (a lateral load) imposed by the rock and earth placed behind it, which will tend to push against the con-ex. Not only that, but you have the weight of the solar array trying to pull it away from the bank of earth. So you have two forces working literally against you. This from a former bldg. inspector. Otherwise, I like the way you folks think.
I would've put in a concrete slab for the container to sit on. Get a portable concrete mixer and haul in bags of mix. Just need a source of water.
@@greggv8 Would it be reasonable just to sink some piles, protruding up a couple of feet, beside the container, on the downhill side to resist the forces. If acceptable, what style/size /depth would you suggest?
PS.
Thanks guys for the really inspirational channel, even for an oldie like myself. Best wishes, take care.
@@abbersj2935 would have to consult an engineer who knows all the fun stuff about loads, materials, soil/ground conditions etc. for such specifics. Should that container and the solar array mounted to it shift, fixing it is going to be a much harder job than putting in a concrete slab first would have been.
One way I can think of to 'over provision' securing it back into the hillside would be to cut a long trench back from each top corner then set in long pieces of railroad track. Weld that to the tops of the upper anchor points on the container then pour concrete around most of the railroad track. Then push the dirt back into the trenches.
Good architectural design and engineering is well defined, with a lot of lessons learned by disaster and failure. But some things any reasonably smart person ought to be able to look at and just know it's not right.
For example the lousy job of how the spillway at the Oroville dam was originally constructed. There's a guy with a CZcams channel covering things like this, and his videos on the failure and rebuilding at Oroville are especially informative. Among the Oroville WTFs were they didn't clear the site down to bedrock. They expected a lot of leakage through the joints between the slab sections, so they installed perforated drain pipes covered by gravel, retained by some type of mesh. Instead of trenching those into the base (IIRC the trenching was called for in the plans), they laid them on top of the base, making thinner, weaker spots in the concrete. The slab joints were just plain butt joins, no overlap or keying together to try and reduce water infiltration. The drain pipes were routed downward and up inside the sidewalls to dump leakage back into the spillway. That's what's spraying in through the jets along the sides in the videos of it falling apart. As I watched his video I just got more and more horrified at how *stupidly* it had been constructed, surely they could see in 1967-1968 there were many problems with it.
For the spillway rebuild they cleaned the entire site down to bedrock and literally vacuumed it. They had a whole fleet of people out there with shop vacs sucking up every last loose particle. Leakage through the bad slab joins washed out the dirt under the spillway, which removed support. The plain slab joins were able to shift vertically, allowing more water through to accelerate washing away the soil beneath. The weak spots from the improperly done drains helped it collapse into the sinkhole. The new spillway has a solid base of roller compacted concrete. It still has a drainage system similar to the original, but the slab joins are keyed together to (hopefully) eliminate water getting through. Even if some penetrates, there's nothing for it to wash away.
What I'd do with it is coat the entire thing in an extra thick coating of polyurethane truck bed liner. Make it totally seamless and 100% leak proof.
@@greggv8 Thanks greg, I did see a video on the dam spillway some time ago, very interesting. There are as I see it, two main loads, wind on the panel and land mass on the uphill side pushing the container downhill. The pile restraint idea would stop the second but allow the potential for a small rotational moment, and as you said, top uphill side ties would stop that. It would be interesting to see potential loads using worst case wind +30%. I do wonder though if there would be some damage to the panel mounting before any container movement. All interesting points. But still a great installation which I would consider myself in a similar situation.
Beautiful hard working couple! Blessings on you and stay safe.