Goin Off Grid

[John B]

I am starting research for an off-grid project in North Texas
(yes, I will search the archives)
I got some great comments from Martin over at GBA
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/...attery-storage

Any one else with comments or suggestions about Off-Grid ?

[MarkMc]

All the folks I know didn't quite make it completely off and ended up having landlines run in for net/phone connections.

[Allan Edwards]

John

Few questions:

Will the house have any PV? I assume it will have air conditioning? What is total electrical load requirement? What size is the house?

[Martin Holladay]

Mark,
Other options exist:
1. Cell phones (with or without various booster antennas, some of which may be technically illegal).

2. Satellite internet access.

[John B]

John

Few questions:

Will the house have any PV? I assume it will have air conditioning? What is total electrical load requirement? What size is the house?

Allan,
the house will be about 3,000 sf(probably less)
Yes, PV
just got the job yesterday
not many details yet
I am working with an experienced zero-energy home builder
The off-grid aspect is new to me and the Builder

[Allan Edwards]

Curious about how water will be heated. Also curious why someone would want to be "off the grid". Why not design to be as low energy as possible, but have electricity as a back up.

Sounds like an interesting job, hope you can post details.

[Martin Holladay]

Allan,
The three most popular ways to heat water in an off-grid home are:
1. Propane
2. Solar
3. Wood

...or any combination of the above. I use all three methods.

[John B]

Curious about how water will be heated. Also curious why someone would want to be "off the grid". Why not design to be as low energy as possible, but have electricity as a back up.

Sounds like an interesting job, hope you can post details.

The location is sort-of-remote
All I know so far.....
Power could be brought in at considerable cost ... but the client has "other reasons" to go off-grid at any cost
He has friends (hot climate) that are living off-grid

All new to me
Lots to learn

[Allan Edwards]

Thanks Martin. I'm on the grid and I use propane :) I saw a solar hot water system at recent Builder's Show that interests me, I'm considering using. What is best back up system for solar, given that in my area everyone uses natural gas (because of price). Tankless? Tank?

[Martin Holladay]

Allan,
Either one. I have a tankless unit, but if I had to do it again, I'd probably use a tank. Tankless units are over-hyped.

[Mark G]

Subscribe online to this magazine and read past articles. It will give you probably 95% of the info you need. http://homepower.com/home/

[David Meiland]

I saw a solar hot water system

We installed one for a customer a couple of years ago. It has a drainback tank connected to the panel, a 100g storage tank, and a single ~2x8 panel on the roof. Whenever the sun is out it makes hot water, when it stays out all day it makes a ridiculous amount of very hot water that lasts for days. We went with the drainback setup to avoid having to have a heat dump. In our climate, with no A/C and heating for more months than not, the storage tank is in conditioned space. In your A/C climate I'm not sure, you might want to put the tank outside. Backup is a Marathon electric water heater.

I heard of a guy nearby who was using his hot tub as a heat dump and the system was making it too hot to use. That's a hard problem to solve once your system is finished.

[John B]

Subscribe online to this magazine and read past articles. It will give you probably 95% of the info you need. http://homepower.com/home/

Thanks Mark G
I am signed up... looks to be a very useful resource

[MarkMc]

Mark,
Other options exist:
1. Cell phones (with or without various booster antennas, some of which may be technically illegal).

2. Satellite internet access.

Yes, they are better now, but then, in all cases cell phones were out and sat was not "enough;" and once the line is in... ;)

[davenorthup]

My wife works off the grid and now has access to satellite internet that has been very reliable, now we use Skype and can bypass the need for cell phones.

Land lines would never be an option.