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Is Living Off Grid Feasible? It Sure is!
Feb 20, 2013
We are experiencing unprecedented interest in living off-grid. With current technology, it is very realistic to build a property and have a solar PV system provide the energy required with no connection to the electric utility.
However, living off grid is not for everyone. The main determinant for whether off grid solar is appropriate is the amount of electricity the property is designed / expected to use. Technically, a system can be built as large as needed to meet energy needs, but then practicality and costs become huge issues.
A typical off grid property will use between 7-22 kWh per day of energy. This is a fairly wide range and will depend of various factors:
1. Type of home - A newly build home, with a focus on energy efficiency, will offer the best results when living off grid
2. Amount of occupants - As expected, the more individuals, the more energy is consumed
3. Amount of buildings - If there are additional buildings besides the main living quarters, the more energy is going to be consumed
While there are many other factors, which can be as unique as each off grid property, the above are the three main factors that determine energy consumption.
Now that we've touched on consumption, we are going to discuss energy generation. There are many misconceptions out there...we have individuals that believe one or two PV modules will meet their needs and we have other individuals that believe solar PV modules can never provide enough energy.
For this discussion, we are going to use a 7.8kWdc PV array, as we have recent data from one of our systems.
POWER PRODUCTION
So, this array is located in Alberta; excellent southern exposure, ground mounted with excellent airflow around array. We can see this system generated a max power of 6.84 kWac. We can also see this system generated 38.8kWh of energy during the day, which is equivalent 5.64 hrs of peak output...excellent energy production for a mid-February day!
ENERGY PRODUCTION
In the above chart, we can now see energy production, which is the cumulative power production over a set period. As shown, energy production each day can vary quite significantly. However, we do have very accurate information on average available energy, so a good PV system designer will take into account the appropriate AVERAGE energy available, and not PEAK values. Peak values can easily be used to make a system look like it will produce much more energy than it will in reality.
So, the energy production of our 7.8 kWdc is 158 kWhac over a 7 day period. This works out to an average of 22 kWhac per day, which is exactly what we would expect from this system.
The key to ensure a solar PV system meets expectations is appropriate design and installation. It only takes the inappropriate mix of two items to drag the rest of the system down, or render it completely useless.
The most important action in ensuring a successful PV system is to involve the professionals from the very onset of the project. A solar PV system is very capable to providing a reliable and cost effective energy solution, but this success hinges on the proper design and implementation of the solar system, plus the proper education of the system owner / user.
Want to know more? Contact us today to learn if off grid living is for you!
F: 403.343.6455