I started to be concerned about the grid around 2010 or so. I used to laugh when California had rolling blackouts thinking that would never happen here . When the big freeze hit Texas a few years ago we were threatened with rolling blackouts here that got my attention. After the 2020 election went the way it did and the full blown green energy push went to full bore i could see the writing on the wall. At that time I wasn’t comfortable with the Tec behind inverters so I passed. This spring I started building a system and yesterday I finally went 100% off grid. As an anti green dude I did struggle with it at times but my first priority and responsibility is my families safety and security. Maybe they got me through reverse psychology here’s a few pics from start to almost done

Nice!!!! Looks great!!

Green baaaadd


Seriously though that's awesome! What's the life span on your batteries from install to having to replace them and how long can they keep a charge going with no sun ?

Interesting! Will be a sharp learning curve but I'm sure it'll be well worth it in the long run.

Impressive! Good for you for being prepared! I only know a couple little things about survival. I’m working on using a ferro rod to make a fire.
Good job man

Good to know since ur within driving distance
Congratulations on your independence

I’ve always wondered with all of the green energy and the talk about that why Solar is not advertised more? At least here it’s next to nothing being encouraged much it minimal.

Looks great so your totally off the grid now or just able to do that if needed?

I'm envious! great job sir.

Life span on the batteries is about 7000-8000 cycles from full charge to 20% so over 15 years.

I can run for a couple days from now until next June with no sunlight. In June with 3 Ac units running when it’s hot only a day to day and a half. Generator starts then and recharges the batteries in about 4 hours. I’m thinking it will cost around $10-15 when it runs but not sure yet. We don’t have many days with no sun here and even with heavy cloud cover the panel make some juice

I’m off the grid completely. I will produce more energy than I use. I was going to put a net meter in and discharge back to the grid but they started charging $150 for the paperwork and they don’t pay you for anything more than you used. If that makes sense. My excess energy would be donated to the commonwealth so I told them to pound sand.

My plan was for us to not even notice the difference or have to adjust our normal day to day living. So far so good

Nice job! What was your investment costs on this? Since you're not tied to the grid were you able to hook this up yourself or did you have to hire an electrician?

28k total. 19 and change after tax rebates. Should pay bay in 9.5 years. Could have done it $4,500 cheaper but I didn’t want batteries in the house so I bought a 8x10 building and insulated the heck out of it. LiFePO4 batteries are very safe but I just didn’t want them in the house. I did 80% of it and my electrician buddy did the rest. Very simple system so if a guy had time and a little electrical knowledge it would be no problem to do yourself.

Looks good.
Think the Texas issue was the Government mandated they use Green instead of normal Electric or coal and it caused all the blackouts. Don’t quote me on that, but I heard a podcast about it.

Off topic and it may just be certain States, but I didn’t think they’d totally take you off the grid if the location is occupied. Thought you could disconnect from it, but they’d still bill or tax you.

That is very interesting Pawnee. How far are your panels from your home? We have been thinking of something similar to what you have. My field where I could put the panels would be 800 hundred feet or so from my building's.

Thanks, Zim

No you right Wanna Be and that’s the point. All the green stuff that they push is causing and going to cause big problems. Texas got in a bind because of green energy mandates. They like most states shut down coal and natural gas plants or mothballed them to go green.

I always try to remind folks green energy isn’t produced it’s harvested. Energy demand is going off the charts and our government and energy companies are shifting away from reliable energy sources. Add in the massive demand coming from new data centers that take as much energy as 100,000 homes and AI that takes lots of energy and it a recipe for disaster. Some are starting to figure it out and that’s why there are talks now of getting three mile island back online

My setup is 150 feet from the house. It’s behind a big tree row so you can’t see it coming into the house or at the house. Distance shouldn’t be a problem you just will run bigger wire.

(This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) wish you were closer you'ld have a job.

Thought about installing solar many times. Even if it is to power my out buildings.

Nice information, Pawnee. We admire the results you've achieved in self sufficiency. We've been milling over the big issues (environmental practices getting materials for and disposing of solar panels and batteries, and the tax money that goes into incentives to employ a technology that doesn't pay for itself). We'll see where we end up. At this point, Zim is saying that after a lifetime of paying taxes for other people's stuff, including current illegal alien costs, he could justify sucking back some of our own tax money via the incentives. That's a thought. I'm working on it.

I recently read that each state has its own laws or rules concerning whether power companies buy back power, pay wholesale or retail for it, and if they have a choice. Interesting stuff.

Pawnee, can you break out a rough number for the cost of building your battery shed? Are those batteries similar to lithium ion batteries in electric vehicles? If so, that is a smart idea to keep those batteries away from your house. What were your insulation requirements? I wonder how that would be in Wisconsin.

One more fun question - is it possible to build the array higher up on longer supports, making the area underneath it usable? I was sure I once spotted a small array of solar panels raised up higher with a couple of picnic tables under it. I was thinking that if we did this, it would be cool to create a usable space under the "roof."