So you want to go off grid. First of all, let's back up a bit - why do you want to go off-grid?

In our experience there are two basic reasons people want to go off-grid:

• 1 - For money (ie. to save it)
• 2 - For peace of mind (ie. philisophical reasons such as the environment or for energy security)

The first reason is dependent entirely on how far you are away from the utility and how much energy you plan to consume. We can work out these numbers in detail with you but here are some things you should know:

• The province has announced that it will pay a premium rate for electricity from solar panels on homes and businesses. This program is called the Feed In Tarriff program (or FIT for short). With a grid connection, a solar energy system can actually generate revenues above and beyond your regular hydro bill. Simple payback periods for this program are 8-12 years. This means you can recover your intital capital investment with revenues generated from your system in 8-12 years.
• Going off-grid when hydro is nearby does not have a payback period. Something as common as replacing batteries every 10-15 years in an off-grid energy system will swallow any hope for cost effectiveness.
• Most off-grid homes rely on a fossil fuelled generator to meet peak energy requirements during the winter months when the sun isn't shining or the wind not blowing. Generators need regular service and fuel.

The second reason is a little more tricky as money is always a factor in there as well, but here are some things to consider:

• A batteryless grid-tied solar electric system is the most environmentally friendly way to use the technology. Unlike being off-grid, you always have a place to put excess energy (the grid will always buy it). If you are off-grid and you are away for a few days and your batteries are fully charged excess energy goes no where. This is poor efficiency.
• Batteries need replacement. While batteries are one of the few prodcuts in our economy that are well recycled, this recycling takes energy.
• Batteries have charging and discharging in-efficiencies. For every 1 unit of energy you put into a battery you will get only 0.75 - 0.85 units out.
• In most cases, a connection to the grid eliminates the need for a back-up fossil fueled generator. Fossil fueled generators are not especially clean buring nor quiet.
• Over 80% of the world's solar electric capacity is installed as batteryless grid-tied. It benefits the entire grid.
• Most power outages last for less than 1 hour. To get through longer outages, a battery back-up system can be installed to get you up to 72 hours of power security. For outages longer than this, either solar capacity or a fossil fueled generator will be required.

So, now back to your question - what is possible for you?

We always start with a load analysis. The load analysis gives us a rough idea of off-grid or on-grid system cost. Feel free to download our sample load analysis fill in the values and send back to us, once we have this we can have a more substantive conversation about your specific needs.

Our off-grid projects: Hunter House, Simmons House