Solar-powered shed-turned-office supporting air-conditioner

[SunEagle]

So I just got the quotes:
$5000 to add a 40A breaker to main house, run cable and conduit up to shed, install two circuits in shed, wire mini split. Geez! Still think solar is expensive?

I guess the price can be steep depending on where you live. Remember if you add up the cost of that solar, inverter and battery system it may be less then that $5000 but it will cost you more in the long run.

[yi2020]

Welcome to the forum of few(er) illusions. But before you abandon the project, I'd suggest you learn more about the solar process, including its capabilities but mostly about its limitations. Otherwise, unless this is a learning project, I'd just run power from the house ? Cheaper, faster, easier.

I'd love for it to be a learning project - same reason why I'm doing the wiring, insulation, dry wall, etc. I guess I need to make sure the project will be successful, and I won't be throwing away thousands of dollars for something that will fail and I'll still need to pay $5000 to hook it up to the house

[yi2020]

I guess the price can be steep depending on where you live. Remember if you add up the cost of that solar, inverter and battery system it may be less then that $5000 but it will cost you more in the long run.

Even when you factor the cost of the electricity itself vs continuously replacing batteries?

[SunEagle]

Even when you factor the cost of the electricity itself vs continuously replacing batteries?

Well what is your cost of electricity? If it is very high then IMO you will still be ahead connecting to the grid. But as always I say do the math which may bring more enlightenment to you then from hearing it from others.

If you look at the cost of 4 of those batteries you are probably looking in excess of $1600 and surprisingly I did not see the "guaranteed" value of cycles or discharge depth. Only with that data can you come up with the cost per kWh they can provide you before they need to be replaced.

[azdave]

Even if it were cheaper to go with a stand-alone system I still would not do it. I have better things to do with my spare time than to manage charging/diminishing capacity/lifespan issues with the batteries or worry if I can run the A/C tomorrow after a week of heavy cloud cover. If cost is really an issue, find someone local who you can barter services with. I trade out my skills with other people in our community and both parties usually come out ahead.