Brian From Ottawa, new owner of an off-grid cabin

[bcjohnso99]

Hi,

My wife and I just bought a cabin in the forest. It's totally off-grid: no electrical grid, no city water, no cell service, but still has property taxes

Currently, water is collected from rainfall, electricity comes from a small generator, general heat by wood stove and appliances are on propane.

I plan to add a solar array with a battery bank and relegate the generator to emergency duty.

I've been reading a lot and have a good idea what I want but the devil is always in the details so am looking forward to hearing from those who have lived and learned.

Brian

[littleharbor]

When you say "forest" My first question would be, do you have a location that isn't going to be affected by shadows from trees? This time of year would be quite telling as the sun is riding low in the sky.

[bcjohnso99]

When you say "forest" My first question would be, do you have a location that isn't going to be affected by shadows from trees? This time of year would be quite telling as the sun is riding low in the sky.

The previous owner cleared the trees on the water side, which is south, and on a hill!

I think I get an install location where the panels will get direct access to the sun for the bulk of the day.

[J.P.M.]

What % of, say, a year do you plan on living on the property ?

What do you currently know about living off grid ? Any experience ?

What do you know about energy conservation, solar energy and electricity ?

Depending on the answers to the above, be prepared for some possibly major lifestyle adjustments.

A lot of pre learning before you make the leap will help ease the transition a bit.

Welcome to the neighborhood and the forum of few(er) illusions.

[bcjohnso99]

What % of, say, a year do you plan on living on the property ?

What do you currently know about living off grid ? Any experience ?

What do you know about energy conservation, solar energy and electricity ?

Depending on the answers to the above, be prepared for some possibly major lifestyle adjustments.

A lot of pre learning before you make the leap will help ease the transition a bit.

Welcome to the neighborhood and the forum of few(er) illusions.

Our family (H+W+2 boys) have been camping for years, including on islands and deep in the bush so we are fairly used to living without the amenities of the city. This cabin is really meant to be a home base outside of the city from which we will launch hunting and fishing excursions. We'll likely not spend more than a couple weeks at a time there as the boys have activities and we've still got a decade or so left in our office careers.

My wife has a electrical engineering degree and I have been puttering with wiring on boats and RVs, including a very basic portable 12V panel + PWM controller to charge the boat batteries when on excursions.

No doubt we have lots to learn. In a few years we'll start looking to build our retirement home so this adventure will provide a bit more experience.

[J.P.M.]

Our family (H+W+2 boys) have been camping for years, including on islands and deep in the bush so we are fairly used to living without the amenities of the city. This cabin is really meant to be a home base outside of the city from which we will launch hunting and fishing excursions. We'll likely not spend more than a couple weeks at a time there as the boys have activities and we've still got a decade or so left in our office careers.

My wife has a electrical engineering degree and I have been puttering with wiring on boats and RVs, including a very basic portable 12V panel + PWM controller to charge the boat batteries when on excursions.

No doubt we have lots to learn. In a few years we'll start looking to build our retirement home so this adventure will provide a bit more experience.

Respectfully: Look before you leap.

Also, don't expect much of any of the accessible exterior equipment to remain if unattended for stretches of time.

[bcroe]

Before designing anything, you need to accurately access just what power will be needed, and just
what a solar system can generate at the time you would be there. A Solar Pathfinder or equivalent
gauge can tell you when the sun will unobstructed at your location, for times of the year.

Batteries are a constant maintenance item with very limited storage capacity. You might need to
take them with you when you leave. Bruce Roe

[bcjohnso99]

Before designing anything, you need to accurately access just what power will be needed, and just
what a solar system can generate at the time you would be there. A Solar Pathfinder or equivalent
gauge can tell you when the sun will unobstructed at your location, for times of the year.

Batteries are a constant maintenance item with very limited storage capacity. You might need to
take them with you when you leave. Bruce Roe

It gets extremely cold in the winter so we'll pack up the solution for the off season and bring the batteries back to the city to stay warm and topped up.

We'll keep the generator to top up in poor PV weather and as the sole source in the off-season if we go up for winter activities.