Off Grid Living: Surviving Winter on Solar power

Sustaining your solar power during endless cloudy months can be a challenge. Solar panels are very efficient but the bottom line is, if you live off grid you must be conservative during any cloudy days period! Many people have a misconception that one cannot sustain with panels during the winter. You can, you just need to be conservative about it and think outside the box. We are long over due for more panels since we had a long long cloud filled winter which was very unusual for our area. ONE must prepare for the out-of the ordinary. Although our system is properly fitted for us, this unexpected winter took many off griders by surprise. But regardless we made due and did just fine! Here are some simple tips for all off grid homesteads to consider in saving a little bit of juice during those long cloud cover days!

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Starry Hilder
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Address: 6640 Kaniksu St, Bonners Ferry, ID 83805

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20 thoughts on “Off Grid Living: Surviving Winter on Solar power”

  1. not a lot of food in the freezer? that thing is HUGE 😀 i have a combined fridge/freezer and in the freezer we have french fries, fish sticks and maybe some frozen broccoli and weed, you have a BIIIG supply of food in the freezer 😀

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  2. Hi….I foud that electricity can be a valuable bussines also but because the biggest company keep the price high for allternative energy like solar we need to get alternative ways. I get this guide about how to build a solar panel system for really cheap: 63a25cwg3grwep8uijx5mj0y4t.hop.clickbank.net/ . I was able to build few solar system and get electricity and sell my electricity . I have now 18 kw system and can get a prety decent revenue just from this and also I was able to keep cost building my own really low. So now you have one more ways to make money.

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  3. Why don't you have power switches on your wall sockets do they not do that in America? This would save the need for buying power strips as you call them.

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  4. Try a windmill generator to make power when the sun isn't available. They run through the same Voltage regulator as your solar system and can charge up the battery bank when the sun isn't available. Good luck. You have a beautiful home and surrounding area! Thanks for sharing.

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  5. With all my knowledge of solar panels i disagree with you on the "no matter how big your solar array is you won't make any electricity". I have a 4.5 kw system on my house and in complete cloud cover and rain it was still making 130-140 watts of power. its nothing compared to what it would normally make in direct sunlight but it still made electricity.

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  6. you can charge a cell phone on either AC or DC power. There are tons and tons of DC accessories out there you can connect to the battery bank and charge your phone with a DC Charger. Much better than inverting.

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  7. I would have the opposite problem keeping my fridge outside in the winter. All my food would freeze solid!
    where I live, solar would be useless 8 months of the year. We sure get a ton of wind though..

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  8. Starry this was a HUGE help! we are in the planning stages for retiring to Montana, next door to you. I would like to be completely off grid, hubby won't go for it but I want to get him as close as possible. your weather is similar but a bit more harsh than where we are going but I have friends in Priest River so I know the basics. We will be in the Bitterroot Valley. I love the concrete floor also… not sure if I can talk hubs into that tho. Thank you for your honesty as always like most of your viewers we value it.

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  9. Hi I think you need to make some changes to your system.My system isnt very big but it can run most of my house on a cloudy day.Most cloudy days it runs the house and gets the full charge.If you need a hand let me know.Frank

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  10. instead of spending extra on having DC in my home I just added more panels and batteries. I've got a 10,000 watt inverter with 40,000 watt surge, 15 batteries, and 1500 watts in panels on line right now. If you look hard enough u out can find good deals on parts and save a lot. the system I'm running currently only cost me 2900 dollars. I have an additional 2700 watts I'm about to install, but as it is we have a large ac fridge, microwave, and can do 3 to 4 loads of laundry a day with a propane dryer. I have to admit I started small and did have a propane fridge, and ran a generator for laundry. looking back though, with what I spent on propane for the fridge, cost of the fridge, and a large generator for laundry, I could have built a larger system than I have now with what it cost, and life would have been easier sooner. In my opinion, make power your first priority when building a off grid lifestyle, it can be done easily for under 4,000. you still have to be aware of what you use, but you can make it work easier than most people think.

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  11. all my lights are 12 volt led but screw onto regular light socket and have couple recepticles ( plug in) my drop lights have 12 volt led bulbs and everything is marked 12 volt or 120 volt AC because if plug 120 into 12 volt no biggy but if you plug 12 volt into 120 AC you get a big bang out of it so even my control boxes are marked 12 volt or 120 AC .
    It is nice because may drain shutting down the inverter but 12 volt light still work for few days, my phone charger and internet all work off of 12 volt DC.

    Reply
  12. I have a basement "Cold Room", It is mostly below ground level with one small window and insulated from the rest of the house. Temperature in winter doesn't fall below freezing but it is cold. In summer, it remains cool.
    I have my deep freezer in there to reduce the amount of electricity needed. I also have an old, but still working, fridge in there. If your fridge is put outside or in a cold room, it could remain plugged in and it would only run when the surrounding temperature is above what the fridge is set on.

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