Do you have enough solar to go off grid in winter?

[Jeremy3292]

The internet is chock full of 'off-grid' living experiences that typically but not always have fossil back-up. I think it then becomes a question of how much of their lifestyle is powered by PV/battery, rather than a black or white question

Correct. This thread is about enough solar + battery to be off grid, which is not feasible nor realistic for most people due to inherent limitations (cost, space, sun hours, etc).

 

[wwu123]

This is why I'm all for the generator solution which already exists. I only have 20kWh batteries, but I consume around 20kWh a day (not counting any solar generation), so with no sun, it's a 1 day and done deal. For most suburban homes with limited roof space, it's not possible to even scale more panels for limited sun/cloudy days. In regular cool, fall/spring days, I think a lot of people can go solar/storage already. One also needs to watch out for fire danger with clouds blocking solar.

Generator already works to recharge batteries now (one can find videos on youtube):

Generator support | Enphase

Seamless resilience during extended grid outages. Enphase generator support and documentation.

enphase.com

I've stated this before on this thread, so the problem is still no solar for multiple days so another energy source is definitely required. I don't know how long a large generator will need to be ran to fully recharge say, 40 kWh of batteries.

...

I like your thinking on this, but since you're bringing a generator into the equation to plug the gaps in solar/batteries, you don't have to fully recharge the batteries with the generator, or even partially - you just need to power the home loads until the days are sunny again. But if you do recharge the batteries, the other nice thing is you'd probably be able to use the generator at a more efficient operating point than running home base loads alone.

But where this brings me fondly back to is more than a decade ago, I was able to use my Prius with a small inverter to provide emergency backup power for small critical loads for many a storm. It was the best kind of generator, as the small HV battery allowed the engine to only turn on occasionally (but automatically) to top off the battery - and when the engine did run, it was very quiet and had modern emissions controls vs a dirty generator.

So maybe that's why I've been so intrigued by the 2025 Dodge 1500 Ramcharger (EREV), compared to the range-challenged Cybertruck. It has a 92kwh battery, so less than the higher Cybertruck trims - but in this thread's scenario, when the battery gets depleted across multiple cloudy days, the Ramcharger has a 130kw (not 13 kw!) V6 generator onboard (to recharge the batteries) that's quiet and with modern emissions, vs a separate noisy portable generator that could weigh 500 lbs (same as a V6) but not output even 1/10th the power.

 

[BGbreeder]

Correct. This thread is about enough solar + battery to be off grid, which is not feasible nor realistic for most people due to inherent limitations (cost, space, sun hours, etc).

While I agree that there is some truth in that statement, I would reframe the issue as most people have not sealed and insulated their homes enough and therefore require large amounts of energy their home at a reasonable temperature and humidity.

Caulking, insulation, and addressing air leaks may not be as cool or fun as novel batteries, multicolor apps on our phones, or generators, but they do dramatically cut heating and cooling costs, lowering the demand budget for energy, enabling people to be self sufficient even in winter, even in places like Maine...

All the best,

BG