Living Off Grid: An introduction to living with solar electricity

This book is an introduction to living with an off-grid solar electric system (or PV system). How do they operate? What are the basic components of them? What can you power with one? What do you need to know to successfully and happily use one?This is not a manual in how to design or build an off grid PV system, but on how to USE it. Think of it not as an auto mechanics manual but rather as drivers ed for off grid. Even if you buy your PV system and have someone install it for you, you still need to know how to use it.One important item in successfully operating your off-grid PV system is to balance energy input to energy output. We use energy from the PV system to operate electrical stuff in our house (energy output) and have to collect just as much energy input (from the sun, or from a backup generator) to balance this. Just as with a bank account, if you spend more than you put in, you’ll get in trouble. Knowing how to read the meters on your system is important for this.But perhaps the most important item is the lifestyle choice of paying attention to the weather and adjusting your energy use to match. Living with off-grid PV means paying attention to how much incoming energy you have, and changing your routine based on that. This is the hardest concept for most people when they first go off-grid: paying attention to the weather and adjusting your energy use.The larger the PV system and the higher the cost and complexity, the more capability it will have and the less you may have to adjust your lifestyle. Having a firm understanding of the size of PV system you can afford and its capabilities is important. You can build an off-grid system for under $1000. And you can build one to run a home with every modern appliance. Those two are NOT the same off-grid system. Having accurate expectations is key to being happy with your off-grid life.The author has lived off grid for 20+ years in Colorado and Washington. He designs and installs off grid solar electric systems as well as teaching design classes for them. Read more