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Redmohawk · 05-17-16, 05:34 PM

Yes there are many variables to how to live off grid , and the why can vary quite a bit to . I have grid access at my new site , old site would have cost me over $100,000 for a single swer line to the house .

Old site

It had a creak that flowed 3 to 4 L a second in low flow summer (spring fed ran all year) in high flow times It was 10 feet wide and 3 feet deep slope was 273 m length 75m fall .

I fitted a hydro ram pump at the top running off a fall of 2m that pumped water up to a 135,000 L water tank at the top of the property , this ran back down a 3 inch poly pipe to the main house and fed fire fighter sprinklers with 16m head . In a bush fire you opened one valve and 1 ah around the house was wet in a few seconds and would last several hours around the house.

Line then ran back down to the bottom of the creek for a fall of close to 100m into a pelton wheel generator producing 1000v AC run back up to the main house and used to charge a 1000 ah 48v lead acid battery bank. (ex forklift battery bought at scrap value) system was assisted with 2 kw of solar panels.

This system cost under $3000 Aus complete (using second hand bits and bobs) ran for 4 years with me looking after it , is still going strong (battery is tired but still serviceable) with a pair of green horns running it (with strict instruction written before I left) another 5 years later.

Should never have sold it (divorce and offered silly money for something I paid a pittance for 5 years before) 160 ah of bush in the hills of Victoria Australia.

If your an energy hungry type off grid solar is going to be expensive , more frugal will do just fine in temperate climates , LIPo cells are great but still very expensive , large format are pricey here and the Tesla wall costs $10K Aus for the smaller unit here.

Over 1000's of off grid setups are running and have been for years here in Aus mostly in far flung places where grid is never going to go or is just up the road but cost is prohibitive.

There are quite a few being off grid set up in towns now though , mostly enthusiasts doing fit outs the pros are all about grid Tie here . Feed in tariffs are almost non existent some company's simply take the excess and give nothing, almost all increase your monthly connection rate (some by 50%) being "on grid" is becoming less than ideal long term.

05-17-16, 05:34 PM	#42
Redmohawk Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Victoria , Australia Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Yes there are many variables to how to live off grid , and the why can vary quite a bit to . I have grid access at my new site , old site would have cost me over $100,000 for a single swer line to the house . Old site It had a creak that flowed 3 to 4 L a second in low flow summer (spring fed ran all year) in high flow times It was 10 feet wide and 3 feet deep slope was 273 m length 75m fall . I fitted a hydro ram pump at the top running off a fall of 2m that pumped water up to a 135,000 L water tank at the top of the property , this ran back down a 3 inch poly pipe to the main house and fed fire fighter sprinklers with 16m head . In a bush fire you opened one valve and 1 ah around the house was wet in a few seconds and would last several hours around the house. Line then ran back down to the bottom of the creek for a fall of close to 100m into a pelton wheel generator producing 1000v AC run back up to the main house and used to charge a 1000 ah 48v lead acid battery bank. (ex forklift battery bought at scrap value) system was assisted with 2 kw of solar panels. This system cost under $3000 Aus complete (using second hand bits and bobs) ran for 4 years with me looking after it , is still going strong (battery is tired but still serviceable) with a pair of green horns running it (with strict instruction written before I left) another 5 years later. Should never have sold it (divorce and offered silly money for something I paid a pittance for 5 years before) 160 ah of bush in the hills of Victoria Australia. If your an energy hungry type off grid solar is going to be expensive , more frugal will do just fine in temperate climates , LIPo cells are great but still very expensive , large format are pricey here and the Tesla wall costs $10K Aus for the smaller unit here. Over 1000's of off grid setups are running and have been for years here in Aus mostly in far flung places where grid is never going to go or is just up the road but cost is prohibitive. There are quite a few being off grid set up in towns now though , mostly enthusiasts doing fit outs the pros are all about grid Tie here . Feed in tariffs are almost non existent some company's simply take the excess and give nothing, almost all increase your monthly connection rate (some by 50%) being "on grid" is becoming less than ideal long term.