When we started our journey back in late January, I don't think we really understood what we were getting into.
The early months of 2021 were cold and required a lot of generator run time. Which is something we did NOT intend to continue if we wanted to live a more sustainable lifestyle. The easiest solution for our Southwest sloping ridgeline? SOLAR POWER.
It was always our plan, so it seemed simple enough...
The bonus was our land came with a fully-equipped 120sqft cabin (*cough* tuff-shed *cough*) with solar panels, lights, TV, beds, and "bathroom". How hard could it really be to get those panels to power our electronics?
Well... it turns out the old solar panels and system were just that... old.
The system was made up of a poorly maintained battery, 3 old and dirty cracked solar panels placed in the SHADE, and for some reason couldn't power our SVU binges!
Jen stepped up to the task and will get all of the credit for this one because she researched and figured out exactly what we needed to buy to power the cabin. She walked me through the math to calculate why we needed what equipment and... well this might as well be a recording of my response...
*A crap-ton of deliveries later*
We sit down to open the boxes and begin the assembly.... I'm sure you can imagine the look on my face. Despite how overwhelming it felt at the time surrounded by dozens and dozens of pieces to our electric puzzle, we were determined to solve the puzzle that day. So we made a plan of action to divide and conquer and quickly figured out we just had to wing it as we went. One key thing we learned was that you can't be too prepared with backup plans a-z when you live 30+ minutes away from the nearest shopping center! (I don't want to count how many trips we have made)
In the next week or so, we plan to release a more detailed summary of our initial solar panel upgrades as well as updates to our new living situation.
If y'all have any questions about off-grid solar power - shoot them our way! We'd love to hear from you and add your questions to our Off-Grid FAQ.
- peace, love, & dogs -
Sam + Jen
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