On a very basic practical level, will you be able to get a mortgage or other loan to build a new off-grid house? Most of the High Street lenders would probably pass, though those already involved with self-build loans might be more approachable. To avoid running a generator at all, though it would be prudent to have one just in case, you would need about 30kWp of panels and 90kWh battery capacity to cover all your needs, which could cost around £135k/€150k all in. The generator or grid connection is needed to avoid having to oversize the PV and batteries to cover worst case conditions, which would not only increase costs but also require powering down of the PV system (and resultant “lost” generation) in summer/good weather. Though at a lower rate than for power imported, thus allowing the PV to operate at full output at all times. In a grid-connected system, any excess generation from the panels in summer would be exported to the grid and, in NI, you would be paid for. The same might not be said for an urban/suburban setting, where grid connection is advantageous. In this context, running the generator is unlikely to annoy neighbours. The reason for the generator is that off grid makes the most sense in a remote location where the cost of a new grid connection could be substantial. You could up the size of the PV array and batteries, to roughly 10kWp and 20kWh, to reduce the load on the generator but this would raise the overall cost to about £50k/€60k. The notional analysis shown here assumes this level of consumptionīear in mind that typically only about 1,250 to 1,350 kWh of solar output would be used directly, the rest would be via battery or generator (the more of one, the less of the other). Planning regulations permitting, a combination of photovoltaic (PV) panels, wind turbine and domestic battery storage, possibly linked into electric vehicle charging, could provide all the electricity needs for a well-designed house that incorporates things like low wattage appliances.Ĭost wise, £30k/€40k would be a reasonable ballpark for a 5kWp PV system with 10kWh battery capacity and 11kW LPG-fired generator, such as would serve a medium-to-large home with 5,000kWh electricity consumption per year. Note that equipment would be needed to effect a smooth switchover between on-site and grid supply and that various standing charges may apply for provision of supply even if you don’t use it. In this way you would still have the security of supply of a mains connection should you need it and would be able to spill your excess generation back to the grid. This will have an impact on the economics (although the price for “spilled” generation has not tended to be very favourable to date, low in NI and non-existent in ROI) and, more significantly perhaps, you will have no backup if your system fails.Ī halfway step towards going off grid might therefore be providing all your electricity needs on site but still having connection to the grid. Technically speaking, going off grid means not only not importing mains electricity but, also, not being able to export excess generation to the grid. We could be talking tens of thousands of pounds/euros which would buy a considerable amount of on-site generation and storage. From a purely economic viewpoint, a remote location may favour an off grid approach due to the potentially high cost of providing an electricity supply where one does not already exist.
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