Many Small Home and Cabins that are located in an area that it is not feasible or inordinately expensive to obtain Grid-Tied electrical power from. There are several important factors to consider when designing a OFF-GRID Solar Powered electrical system.

Energy Storage The most important consideration involves Energy Storage. When a Residential Grid-Tied Solar Power Systems generates more power than is needed at the moment, this excess power is automatically sent to the electrical grid and “stored” for the homeowner. This option is not available when the Solar System is “Off-Grid”. An Off-Grid home must have it’s own Energy Storage System to store the excess solar energy generated during daylight hours. Blue Ion and Tesla have made great strides in developing efficient and affordable Energy Storage systems for homeowners.

Back-Up Power Supply. If the home is utilized year-round and is located in Northern latitudes, it is important to have a back-up Generator The backup generator can be powered by Natural Gas or Gasoline. Energy-Efficient Home Construction To minimize the size of the Solar Array and the needed power it is important to utilize energy-efficient materials and construction methods for the structure and to use LED Lighting and energy-efficient appliances to minimize the load for the solar panels.

A design has been developed for a hypothetical Lake House located on Lake Cumberland in Pulaski County Kentucky (Latitude-36.8 Longitude-85.04). It is assumed that the residence is utilized year-round with four full-time residents…

The schematic diagram for this system is given below.