ENERGY is "power derived from the utilization of physical or chemical resources, especially to provide light and heat or to work machines".

energy for our house

solar w/ BATTERIES & BACKUP GENY

We plan on providing electric for our home through batteries. The batteries will be charged via solar panels during the day. If there is not enough solar or the batteries run low, then a controller will automatically turn on a backup generator (runs on propane) to charge them up. The video below is where we take delivery of our 6400 watt solar system. We will be sharing videos in the future with respect to installation, testing, and costs.
What will run off of electricity: refrigerator, freezer, washer machine, lights, tv, router, stereo, computers, etc.

propane

We have a 1,000 gallon above ground propane tank. The propane will be used to provide power to our 14 KW Kohler off-grid back up generator to charge our batteries (provide electricity - see above), our hot water, a back up baseboard heating system (hot water and heat will use an on demand combi boiler), a stove, and clothes dryer.

wood

Our intention is to completely heat our home with wood. It shouldn't need much heat to start with because of the earth sheltered design. Watch the video below to learn more! And yes, as we already stated above, we will have propane baseboard heat as a backup. Have I mentioned redundancy yet??

gasoline

We also have several back up generators - remember redundancy is key!
6500 Watt Predator
3500 Watt Predator
2200 Watt Generac
We are currently using all three while we live off grid in our RV during the build! See below :-)

ENERGY FOR OUR OFF GRID RV

solar

 We have 120 Watts of solar power connected to two 12 V batteries. This provides just enough power to keep the router going all day. We can also watch TV. We monitor the power using a volt meter Rich installed. If the voltage drops below about 11.9 low we simply run out and start up the 3500 Watt gas Predator generator.  We share information about our 100 watt system, the additional 20 watts, and the RV inverter etc. in the videos below.

gas generators

 We use a 3500 watt predator generator to power our RV if the batteries run low or if we want to run the pump for a shower, make a pot of coffee, or just cool off in some air conditioning! We also have a little electric heater so that when the generator is running we don't have to waste propane if we need to heat the trailer! Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy....
We use a 6500 watt Predator generator to run our well pump. The well pump fills our Berkey for drinking water, fills the RV, and waters plants! And yes, we also have other alternatives for getting fresh water besides gas.....(I'm not saying it again..........oh, OK, yes I am, redundancy!).

propane

The RV came with a 20 pound propane tank but we immediately upgraded to a 30 pound tank. In fact, we have a back up 30 pound tank so we never run out of propane. If one runs empty, we simply switch it out and get the other filled. This was a very worthwhile upgrade. The propane is used for heat, hot water (always on), and the stove. Since we have no oven and the trailer is small, we also have a barbecue with a side burner. We do most of our cooking in the nice weather outside. That uses a 20 pound tank, and again we have two so there is always a rotation!

ACCESSORY BUILDINGS etc.
Garage, shed, ATV's

SOLAR

We also use 20 watt solar panels to power our shed and to trickle charge our ATV's. The 20 watt panels actually work great!

GAS GENERATORS

We have a 2200 watt Generac generator (it was the original generator for the RV) that we now use to power the garage, charge power tools, charge batteries, and so much more!  

propane

We use propane to power a heater for the garage in the winter. It really makes a huge difference!

PORTABLE POWER STATIONs

We recently acquired two portable power stations for free in exchange for an honest review! These power stations really packs a punch of power that can be used in a variety of ways in and around the homestead!