New around here...

Yes that's per day use as close as I can figure it. I don't know how or if they calculate insolation into their figures. I know they use average hours per day annually for your zip code which is 4.61 for my location. Use rate?? I'm new....as you can see. Total daily use was calculated at 1.30 Kwh....which I'd assume from all the advice I've heard so far, is probably low. I'd rather have too much than not enough, obviously.

I'm aware that everything I do for this first year or so is going to be an experiment as far as power goes.

 

I have a KILL-A-WATT and I am using it. There's no way to know for sure what we'll use in a 16x16 cabin, coming from an 1800 sq ft house with central air, dryer, electric stove, dishwasher, electric water heater, etc..... That's 95% of our power usage right there that will not exist. Of course I'm guessing, unless I buy a kill a watt for every fixture I have listed and do a testing period here. Not gonna do that. I'm setting a baseline between absolute need and allowing for my wife's penchant for leaving lights on. Even if you triple the usage, which I've read is a good place to start, it's at 4 Kwh...roughly.

I'll plan for that and let all you guys know how the experiment goes.

 

I don't have any of those needs you've listed, just the needs I listed, but I appreciate it.

 

Based on our system I think this would work for you, I've added some rough costs estimates:

Solar Panels 1200W -- $1500
Schneider Electric Conext XW MPPT 60 Amp Charge Controller -- $500
Schneider Electric Conext SW 4024 3,400 Watts, 24VDC Inverter 120/240 VAC -- $1500
LiFePO4 Prismatic Batteries 24V, 100Ah --$1200

 

Thank You!

I figured around 1000w might be about right....a little more can't hurt. I'm thinking about just doing the two battleborn 12v 100Ah in series for my batteries. Obviously more expensive but their warranty is really good from what I understand and they're nearly fool proof. I think I can get the panels cheaper than the 1,500 to offset that a bit. Wholesale has 285 watt panels at $155 each.

Thanks again Ben.

 

You might as well max out that charge controller 60 amps x 24v = 1440 watts.

Those look like good batteries for a good price and they are made in America.

 

I am not your high tech numbers guy.
I built my battery bank system and inverter to circumvent the inevitable power outages that happened to us from time to time living in the mountains. .
What I will tell you is to build a box for 10 even if you only expect to have 5 build with the idea of growth .
Build the house for a two story foundation and walls, though you only have plans for one story ..
Strongly consider passive solar for heating your home in it's design so that even if you post pone it , the framework is in place .
Plan for a under ground root cellar /shelter .
I got into solar when few if any thought it was practical . I will always prefer DC power over AC power .
LED lighting is the way to go and there are some alternatives to AC so far as appliances .
The RV industry does not even use half of them, but they have a lot to contribute to your education ..
Like I said I'm not a numbers guy mostly because solar is variable with exposure which is variable sun rise to sun set and clouds and such make the charging curve a bit wiggly.
My solar panels each have their own switch and I have meters for reading the quality of each including the batteries as well .
And though wind is not the greatest I have a mill that makes a small contribution from day to day. Some days are better than others but so is solar.
If you have a live stream available ,check out the "RAM PUMP" on you tube.. it provides it's own power and the technology is over 100 years old. I made one just for fun, and it works.

 

My charge controller has a 2 wire output that can be triggered by low-array power. Since we are rarely at max power for the charge controller and panels are cheap I am going to setup a new array and connect it to the existing array with a relay. When it is cloudy or morning/evening and we are not producing much power the second array will automatically kick on and give the system a little boost.