Don’t have direct access to the grid? Or do you want to avoid dependence on the grid and control your own power supply off grid? Through solar panels, and this is possible.
Utilising off grid solar panels means that you install a battery alongside solar panels, so that you can get by without or with just a small electricity connection. This way, your small house, boat, camper van or other mobile solution is supplied with renewable power, without a noisy, fossil-fueled generator. You can also solve your peak electricity demand with off-the-grid solar panels. You might have some moments of high electricity demand due to specific equipment or simultaneous use of multiple appliances, by applying a solar panel off the grid you don’t need a bigger connection for those peak demand moments.
To generate electricity fully or partially self-sufficiently, you first need solar panels. While it is possible to generate power with a windmill, wind turbine or hydropower, these options are much more difficult and expensive to achieve than with PV panels. Now, while the sun does not always shine brightly, solar panels also generate power in diffuse light, such as light, cloudy weather. With an off grid solar panel set, you need a battery for evenings, nights and heavily cloudy, rainy days. On a sunny day, you charge a battery with the solar panels, which you use when the sun is not shining enough.
The off grid solar panels themselves are basically the same as standard solar panels, however, they can also be fully customised. For each application, there is often a different power or amperage requirement and based on this information, we can design a solar panel that meets it exactly. Buying off grid solar panels further differs from standard PV panels, as you have to purchase batteries and apply a different inverter. Determining the desired battery capacity depends on the average electricity consumption, the desired peak consumption and required operational reliability. While it need not be a problem for private use to temporarily be unable to use large peak energy consuming appliances such as an oven or vacuum cleaner, for a business application it is important to carefully consider what operational reliability is required. For a holiday home, off grid solar panels are about twice as expensive as single solar panels, for business applications this varies according to the situation.
Would you like our advisers to help determine the required capacity of the off grid PV panels, batteries and inverter? Would you like to know whether you need to declare off-the-grid solar panels? Or would you like a quote right away? Then get in touch with us.
FAQ – Frequently asked questions
Off grid solar panels are connected to one or more batteries through an inverter. On a sunny day, excess power is stored in the batteries. Then, on a rainy day or after sunset, equipment and lighting can be powered using the battery capacity.
With off grid solar panels, you are provided with renewable power even when there is no mains electricity connection, without using noisy, fossil-fueled generators. An off grid solar panel set can also reduce the scale of any mains electricity connection, lowering standing charges.
