Hey everyone! I'm pretty new to off-grid setups and need some guidance on my idea. Right now, I have 11 solar panels (410w each) connected to an inverter that feeds into the grid—so just your basic household solar system without any batteries or storage. Unfortunately, I can't charge my electric vehicle at home due to legal restrictions.
Here's what I'm thinking: I want to start moving some low-power devices that run on DC power (like wifi routers, laptops, NAS units, and phone chargers) to an off-grid setup. I have different clusters for these devices in my living room, office, internet cabinet, and hobbies room.
My plan involves replacing all the AC to DC adapters with converters that can plug into a battery of some sort, which I'd like to charge using excess solar power. I don't want to deal with trading energy or installing large batteries and inverters; I just want to utilize the solar energy I generate rather than giving it back to the grid at a loss.
I'm hoping to find a mostly plug-and-play commercial product to aid this transition. I think I can manage the charging part with a smart plug. I might also look into moving some larger AC devices to DC alternatives down the line.
So far, I've experimented using my UPS to power wifi routers but ran into issues with the AC-DC plugs. It seemed to work for a bit, but I read that those batteries aren't made for constant charge and discharge cycles. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
1 Answer
It sounds like you might want to consider getting a hybrid inverter and batteries for a more robust solution. This way, you can connect your current system to the hybrid inverter, which charges the batteries overnight instead of wasting energy on the grid.
Also, I’m curious: why can’t you charge your EV at home? That seems really rare! Let me know!
Thanks for the suggestion! My system is still pretty new, and it's barely recouped 30% of the investment. I'm hesitant to replace my working inverter or add another one due to cost, especially since the ROI is low with how regulations are changing. As for charging my EV, I live in a homeowners association that restricts it—common issue around here, sadly.