Generator powered offgrid system with batteries advice

[speedystu]

Hi all

I hope everyone is doing well.

I have a new rural small house coming up that I need to use generator power for.

It's 105 sqm and the time and cost to get connected to the grid need to be pushed out for me. (1-2 years)

Has anyone any experience with some type of battery connected to a generator, the power plan is of a standard family house but I am aware that items such as a dryer will need to run off a strong generator.

Is there some type of battery and inverter to 220v I can source. A local electrician will work with me but I want to know what I need to ask for.

Thoughts about the best way to approach this would be great, eg can LEDs be run under 220v. what water heating systems are good and potentially lower energy?

It's my own house and I will build infrastructure to house the generator etc

I've been renting a 20 y old really inefficient house, this new one has some super insulation specs.

I'm not aware of advances in fixtures and fittings and light strips etc.

I would love to hear your thoughts about how to tackle this.

Thanks very much!!!

 

[Pete999]

Hi all

I hope everyone is doing well.

I have a new rural small house coming up that I need to use generator power for.

It's 105 sqm and the time and cost to get connected to the grid need to be pushed out for me. (1-2 years)

Has anyone any experience with some type of battery connected to a generator, the power plan is of a standard family house but I am aware that items such as a dryer will need to run off a strong generator.

Is there some type of battery and inverter to 220v I can source. A local electrician will work with me but I want to know what I need to ask for.

Thoughts about the best way to approach this would be great, eg can LEDs be run under 220v. what water heating systems are good and potentially lower energy?

It's my own house and I will build infrastructure to house the generator etc

I've been renting a 20 y old really inefficient house, this new one has some super insulation specs.

I'm not aware of advances in fixtures and fittings and light strips etc.

I would love to hear your thoughts about how to tackle this.

Thanks very much!!!

What you are after Mate is a "no break set up" whereby the mains fail UPs takes up the load until the standby generator starts and sincs in taking up the load, not a simple installation.

 

[Simon47]

One of the problems you will find searching for information is that many systems are designed for "grid parallel" (or grid-tied) operation and will not work at all if not connected to a strong grid.
You probably want a decent sized battery bank, solar panels to charge it when the sun is out, an inverter with a good intermittent power rating, and an auto-start genny configured to kick in either when the batteries are low or if power demand is above the medium term rating of the inverter.
Ideally the inverter is reversible to act as a charger, or you'll need a separate charger (which'll need to be interlinked with everything else).
It will certainly be a specialist system, and most of the people you'll find online won't be capable of designing it - because all they deal with is grid-connected systems. I can't offer any help - I know next ot nothing about what's available.

Everything is a trade-off - mostly against price. The bigger your battery bank, and the bigger the solar panels relative to your mean load, the less often you'll need to run the genny to charge batteries. The bigger the inverter capacity, the less frequently you'll need to run the genny to power loads. In general, bigger anything means bigger price tag.
Another thing you might consider, depending on practicality (and again, cost), is to use heat recovery on the genny. If you use a thermal store, and have a suitable coil in it, you run the cooling system for the genny through the coil rather than a radiator and it'll supplement your heating.

 

[speedystu]

What you are after Mate is a "no break set up" whereby the mains fail UPs takes up the load until the standby generator starts and sincs in taking up the load, not a simple installation.

Thanks

 

[speedystu]

Thanks

Thanks for replying.

 

[speedystu]

One of the problems you will find searching for information is that many systems are designed for "grid parallel" (or grid-tied) operation and will not work at all if not connected to a strong grid.
You probably want a decent sized battery bank, solar panels to charge it when the sun is out, an inverter with a good intermittent power rating, and an auto-start genny configured to kick in either when the batteries are low or if power demand is above the medium term rating of the inverter.
Ideally the inverter is reversible to act as a charger, or you'll need a separate charger (which'll need to be interlinked with everything else).
It will certainly be a specialist system, and most of the people you'll find online won't be capable of designing it - because all they deal with is grid-connected systems. I can't offer any help - I know next ot nothing about what's available.

Everything is a trade-off - mostly against price. The bigger your battery bank, and the bigger the solar panels relative to your mean load, the less often you'll need to run the genny to charge batteries. The bigger the inverter capacity, the less frequently you'll need to run the genny to power loads. In general, bigger anything means bigger price tag.
Another thing you might consider, depending on practicality (and again, cost), is to use heat recovery on the genny. If you use a thermal store, and have a suitable coil in it, you run the cooling system for the genny through the coil rather than a radiator and it'll supplement your heating.

Thanks, lots here for me to research further, thanks for taking the time the list if of this, much appreciated!!!!

 

[streamer]

I used to do some work with a company called Wind and Sun who are based near Leominster and specialise in off grid systems. I'm sure they would be able to help you or at least point you in the right direction.

 

[speedystu]

I used to do some work with a company called Wind and Sun who are based near Leominster and specialise in off grid systems. I'm sure they would be able to help you or at least point you in the right direction.

Thanks, ill look them up

 

[speedystu]

Thanks for everyone's input on this, its amazing some of the advances in inverters and off grid technolgy etc, there's surely more on the way. Thanks!

 

[Pete999]

Thanks for everyone's input on this, its amazing some of the advances in inverters and off grid technolgy etc, there's surely more on the way. Thanks!

Been doing it this way for a long time now.

 

[speedystu]

Been doing it this way for a long time now.

Getting smarter all the time too ?

 

[speedystu]

Getting smarter all the time too ?

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Getting smarter all the time too ?

Check out this video about leds, from Dubai different regions pushing different outlook s for technology.