Off-grid systems

Ideal for remote buildings, holiday homes, areas with poor electricity supplies and people who want independence from electricity companies, an off-grid power system can free you from your mains connection and electricity bills.

Bizarrely enough, off-grid systems in the UK can even qualify for the new feed in tariffs provided MCS accredited panels are used and the system is fitted by an accredited installer.

Here at Midsummer Energy we have lots of experience designing and building off-grid energy systems for use all around the world. We are equally happy creating a custom set-up for your exact needs or supplying you with one of our ready-built kits for easy installation.

The key to designing a successful off-grid system is correctly assessing your energy needs. One way to do this would be to run the building for a test period from the mains or a generator and monitor the energy useage per day with a plug-in meter.

Off-grid systems are not suitable for replacing all your mains usage; for example they are not recommended for use for cooking, water or space heating and the output will limited by your battery bank and choice of inverter.

But with small changes to your energy usage such as fitting energy efficient lighting and refidgerators and not running larger appliances together they are a viable and affordable alternative to a mains connection.

Example system 1 - new home in Portugal

This customer had a shocking quotation to connect her house in Portugal to the mains electricty, so she contacted us to design an off-grid system.

The final system consisted of:

• 6 x BP 175W 24V solar panels
• Outback Flexmax MPPT 60A regulator
• 8 x 110Ah batteries giving 440Ah at 24V
• NASA BM1 battery monitor
• Cotek 3kW pure sine wave inverter
• All cables, fuses and earth protection

This system provides around 1400kWh (units) of electricty per year, ranging from 71kWh in December to 155kWh in August.

For just over £6000 including VAT and delivery, we supplied a system that will meet their needs for years to come at a significant saving over the cost of a mains connection.

Example system 2 - MCS accredited system in UK

This was a serious installation for a customer in Wales with quite high electricity demands. But getting it accredited means that the investment will pay for itself.

This system consisted of:

• 8 x 180W Powerglaz solar panels
• Roof mounting hardware
• Morningstar Tristar 60A MPPT regulator
• 2.2kW 48V Studer sine wave inverter
• 8 x Rolls solar 460Ah full traction batteries
• Victron battery monitor
• All meters and disconnects as required for MCS
• Complete installation service and accreditation

This system cost £XX000 and will provide around 1270kWh per year. This will earn the homeowner up to £590 in tax-free feed-in tariffs every year for the next 25 years as well as providing free electricity for their use.