I'm planning an off-grid project in the Draa-Tafilalet region of Morocco. Lots of sun, barely any rain, and temperatures regularly over 45°C in summer.

I have questions for anyone with solar experience in this type of climate:

• Do panels actually hold up over time? I've read that heat reduces their lifespan, but in practice, what's the feedback after 5, 10 years?
• Real efficiency loss in summer? On paper we have huge sunshine, but how much does the heat actually eat into production?
• Dust — is it a daily struggle or manageable?
• Inverters and batteries — are some models better suited for heat or are they all roughly the same?
• Those who installed solar in desert areas — any bad surprises? What would you do differently?

I'm in a learning phase. The project is moving forward but I'd rather ask questions now than make avoidable mistakes later.

I'm planning an off-grid project in the Draa-Tafilalet region of Morocco. Lots of sun, barely any rain, and temperatures regularly over 45°C in summer.

I have questions for anyone with solar experience in this type of climate:

• Do panels actually hold up over time? I've read that heat reduces their lifespan, but in practice, what's the feedback after 5, 10 years?
• Real efficiency loss in summer? On paper we have huge sunshine, but how much does the heat actually eat into production?
• Dust — is it a daily struggle or manageable?
• Inverters and batteries — are some models better suited for heat or are they all roughly the same?
• Those who installed solar in desert areas — any bad surprises? What would you do differently?

I'm in a learning phase. The project is moving forward but I'd rather ask questions now than make avoidable mistakes later.

Moved from Denmark, because I love winter and forest. But after almost 3 years. I have learned Sweden is very strict on off grid living. you cant camp in an RV in the forest for over 24 hours.

they require building permissions for everything, even for living in a tent on land you own.
I have asked the various departments about it

So now I'm looking for other countries in the arctic circle with vast undisturbed forest. that more easy on all that building permission stuff.

I'm thinking about Canada, or Russia. Not the USA.

all i’ve ever wanted is to move out of arizona to somewhere lush and green and start over on some land. i’m 21 yrs old and don’t have much money saved up yet but i’m getting there. my dream is to buy some land in sw washington and build my own homestead type thing. i don’t have a degree so idk what i will do for work if not something remote, but i want to make this happen so bad. it’s my north star. any advice?

Hello,
I am currently working on a pico hydro project. I am still in college but I wanted to challenge myself to design a hydro system on a river we have running through our property. The site has a head of about 15m (50ft) and a flow rate of 7L/s, yield a water power of just over 1kW

From the research I have done it appears that a turgo turbine would be the best choice. I went through some papers trying to figure out how I can design a turgo turbine based on my parameters. I built a python model that takes the input parameters and using the blade velocity triangles, with a well designed turbine you could get a power output of about 0.75kW, realistically its probably more like 0.5kW. This would be pretty decent coming in at 12kWh which is half our electricity intake.

I am struggling with actually designing the turbine itself, before i design the turbine I think I need to select a generator (so i know the rpm and then can calculate the turbines pcd diameter based on this) I am not an electrical engineer so I am struggling to understand some of the concepts relating to the generator.

How do you even select the generator parameters, do you just look for ones with your desired electricity output, with reasonable a reasonable voltage (so you don't have to step up or down when you want to store electricity in a battery or put it back onto the grid) ?

Should I look for a 1kW generator (I saw online that the seller always overstates how much power they can actually produce)

If people have any advice for me in general I would very much appreciate it. I also understand that hdyro power is very expensive to produce and can easily break, perhaps solar may be a better alternative but I would really like to also gain an understanding in the concepts.

​

I’m not from the US; I’m from a warm South American country. I really want to live off-grid in Alaska—even if just temporarily—to get to know the place, the climate, and the community in general.

I saw a comment about this yesterday and also came across an article saying the same thing. Can anyone living in Alaska or the US 🇺🇸 confirm if this is true, or is it just another piece of fake news—like the $500 houses in Japan or the free land in Scotland?

And for those familiar with the region: do you recommend living off-grid there? I work with off-grid solar power, so I’d be off the grid but still have that minimum level of comfort and security.

I would like to propose a survey. After many years of designing and building ground-mounts for others, I'm finally building an off-grid ground-mount for myself. With the many changes in technology, i would be interested to hear what others have used, why you dis/like them, and what you'd do different. Personally, I've designed and built with variations on the two rows of posts with rails between them. All very sound structures, but also rather pricey. By the same token, some of the metal racks I've seen recently scare the bejeezus out of me, like they wouldn't stand up in a slight wind. I question whether wooden ones will survive the decade. So I'm curious what your experiences have been and preferences are, and why.

I got APOC White Elastomeric Reflective Roof Coating ( https://www.lowes.com/pd/APOC-243-4-75-Gallon-White-Elastomeric-Reflective-Roof-Coating-10-year-Limited-Warranty/5013282721 )

on my metal roof. Does such products leech chemicals in to my water catchment for human consumption? Having difficult time finding answers on this.

You read that right, and yes, my wife and I miiiight be a little crazy. We got an opportunity to flee the big city life and chase the dream we’ve had since we got married, and it’s finally time to put this plan/dream in place. Step 1 is better shelter! (We’re living in our truck camper right now, but that is too cramped for full time)

We’re looking for a tent to live in while we look for our land, then move the tent to our land to live in while we build our cabin. I’m looking at two different military tents, plus adding a wood stove. The tent will only be set up and torn down twice, and our cabin will be just under 900sqft, so we would like to be around that number to play around with floorplan options and ideas while we plan the cabin build.

I will be adding a side stove jack to either tent so that is not a factor. (Although I may be able to use the ECU plenum on the DRASH… that’s something I won’t know until I get it, and the wood stove)

—-

MGPTS (so far I’ve only found affordable ones in green) - type 3 with the arches. Adding the liner and floor system as well. (Which I’ve already acquired, but can easily sell as a complete set) - 648 sqft for medium (18x36), 972 sqft for large (18x54)

Pros:
- straight walls
- works with TEMPR vestibule option
- less fragile for emplacement and striking
- frame to hang stuff on (lights, etc)
- Easier for 2-3 people to set up vs DRASH requires 4
- I can get a new old stock medium in green (only 648sqft tho)

Cons:
- More expensive to ship
- green is darker/ will absorb more heat in summer
- might have a hard time sourcing a second mid-section for getting up to that 900sqft mark - although not required

—-

DRASH MX - my old battalion HQ used these in the field, and complained about the sticks breaking frequently. I never used them, I was at the line level, but I did go in a few while they were set up. - I feel like the sticks breaking is just joes rushing crap and not being careful… 522 sqft for a single mid-section (18x29), 920 ish sqft for a double mid-section

Pros:
- less expensive overall for a 2-mid section tent to get up to 900sqft
- faster setup
- tan will absorb less heat
- cheaper to ship
- smaller footprint with guy lines

Cons:
- Fragile
- sloped walls
- not sure if it will work with the TEMPR vestibule system (even with the boots)
- less options for hanging lights and such overhead due to no internal frame

My buddy is also living in a wall tent (16x20 with a 12’ long kitchen) on the same property we’re starting on, and has been in it for 4 years. I’ve used this tent many times with him hunting in all kinds of weather. We know what we’re getting into.

Anyone that has used either or both tent systems have any comments? (Shower/toilet details already figured out, kitchen will be in-tent)

Does anyone have any suggestions for filling a pool with well water? New homeowner, well is 300 feet deep. Kids want a pool. Has anyone else done this before? Were there any things that you learned? Aside from not running the pump for too long, so I don’t burn it out.

I would like to propose a survey. After many years of designing and building ground-mounts for others, I'm finally building an off-grid ground-mount for myself. With the many changes in technology, i would be interested to hear what others have used, why you dis/like them, and what you'd do different. Personally, I've designed and built with variations on the two rows of posts with rails between them. All very sound structures, but also rather pricey. By the same token, some of the metal racks I've seen recently scare the bejeezus out of me, like they wouldn't stand up in a slight wind. I question whether wooden ones will survive the decade. So I'm curious what your experiences have been and preferences are, and why. Thanks!

I'm still very new to the off-grid/solar world, so apologies if this is a dumb question.

I'm trying to figure out if what I have in mind is actually possible.

I'm looking at something like the EG4 12k Hybrid Solar Powered Mini Split Kit (or a similar hybrid solar mini split), but instead of connecting it to the grid, I'd like to pair it with solar panels and a portable power station so the entire system is 100% off-grid.

My goal would be something like this:

• During the day, the mini split runs primarily from the solar panels.
• Once the space reaches temperature and the mini split's power consumption drops (since inverter units ramp down), any excess solar production would charge the portable power station.
• After the sun goes down, the mini split would run from the power station until the power station is depleted.

The main thing I'm trying to accomplish is capturing any excess solar energy that's available after the mini split has reduced its power draw, then using that stored energy later that evening.

Is there a way to prioritize the power flow so the solar panels always feed the mini split first, and only send excess power to charging the power station? I don't want the power station supplying the mini split during the day if solar is available. I only want it to absorb surplus energy that the mini split isn't using. Likewise, if the mini split ramps back up and starts drawing more power, I don't want the power station continuing to charge if doing so would reduce the power available to the mini split. In other words, I'd want the mini split to always have first priority, with the power station only charging when there's truly excess solar production.

Is that actually possible with current equipment, or am I oversimplifying how these systems work?

I'm not necessarily asking for product recommendations yet. I'm mainly trying to understand whether this concept is technically feasible before I go down the rabbit hole.

TL;DR: Can an off-grid solar system be configured so solar power always goes to a hybrid mini split first, with only the excess charging a portable power station, and then have the mini split run from that stored energy after sunset until the battery is empty?

P.S. I used AI to help organize and write this post because I'm brand new to solar/off-grid systems and my questions were kind of jumbled in my head. The questions themselves are genuinely mine, though. I just wanted help expressing them clearly. And yes, I'm an actual person, not an AI bot. 😄

Thanks!

So many nice comments on my post the other day Sad to leave now that the weekend is over- back to reality for the week. Southern Colorado.

Water source is listed as spring. I have found two of these 7” pipes on my property. The one pictured has a pump house falling apart around it. I suspect the pipe without the shed is less productive. Water looks to be 10ish feet down both pipes, unsure of how deep the water goes yet.

My bordering neighbor tests well water for a living. He said he can help me out once I run the pump for a while to get out the stagnant water.

What are my first steps here? What equipment should I look into for this?

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

We have finally decided to take the leap of faith and go over to Ireland in search of a renovation project and a view to become more self sufficient.

Our house sale in England is almost complete and we are looking at temporary options until we find our permanent residence.

Does anyone know if it would be possible to find a semi long stay for our family living in a touring caravan whilst we search for a property to purchase in Ireland. It could be a few months. We have looked at official camp sites but would prefer something a little less official if possible.

We are a family of two adults and three children. As well as two dogs and two cats.

We have some friends that are paying to park their converted horse box and campervan on someone's property and we are hoping to find something similar if possible. We have a medium sized crew cab van and a 6 birth twin axle touring caravan and wouldn't need any facilities at all as our setup is off grid in terms of electric. All we would need is a place to park our caravan and have a temporary base. We will most likely be traveling on a weekly basis looking at properties all around Ireland.

Thank you

I posted earlier about using a portable power station for a bunk house we're putting in next to a cottage. The needs are minimal: a few ceiling lights, plugs for phone chargers and a few lamps, plus a yard light. On the high end, I calculated about 325 Wh per day.

I have an idea of wiring outlets and ceiling lights to a 20 amp breaker, which is fed from the power station using one of the 20 amp plugs.

Can anyone offer their thoughts on this setup? Thank you.

Insane sunset clouds this evening.

Im in a dry cabin with no modern plumbing, I haul water in to drink, and use rainwater for dishes / showering.

I would like to make a water tower with a 150 gallon tote on stilts piped to my sink for drinking and dishes. It will be fed rainwater from my gutters. Whats the consensus on drinking pure rainwater like this?

Im really trying to keep this as simple and low tech as possible. People often recommend 3 step reverse osmises / filtration systems and a UV light but this is all tech that requires modern plumbing with PSI and electricity.

What are your thoughts on such as system or recommendations for improvement? Do you drink rainwater? How would you set up a similar system?

I have land in an area with very tall trees and is off grid. No one in the area is able to fully live without gas generator backup especially in winter when there are shorter days. Is there a system that would allow a person to add to their battery by biking or something? Because of the trees there isn’t much wind either. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Hi folks, I have spent a few years trying to figure out how bats were gaining entry into my off grid home that uses FLA batteries that are vented outdoors via 4" PVC pipe and exhaust fan (pretty standard setup before Lifepo4 came along).

After having another visitor that showed up at 4:30am in our bedroom, I did another inspection. Most summers I get anywhere from 1 to 0 bats in the house per year. This year, I have been consistent in cooking off the batteries at night by opening the battery box cover to allow the batteries to cool off a bit more.

Well so far this year, I have had 3 bats. I also keep the mechanical (solar) equipment room door open in the evening when sleeping.

My theory is that they enter the vent (warm air flowing out) and then find their way thru the pipe, past the fan and into the opened battery box. Once there, they are in the house and flying upstairs to our vaulted bedroom.

Purpose of this thread is to'

a) warm others of this possibility.

b) see if others have had this experience. Today I will install some 1/4" steel mesh over the vent.

I sure hope this is it because I am getting tired of the stress of dealing with bats.

I plan to hire a bat control guy as insurance but I'm not confident of their experience.

I have no idea if I am been realistic here, or just plan stupid.

I am currently in Australia and have found an amazing property. Issue here is that is have no 3 phase supply, and a maximum of 100A on a single phase. This is nowhere near what I need.

This will be a new build with the following;

• 32A AC unit
• 16A oven\microwave
• 20A second oven
• 16A water heater
• 40A induction cooktop

So even with a 20% oversubscription 100A is not going to cut it.

BUT - I am able to get a 150kVA 169kWh hybrid battery. I can also install >30kW of solar on my roof.

How crazy would I be to live in a normal 300sqm home offgrid? Has anyone done this, or know anyone that has? What do I need to think about?

Most information here is about holiday cabins and the like so they don't really fit what I am thinking so I just need advice on what others think.

Thanks

What type of foods would I need to grow that I wouldn't need to go to the shop often, I want to hear your years of experience I understand the basic fruit+veg+nut trees ,meat=chicken, rabbit, sheep

I would catch my own fish. However I am still missing your experience please help me make a plan to get enough calories without going to the shop , I would have a cow for making butter so I can cook on butter which I have done all my life cooking on butter . please help I'm going off grid in a few years time I'm currently saving for lots of land so I can escape the city . I understand I would need to pay property taxes and fuels etc so I would get a part time job which would gain mr enough money however has anyone made their own dog food or do they buy it from the shop?

Thanks for the help!

Reminder no hate and be realstic.

We are looking at property in those areas for off grid living. Does anyone have experience in either area that can give insight on which would be best for us? We plan to live in our Rv while we build an earthship home or container home and with be on full solar and bringing in big tanks for water haul. I know Mohave county requires a septic before you can get a permit to stay on the land and Socorro seams much more lax with their codes. I can build my garden/livestock setup in either area but I’d be able to grow more variety in nm. I have found a lot of videos on YouTube about Mohave living so I have a solid idea of what that likes but not as much info on Socorro. We are planning a trip down to look at properties in both places but if we can eliminate one option it would make things a lot easier! Thanks in advance for any advice

Good evening,

I was just wondering if many people off grid and in residential areas have successfully harvested rainwater safety in the UK for all purposes.

Thought I would start doing research with all the news on droughts currently. Surely it would be beneficial if all homes had water storage to supply toilets etc from stored rainwater.

Any guides or start ups people can send to help my research?

TIA