Hi All From a New Member

Hi All.
Just a quick introduction…
I’ve had an interest in renewable energy - and more specifically using energy cost effectively for many years. I’ve been off-grid for two years now. It was a big investment at the time - I still have a few years to go before the system has paid for itself, but I can definitely see that the system will pay for itself (if nothing goes wrong). My learnings are at this stage, that it is definitely worth the investment.

Hope to meet some old acquaintances here and to make some new friends as well.

All the best in your pursuits.
Jason

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HI Jason!

What system are you running? I know few people who are truly off-grid, I’m pretty hybrid at this point and will be for the foreseeable future!

Hi Jason and welcome!

Like Eben mentioned, feel free to share some pictures of your installation for us to gawk at in envy and maybe some more information on what exactly you’ve done etc.

Hi ebebdl

I started with an Axpert system and then upgraded a year later to a Victron 6500w Quatro.
To be honest I’m not truly off grid - I could be if I wanted, but I leave the Inverter connected to the grid for ease of convenience (the inverter draws a nominal wattage of about 5 - 20 watts from the grid as it “watches” the grid. I do this in case my usage spikes and the inverter needs to blend from the grid for whatever purpose - like i said, its really just for convenience. What I really learned was (not everyone will agree with me), spend a little extra money in the beginning if you can - it will save you in the long run.

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Thanks fredhen. I’ll post a little Whatsapp video I made about a year ago.

I hear you – I spent as much as I could at the time but still only brought me to about 75% off the grid. I sip Eskom electricity in the night for a couple of hours – need more batteries.