Systems

  First, I should say that I was a complete novice with home building, electrical wiring, and plumbing when I started building. Although I had dabbled here and there, I had never tackled any project of this scale. I got some books like this one on wiring or this one on plumbing, and they helped tremendously. Most of it is common sense, but the little details from the experts is what will keep the house safe. Not everything is to code, nor was I trying to comply. No inspector will ever see this cabin, and not all codes applied to my cabin. And, let's face it, some codes are downright silly. So, if it makes for safe house, I fully support following the codes, but if it seems redundant, don't sweat it.

  A few years ago I took a solar installer's pilot course at a local community college, with the hopes of it growing into a certification or degree. The school cancelled the program, but the course was invaluable at teaching me the basics and getting my feet wet. Also, there were a couple students in the course who already lived off-grid, and they really inspired my efforts. Even with this experience, I still had difficulty guesstimating the size of my solar-electric system. I went on the small size, one to save money initially, but second to not have more than I needed until I was sure of my true consumption. My 4 panels are from Sun Electronics. They are the non-UL (no code required!), no name, 790 watts @ 12VDC. They are wired series and parallel for 390 watts @ 24VDC. They are very efficient, and actually make more power than I need. My experience with Sun Electronics was awesome, and I'll visiting them for my next 2 panels. The staff went over my components to make sure they all fit together, and the freight shipping of the panels went very smooth.
  My inverter/charger is a Trace 2424. This was a tough decision, because of all the modified square wave haters out there. This thing has rocked, and it problem-free. I run anything without issue, including computers, LCD tv, on-demand water heater, drills, table saw, AA and AAA battery chargers, with the exception of my usage meter (Killawatt). The usage meter reads 0 for everything when on inverter, however works fine when I'm charging through the generator, and I haven't figured this out yet.
  I've got a simple charge controller right now, the Xantrex C35, but when I upgrade my system next year, I'll get a MPPT (maximum power point tracking) controller. For being older technology, I'm impressed with the simplicity and no-nonsense practicality of my Xantrex controller. It's just one of those things that always works without question, no maintenance. Therefore, I've got no complaints. Easy to wire, easy to test, When I expand my panels to 800 watts, I'll probably want to get a higher amp rated controller.