Wind & solar power for 18x24' cabin?

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The well will be a bored one about 35' deep. Will need one window air conditioner and about 5 led lights, refirg with freezer and flat screen with satellite TV. I will be able to elevate a 200 plus gallon water tank which I have. What do you think I will need an how much??

I am looking at $12,500 for the cabin built on my land. I will have to wire, insulate (get free) panel the walls & ceiling. It will have a master bedroom in the loft with stairs going up. I will be able to heat & cook with a wood stove which I have.

Plenty of sun all day (no trees) and some constant wind usually 5+ mph

Hopefully will build this summer.
 
how much wind. 5mph is not enough to do anything by trickle charge.

Also, are you living there full time, or just on weekends. That would make a big difference in the size of your battery bank.

Amp hours are what the batteries are rated in (100 amp hours means that at 12V you get 100 amps for an hour, or 1 amp for 100 hours. 1 amp at 12V is 12 watts, so you can run a 12 watt bulb for 100 hours until the battery depletes). they can't discharge to less than 50% (they are not made to do that , it will kill their life).

So if you only need 2 days of battery vs. all the time, it is a big difference of how many batteries you will need and how many solar cells, wind generator to recharge the battery. Also realize that your inverter (the things that take the DC from your battery to make it AC so you can plug things in) is not 100% efficient, so your 100A @ 12V = 1200 W DC is not going to be 1200 W AC.
 
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Dump the AC. Look at using windows for vent, cooling. With a constant light breeze it should be fairly easy to stay comfortable. Design the house so the prevailing wind can blow through. Have larger overhangs to block the incoming summer sun to keep the area cooler. Plant some shade trees. Those are long term though. For the fridge look at the electric fridges like the Sundanzer, which are designed for off grid or get a propane fridge. You could also set up a small chest freezer as a fridge. From what I have read it makes for a very efficient fridge. Do you need a well pump? Are you going to was rain catchment? With a 200 gallon tank if you need a well pump I would just use a genny to fill the tank once a week or every couple weeks.
 
Uh... what?

Cabin? Alternative power? Air conditioning?

Does not compute.

I live in Georgia. If you did you would understand. I do have access to electric power which is for emergency. I want to stay off the grid as much as possible. (???????????) Time will tell.

As for wind most of the time it is about 10 mph coming across my 30 acre field. 5 mph is about minimum.

No river only two small stocked lakes. Plenty of sun though. The cabin will be built in the open field and I'll plant more rear and fig ( only ones you don't have to spray here ) and ornamental trees.
 
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Aside from the AC, all that stuff would be a modest solar setup. AC is going to really jack up the requirements of all the components - solar, wind, or hydro. I like heat, so I'd can the AC.
To get a true idea of your system requirements, you should settle on some specific models of equipment you want, and gather all the power consumption data, then use one of the many available 'calculators'.

I'd be interested to see your calculated results with, and without, the AC.
 
Having a sailboat, which only has battery power, I understand what you are thinking about. You can do solar for everything but the AC. See my post about battery/solar.

Wind is very hard to get lots of power unless you live where you can get 15+mph constantly.

For AC on sailboats, either you have a generator, or you plug in at dock.

However, if you just get by with fans, they use very small amounts of energy.

If you do need AC, then I would want to make sure my living qtrs where the AC goes is really well sealed and insulated. Possibly you can just run it to get humidity down to comfortable levels?
 
I live in Georgia. If you did you would understand. I do have access to electric power which is for emergency. I want to stay off the grid as much as possible. (???????????) Time will tell.
Yamaha makes a 2400W inverter generator that will run up to a 13,500 BTU AC. They are widely used in RV's. It uses as little as 3.5 gallons a day at 1/4 load but probably double that. You can buy a lot of electricity off the grid for $15.

Direct sunlight in GA in summer - tall order for a solar system unless $$$.
 
I'm not going to start building until summer. I'll probably wire it like a normal house and see what I can add to eventually get off the grid if necessary. I've been looking at a lot of "STUFF" and it may get cost prohibitive.
 
Do yourself a favor, buy an old beat up camper, and gut out everything you'll need.


I have one all ready used for my deer camp, but my old lady and want to part company and since I'm almost 70 I'd like a nice place to live in until I push up daisies.
 
it just has everything you'll need in DC and propane format, and reduced size sinks and appliances, it would be the most cost effective way to obtain these things to add to your cabin
 
Hope you can see this. It is the 18' X 24' cabin I plan to build ( have built ) on a concrete slab including the outside attached deck with roof.

http://www.classicmanor.com/products/garages-and-barns/summer-wind ( all the up grates don't show ) I should be in good shape for about $30,000 not counting the land.

It is built on top of my slab in one day. I am planning to have the slab, sewage piping with septic tank and leach field and electric with meter on pole near enough to building to run extension cords for lights and tools so I can finish off the inside myself. If everything goes as planned I can move in that night I hope.

http://www.classicmanor.com/products/garages-and-barns/summer-wind

Later I will start adding most if not all the DC "STUFF" to get off the grid I hope.
 
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It says an unavoidable error has occurred. I would be interested in what your cabin will look like as I need to build one soon too. Although mine is in Maine so no AC and simple solar requirements.
 
You can get them in Maine.

It says an unavoidable error has occurred. I would be interested in what your cabin will look like as I need to build one soon too. Although mine is in Maine so no AC and simple solar requirements.

Try it now. The upstairs could be a really nice master bedroom with plenty of head room. You could probably put a shower+toilet + sink up there too.

http://www.classicmanor.com/products/garages-and-barns/summer-wind

Check out the whole web site to see all the different models. If I remember correctly Home Depot would deliver it free within 25 miles of their store.

The one I am planning on is the "Summer Wind" with an 8 x 24 covered deck with railings.

http://www.classicmanor.com/products/

Request a brochure here. You will see the interiors before you finish it.

http://www.classicmanor.com/products/request-a-brochure/

PS: I'm starting to have second thoughts about putting it on a concrete slab. If I don't it will save me about 8 grand.
 
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You can get them in Maine.

Try it now. The upstairs could be a really nice master bedroom with plenty of head room. You could probably put a shower+toilet + sink up there too.

http://www.classicmanor.com/products/garages-and-barns/summer-wind

Check out the whole web site to see all the different models. If I remember correctly Home Depot would deliver it free within 25 miles of their store.

The one I am planning on is the "Summer Wind".

http://www.classicmanor.com/products/

Request a brochure here. You will see the interiors before you finish it.

http://www.classicmanor.com/products/request-a-brochure/

PS: I'm starting to have second thoughts about putting it on a concrete slab. If I don't it will save me about 8 grand.

Oh right I have seen those online. I will be going for more of a cabin look for the "tool shed", maybe something like what you see at Jamaica Cottage Shop (e.g. " the Vermonter" model). I know some locals who can build a shell fairly cheap so I will probably go that route rather than order a kit and worry about delivery, broken parts etc.



I normally see off grid cabins on posts, not on slabs, although I don't know if being Georgia would make a difference there.
 
You can get them in Maine.



Try it now. The upstairs could be a really nice master bedroom with plenty of head room. You could probably put a shower+toilet + sink up there too.

http://www.classicmanor.com/products/garages-and-barns/summer-wind

Check out the whole web site to see all the different models. If I remember correctly Home Depot would deliver it free within 25 miles of their store.

The one I am planning on is the "Summer Wind".

http://www.classicmanor.com/products/

Request a brochure here. You will see the interiors before you finish it.

http://www.classicmanor.com/products/request-a-brochure/

PS: I'm starting to have second thoughts about putting it on a concrete slab. If I don't it will save me about 8 grand.
What would you put it on without a slab? I'd think a slab would provide some protection from ground termites/other bugs/water damage.
 
If I could easily attach photos you would see that it would not look like a barn because it will have an 8 x 24 deck with a roof and railings with stairs to get up to the deck. Inside I already have the insulation and have pine wood paneling to match the walls and ceiling up and down stairs. My sister built a 4,000 sq. foot home on top of a mountain in Boone, NC which has an interior that is completely wood that matches and is beautiful. I plan on building mine with the same colors.
 
If I could easily attach photos you would see that it would not look like a barn because it will have an 8 x 24 deck with a roof and railings with stairs to get up to the deck. Inside I already have the insulation and have pine wood paneling to match the walls and ceiling up and down stairs. My sister built a 4,000 sq. foot home on top of a mountain in Boone, NC which has an interior that is completely wood that matches and is beautiful. I plan on building mine with the same colors.

Cool. I look forward to seeing your progress.
 
Joseph,
Sounds awesome. I hope to do this someday myself. Give us some more details. How long have you had the land? Acres? Any zoning hurdles to be off grid? Are you thinking putting it on timbers like the lowcountry type homes? Any pets?
 
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