DIY Off-Grid Solar Power
I recently set up my own off grid solar system in a tiny cabin that I designed and had built.<p>I used the Solar Controller+Inverter Combos recommended on this site (Growatt) but ultimately switched to ones by Renogy.  The Growatt one I purchased has a wifi adapter and app - wifi requirement was a deal breaker when remote.  The renogy one has a Bluetooth adapter and app, plus feels better designed (though actually I think the internals are all pretty similar).<p>There are a couple surprise gotchas I didn’t know:<p>1) These Controller+Inverter combo units require a battery to turn on.  This means: if your battery runs completely out of charge, you have to get electricity from somewhere to charge your battery a bit before the Controller+Inverter will turn on and charge your battery again.  I was pretty annoyed at how not “off grid” this felt.<p>2) Temperatures below freezing are bad for batteries. I purchased a Renogy 48v smart battery with self heating.  Unfortunately less sun in winter means less energy, and heat production is energy intensive.  I’m not at the cabin 100% of the time so I have to take the battery with me when I leave to avoid spoiling&#x2F;freezing it.  Still not sure how I’ll ultimately get around this.