Why is Off-Grid Attractive to Owners?

As mentioned before the cost of energy prices are continuously increasing with no relief anytime soon. Many are on the search for ways to save on their bill and minimise the impact of bill shock.

Off-grid is seen as a perfect solution to be completely independent of greedy electricity suppliers and take advantage your self-sufficiency.

Off-grid was typically only appealing to farms or properties with constrained electricity supply, but as the technology of solar and battery continues to develop, it is making it more accessible.

The Challenge of the Constrained Grid

Outside the cities and suburbia, today the popularity in high powered appliances such as electric stoves, hot water services, air conditioners, water pumps, and the like have made that grid no longer fit for purpose.
On the property, it results in high-powered appliances switching on the voltage at their meter, then it drops causing effects ranging from irritatingly dim lighting to appliance damage and failure.

What we are witnessing is what is called technically a “constrained grid.”

Now many Newcastle and Hunter based consumers have become prosumers; a term used to describe those consumers who have fitted solar to their roofs and have become producers of some or all their energy needs. The former become the duality of being both consumers and producers. The latter become miniature power stations; supplying their own needs and exporting anything left over.

However, in exporting energy those sites raise the grid voltage and in the middle of the day when solar is strongest the neighbouring homes will see a higher-than-normal grid voltage which is also capable of doing harm to appliances.

Why Most Properties Shouldn't go Off-Grid

Maintenance

Because your system is yours and isolated, it will be your responsibility to get fixed and maintain. Unlike the electricity grid where you just receive power, and you pay for it with no other worries, if something goes wrong and your system fails, you won't have any backup energy production (unless you have an energy generator of sorts). Unlike grid-connected solar systems, off-grid systems are not a low maintenance and need constant checks to ensure it is running at full capacity.

Limited Energy Storage

Even with the large systems you can get, you can only store so many kWh in your solar battery. If a series of cloudy days occur, your battery could be quickly depleted leaving you and your property in the dark. Having a generator can allow you to get around this, but they are very expensive, and you would be reliant on fossil fuels.

Expensive Taste

An off-grid solar and battery system are expensive. With grid-connected systems, they on average have a 5-year payback period, but this includes solar feed-in-tariffs and ways to accelerate your systems' costs. With an off-grid system, you will not be able to export back to the grid.