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Living off the Grid

Korero mai, Let's talk solar together

Systems Unique for You and Your Whānau

Whether you live in a rural location without reliable grid access, or simply want to be more independent off the grid, we have an off-grid solar system to suit you. More and more customers are choosing to go off-grid, simply to gain complete energy independence, while protecting themselves against rising electricity prices from power companies.

Better for the Environment and Your Wallet

Our turn-key, all-in-one, Plug ‘N Connect power solution allows you to build and generate your own power. Our Off Grid solar ready kits are ideal for small sized homes, cabins or tiny homes and will save you money and hassle.  The kits come with everything you need for a complete power system: solar panels, batteries, charge controllers, inverters, cables, connectors and mounting kits for the panels.

We love to make going off-grid easier for more Kiwi households and so we’ve designed an All-in-One Power Solution that allows you to build up and generate your own power. Our Plug ‘N Connect Systems come pre-wired and ready mounted with all the cabling, breakers and isolators and everything else that is required to get you up and running.  

Our solar ready systems are designed to run most loads, including lights, small energy-efficient fridge/freezers, televisions, computers, mobile devices, small electric jugs and small water pumps. For larger loads, we suggest adding more panels to the system, using the system only when the sun shines, or supplementing the system with a generator.

Solartive Plug ‘N Connect Systems

The most important step in designing and sizing an off-grid solar power system is to determine what your energy load is. We offer a range of off-grid solar systems to meet most households, tiny homes or cabins’ budgets. 

Our off-grid systems are designed to run most loads, for example, lights, small energy-efficient fridge/freezer TV, laptops, mobile devices, a small jug, and a small water pump. If you would like to run more loads we suggest adding more panels to the system or using your heavier loads when the sun is out and not during the evening. 

All the difficult high power DC work is done allowing you to simply screw it to the wall, connect two pairs of cables (solar cables connect to the top of the PV circuit breaker and the battery cables are bolted to the bottom of the DC circuit breaker) and you are done!  If your house is wired, we do recommend that a qualified electrician does all the connections or we can provide this service for you.

Off Grid Solar Assessment

DIY Off Grid Solar Kits

 

Install your own Off Grid Solar System to power your lifestyle independently.
With two options to choose from, our 1.6kW Off Grid Starter DIY kit, you have the potential to generate up to 9kWh of energy per day, to take care of some basic daily energy loads for a single person or weekend small bach.

If you need something slightly bigger our 2.4kW Off Grid Starter DIY kit has the potential to generate up to 14kWh of energy per day – suitable for a couple who are good at managing their energy usage.

* Generator capable (no two-wire auto start)
* 4 way multi-board included

Contact our team to discuss your solar set up and we’ll let you know if you need anything additional e.g. tilts, extra cable length etc.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is off grid solar?

    Installing a solar system to power your home or business and going completely off the grid (off grid) means you do not have a connection to the local power network.  It’s a good option for people where the cost to connect to the local network is excessive or you simply want to be independent of the grid and reduce your ongoing living expenses (power bills).

     

    This option can be more costly as you will require a battery system so the power generated by the solar panels during the day can be stored and then used when the sun isn’t shining. For this reason, the battery storage is generally larger than grid connected scenarios, to provide enough power in case of long periods of no sunshine. We encourage our customers to purchase a back-up inverter generator.

  • I live in the city, connected to the grid. Can I run my home completely off the grid?

    Yes.  Depending on your local power network, disconnecting from the grid is free, however there are costs to reconnect, so it’s important this is factored in when making this decision.

    The key difference between on grid and off grid, is the connection to the local power network.  When you’re on grid and have insufficient solar power available, your home will be powered from the grid and charged on your power bill from your electricity retailer.  When you’re off grid and don’t have sufficient solar power (generated from the solar panels or stored in batteries), your home will have no power unless you have a back-up inverter generator.