Case Studies - Off Grid

Gibbston Valley Cottages

Dave and Poppy lived in an original miner’s stone cottage for 3 years with no power or insulation.  Their vision was to build an additional two room cottage and have power running in both cottages.  A 11000 volt national grid power line ran near their property which they could have linked into.  Due to the cost and their preference for alternative energy , Dave and Poppy choose to install Solar Panels.

We evaluated their needs then installed six 80watt panels with 1100ah battery storage, linked to feeding a 12 to 240 volt 2 kW Outback invertor with back-up generator supply.  

Dave and Poppy purchased energy efficient appliances and we installed LED and compact fluorescent lighting to conserve energy.  Their hot water was gas with an external battery ignition and space heating was a log burner. Costs to the switch board including meters to record the battery history, and extensive panel brackets, was around $15000

After living in a very stand alone situation for 3 years, Dave and Poppy were very appreciative and excited about their new standard of living with electricity, appliances and lighting in their 21st century solar powered home.