Since we purchased Tumbleweed Ranch, we’ve fantasized about going off-grid. We’ve talked about the possibility of it on our podcast, and luckily one of our viewers, Travis Hindle reached out to share his experience of converting his home to be off the grid.
Travis lives on a beautiful property in Southern Colorado, just a few hours from TFLstudios. He wanted to share the cost of his components to show how the insane markups many companies are charging when they both sell and install the product. Travis is an electrician, so he was able to install it himself, but he still needed to do a lot of research to understand how this would all work together. Here’s the cost breakdown of his off-grid setup:
$2,200 – All-in-one inverter/charge controller
$9,000 – Lithium batteries (30kWh)
$2,800 – Solar (5kW)
$4,000 – Ground mount solar rack, misc. parts/cable
With all the components Travis uses, his total cost is around $18,000. A 26% federal rebate is available (which applies to labor if you hire an installer. That brings Travis’ cost down to $13,000 after the rebate!
Travis writes, “I’ve been off grid for over a year and haven’t had to run a backup generator once, even through winter. I set up a new single-wide house, and once I got the stove, water heater, clothes dryer, and furnace on propane, my house is extremely efficient; propane use is surprisingly low too. I need to refill my 250-gallon tank about twice a year. I use 8-12kwh per day. With affordable housing being such a problem in Colorado, I feel more people need to know what’s possible with a setup like mine. I did this entire project for under 150k, including land, house, well, septic, and off-grid setup. My only bill is fiber internet. Yes, I have high-speed internet in the middle of nowhere.”
Pretty fascinating! Thanks Travis for sharing your experience with all of us. We’re hoping to set up a similar off-grid house at Tumbleweed Ranch in the coming months. Be sure to stay tuned to AllTFL.com, so you don’t miss it!
