Off-Grid System Design: A Complete Walkthrough
Designing a complete off-grid system from scratch: load analysis, array sizing, controller selection, battery sizing, and inverter choice.
Step 1: Load Analysis
List every appliance and its watts, then estimate hours used per day. Total daily kWh is your design target. Factor in large loads like pumps or power tools that spike current.
Step 2: Array and Battery Sizing
Array size = daily load / sun hours with ~20% extra for cloudy days and losses. Battery capacity covers 1-3 days of autonomy. Use our calculators to speed this up.
Step 3: Controller and Inverter Selection
Match your MPPT charge controller to array Voc and string current. Choose an inverter rated for your surge loads. Buy quality components — cheap ones fail fast off-grid.