how can i power my house without access to mains elec??

alfie_1

i live in a 1880s house with no mains power. i need to know the best/economical/reliable/feesable method of gaining power other than a generator. or at least a complimentary addition to the genny.
bring forth all your knowledge and /or experience and "enlighten" me
thankyou

forgotmyname

Bit more info will bring posts flooding in (maybe) lol

House size, Which way does the roof face, Obstructions.

I would love to try to go off grid but terraced house in a city = no chance.

Solar voltaic to produce electricity, solar to heath water, Wind power, Water power.

Idea of budget?

zeupater

Hi

Off grid generation & battery storage .... In order - Water (if available), Solar, Wind.

Whichever source is best/suitable it will be expensive .... what is the cost of mains connection ? ... this should be taken into consideration ..... also, what are the planning restrictions/planning departments like in the New Forest ?

Z

Cardew

alfie_1 wrote: »

i live in a 1880s house with no mains power. i need to know the best/economical/reliable/feesable method of gaining power other than a generator. or at least a complimentary addition to the genny.
bring forth all your knowledge and /or experience and "enlighten" me
thankyou

There is no 'reliable' alternative as the wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't shine.

The only practical way of storing electricity is in batteries and that will require electronics(an inverter) to change the electricity to a normal mains voltage.

You need to realise that the batteries necessary to power a house will be huge and expensive - as will solar and wind generation even if you have a suitable site.

A generator will be simpler and cheaper.

Owain_Moneysaver

How far are you from the nearest mains supply?

Because the maintenance and running costs of a genny will far outstrip the costs of mains electricity.

The cost of connecting to the mains may be substantial, but may recoup its cost in the value of the house.

Noise in the New Forest may be an issue for a genny.

With a genny and battery system you would try to have lights, portable TV, laptop etc at battery voltage, to avoid running the inverter (which has standing losses). Run the inverter for medium loads and mains voltage products (vaccum cleaner etc) and run the genny periodically for heavy loads (washing machine etc) and to recharge the batteries.

Some houseboat/barge/narrowboat owners are accustomed to living without mains electricity for months on end and appropriate forums can be a good source of advice.

alfie_1

hi, sorry not the best at this !!
right here goes...
grade 2 listed 1882 detached house
3 sides tall big trees ...north, east, southish.
field to the southish up to the north west, wind from the solent fairly/very strong.[in from south to north west]
very tall house with two roofs one roof north south, other west east.
no natural water but lots of bogs in the woods.
national park status .... so your guess is as good as mine as to what they will allow !!

i have at the moment a 6.5 kv generator which does the job fine but is VERY expensive to run at the moment and i really want to supliment this.
a good idea is the battery system for when i just need low usage.... invertors seem very expensive tho... i have been told i could get batteries from army surplas but....BEING A GIRLIE i need to know/seem to know what im talking about b4 i get ripped off !!

p.s. iv been quoted a minimum £ 26,000 to be put "on line" !!

thescouselander

To size a power generation system properly we'd need to understand what electrical equipment you intend to run in the house - what electrical devices have you got and how much do you use them?

alfie_1

thescouselander wrote: »

To size a power generation system properly we'd need to understand what electrical equipment you intend to run in the house - what electrical devices have you got and how much do you use them?

its a 3 bed house + 4 other rooms.
i have lights, mains gas combi heater/radiators/power shower so just the pump for power., small fridge, 2 x tvs etc. one electric fan heater if VERY cold., laptop, washing machine.
i have open fires so dont often use radiators.
i use battery and small invertor for my 2 bedside lights when genny is off at night.

i can use all of above at same time with the genny with ease but at the increase in red diesal its getting where i need to supplement.
if i can get battery system to charge when genny on i need to try and work out what size/s of invertors i will need.
i would like to get a small freezer but cant at mo as cant sustain temp when genny off [most of the day].

sorry to be vague but its like the "chicken and the egg" scenario to me

forgotmyname

You need to work out what the maximum load you are going to use at any one time.

Power shower 10 -12kw? How big is the generator? Using the generators extra capacity to
charge batteries would be a good idea but batteries and inverters are expensive.

3kw inverter from £200 to several thousand pounds. Would that be enough to power a washing machine?
I doubt it. An appliance that uses 2000w may need a 3000w startup load.

Sounds like your position may cause planning issues also.

ailuro2

You need fuel in some form to make your heating and hot water, then you need electricity for your TV, lamps and to turn the washing machine motor.

You can look into using your open fires to heat water, store it for using in the washing machine / having a bath instead of the power shower. ( washing machine will heat up water using electricity if no hot water available)

Open fires won't create electricity though, so you still need some form of storage for electricity, using ceiling fans to circulate warm air around the room might stop the need for using the fan heater, as I'm assuming that an 1882 house will have high ceilings.

When you say "open fires" have you though about changing to a woodstove because they're more efficient?
Not cheap , but more efficient than an open fire.

btw is there a cold storage room in the house - a cellar or similar, where you could put the freezer? This house wasn't built to have a fridge, so there will very likely be a larder / cold storage room or cupboard somewhere.

thescouselander

I think the op is saying the shower has a pump only - it doesn't heat the water electrically. Pump will take a few hundred watts.