Elements of a Small Off-Grid 24 Volt Solar System

(Installed by Mack Grady at Gary Grady’s cabin, 15 miles north of Silverthorne, CO, in the Gore Range. 9200’

elevation)

Cabin originally had only a 120Vac generator to power house wiring and water pump about 1 hour each day. There was no battery system.

150W Pair

on a good day, 1kWH

Watch out for

shadows

Essential Load!

Straddles the Roof for Best Azimuth AngleSeparate grounding cable for

lightning protection goes straight down to single-point ground rod

Use outdoor-rated UV wiring

Box for DC connections and breakers

PV battery charge

controller

1100W Inverter

AC box and breakers for

inverter output feed a separate set of inverter-

powered outlets in the cabin

DC lightning arrestor

Ground wire connects all metal boxes

to the single-point ground rod

Battery charger from

portable generator

DC breaker from panels to controller

DC breaker from controller to batteries

DC breaker

from batteries to

inverter

DC breaker from battery charger to

batteries

Battery charger from portable

generatorPV battery

charge controller

1100W Inverter

DC lightning arrestor

Inverter on/off switch goes to kitchen

Inverter output to AC breakers

Cables to battery breaker

Four 6 Volt, L6 Batteries in Series (24 Volt System)

in a Homemade Vented Box

Battery temperature sensor goes to PV charge controller