The very 1st step to take before beginning your off grid life is to calculate how much electricity you presently consume or expect to consume.
You need to know how many WATTS you consume or require before you can size a Solar Charge Controller, Solar Panels & Batteries.
This is easier when using some Watt Meters which i have listed below for you.
These plugs go into your AC outlet(s) and you then plug your appliances in to the meter.
They are easy to use and will give accurate details of your power consumption & can be set to show electricity costs, watts used etc.
Leave them in place for a few days, then go around your home and take the readings.
For example, if you have an appliance that is rated at 100 watts and you use it three hours per day, that would equal 300 watts per day.
All appliances in your home will have a sticker showing you its Watt rating.
Think about the things that get used daily & how often.
Example - You may watch a television rated at 300 watts for five hours a day (5 x 300w = 1500 watts)
You may also have a laptop or phone plugged in to recharge which may consume between (2 - 6 watts).
If you have a microwave, they are usually rated between 600 - 1200 watts. Make a list of these items, the time used and what their wattage rating is.
Will you need to run your TV & microwave at the same time?
Remember to allow for this possibility when choosing an Inverter as you will need one with a sufficient wattage rating.
If you’d rather not go around your house to determine each appliance’s wattage and daily usage, you can also reference your quarterly electricity bill.
Keep in mind that your bill shows your usage in kilowatt-hours (Kwh), not watt-hours.
Some basic math is required.
To determine your watt-hours, simply take your Kwh consumed reading and multiply by 1000.
If your electricity bill shows that your home used 80 Kwh, that would be 80,000 watt-hours.
You can then divide this number with the number of days (30 day month = 120 days a quarter (80,000/120 = 666 watt hours per day needed)
I've listed the more popular Watt Meters below, buy what you require to get accurate readings then come back to step 2 - How to choose a Battery
Or Click The Link Below To Go To Amazon
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