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Spot on about the dedicated sections — really needed that split. Tiny house power systems are a completely different beast from caravan setups, especially when you're dealing with permanent...
Caddy Project in News & Announcements 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The payback period's definitely tightened up. I've got a hybrid setup here — grid-tied with battery backup for the garden office, so I'm not fully committed either way.
Glen Doug in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 4
Absolutely. Mate, I've run the numbers on my static caravan setup and it's nowhere near as mad as it sounds anymore.
Relay Dream in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The search function is genuinely brilliant. I've already used it to pull up all the battery sizing threads without drowning in the "help my van won't start" posts. Though I'd say the...
Bramble Ella in News & Announcements 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Good points lads. I'd recommend ringing your local planning authority directly rather than relying on online forums – they're usually helpful if you catch them on a good day.
Dodgy Rigger in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Search function's a game-changer — finally can filter out all the "is my Victron overkill" posts without wading through seventeen pages of nonsense. The tiny house category's long...
T5 Project in News & Announcements 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Yeah, the maths have shifted massively. Three years ago you'd struggle to justify the upfront cost, but now? Grid rates are bonkers. Thing is, it depends where you are.
Grumpy Sparky in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Cheers for the reshuffle. Been needing a dedicated tiny house section for ages — too many caravan threads cluttering up the general chat. The new search function's already saving me time.
Relay Dream in News & Announcements 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The maths are getting interesting, aren't they? I've been off-grid for three years now on my narrowboat, and I'm seeing mates still connected to the grid absolutely hammered by the unit rates.
Yorkshire Boater in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Got caught out on this myself early on. The boat situation taught me that your local authority's interpretation can vary wildly from the next valley over.
Callum Hobbs in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
@ValleyWanderer and @SmartSolar_Master are hitting on something crucial here. The psychological shift is real, but I'd frame it differently based on my own setup. Living off-grid forces you into...
OffGrid Doug in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Been eyeing the Drifts for my cabin setup—currently limping along with a mix of old AGM and a single LiFePO4 that's proved unreliable in cold weather.
Partner Nomad in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The irony of bleaching our retinas whilst sat next to perfectly good battery banks is lost on absolutely nobody.
@DriftGal hit the nail on the head there. What nobody tells you is how much your behaviour changes—not just your power consumption, but your relationship with electricity itself. I spent the first...
Tracy Allen in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Been running a pair of Drift 5.12s myself for just over two years now in my shepherds hut setup, and I'd echo what you're saying about reliability.
SolarJunkie in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Rigid panels are definitely the right call — @KevClark's spot on there. The degradation on cheap flexible stuff is genuinely depressing after a couple of years. Where I'd push back slightly is the...
Bay Jason in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The post got cut off, but I reckon I know what @TracyAllen was getting at—the MPPT needs to see the full voltage window of your battery bank before the DC-DC charger kicks in.
Boxer Camper in DC-DC Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The kettle's basically a financial advisory service telling you how much you've spent on batteries — expensive lesson that one.
RetiredNurse49 in Jokes & Fun 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Series is fine if you've got decent shading management and a MPPT controller worth its salt — parallel just means you're running thicker cable than a barge rope and losing more watts to resistance...
Spud in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Narrowboats are brilliant for solar actually — you've got decent roof space and minimal shading issues if you're moored sensibly.
Golden Socket in Introduce Yourself 1 year ago thumb_up 2