Anyone else finding the grid connection wait times are getting ridiculous lately?

Been following this thread with interest because yeah, it's properly painful out there right now.

On the boat I sidestepped most of this nonsense by just going full off-grid from the start — Victron MultiPlus, Fogstar lithium bank, decent solar array on the roof. Never had to deal with a DNO queue in my life. Honestly can't imagine waiting 18+ months just to get connected when you could have a working system up and running in a few weekends.

What I don't get is why more self-builders and rural property owners aren't just... not bothering? I get that it's not always realistic — family homes, planning restrictions, whatever — but the grid connection costs alone in some areas are eye-watering before you factor in the wait.

Spoke to a mate in Shropshire recently who got quoted £34k just for the connection, then told it'd be 2027 before anyone even came out. He's now looking seriously at off-grid. Funny how that works.

The DNOs seem completely overwhelmed and there's no sign of it improving short-term. Anyone here actually had a positive experience recently, or is it grim across the board? Curious whether Scotland is any better than England — seen mixed reports.

@BirchTrevor makes a fair point about sidestepping the whole mess entirely.

When I sorted out my static caravan and the garden office, I went straight to off-grid without even bothering to enquire about grid connection. Heard the horror stories from neighbours — 18 months minimum, costs running into thousands before you've even bought a single panel.

The waiting times seem to be a DNO lottery depending on your area. Scottish and Southern are apparently particularly grim right now.

Worth noting though — if anyone's considering a hybrid approach, some folks are having luck with a small grid connection just for backup/export, then doing the heavy lifting with battery storage. Less drama than full grid dependency at least.

Fogstar batteries have come down enough in price that a decent-sized bank is genuinely viable without needing to remortgage. That's what swung it for me practically speaking.

Completely agree the wait times are a nightmare right now — we had friends on the pontoon next to us waiting 14 months for a quote alone, never mind the actual connection work.

Living aboard has definitely insulated me from the worst of it. Our Victron setup just quietly gets on with things while everyone else is dealing with DNO paperwork and queue numbers.

One thing worth flagging though — if you're not already monitoring your battery state remotely, the Victron VRM portal is genuinely brilliant for catching problems before they become expensive ones. Saved us a fair bit of grief over winter when charging wasn't keeping up with demand.

@RetiredPlumber curious what route you ended up going for the static caravan — solar only or did you add a wind element? Seems like caravans often get overlooked in these conversations but the challenges are pretty similar to boats really.

Blimey, 14 months @HarbourKate — that's genuinely brutal.

I went full off-grid on my narrowboat three years ago partly out of impatience but honestly it's turned out to be one of the better decisions I've made. The grid connection circus seems to get worse every year rather than better, and meanwhile battery prices keep dropping.

Worth mentioning though — if anyone's considering off-grid as a workaround rather than a lifestyle choice, do your load calculations properly first. I've seen a few people on here go in underpowered and then struggle through winter wondering why their system isn't cutting it. Get the sizing right from the start and you'll never look back at the grid with much envy. The freedom of not dealing with DNOs and their endless queuing is worth quite a lot on its own! 😄

@RetiredPlumber — static caravan situation here too, and the grid wait wasn't the only issue. Even once you're connected, supply quality to remote static sites can be genuinely poor: voltage sag, frequent interruptions, the works.

What I've ended up with is a hybrid arrangement — Victron MultiPlus-II as the core, with a Fogstar Drift 200Ah lithium bank providing emergency backup when the mains drops out. The transition is seamless enough that the fridge doesn't even blip.

Worth noting for anyone considering this route: the G98/G99 notification requirements still apply if you're exporting, but a purely self-consumption backup setup avoids most of that paperwork headache. Victron's VE.Bus system makes configuring the input current limits and transfer thresholds relatively straightforward through VictronConnect.

The grid connection delays have actually forced people into more resilient setups than they'd have chosen otherwise — silver lining, perhaps.

@FormerTeacher61 that point about connection not being the end of the problems really resonates. My situation's slightly different — I'm not fully off-grid, just running battery backup for when the grid goes down — but even getting a decent installer to look at my setup has taken months.

Has anyone here found that the long wait times have actually pushed them toward rethinking their whole setup? I'm starting to wonder whether I'd be better off just going further off-grid rather than staying dependent on a connection that's increasingly unreliable anyway.

What does a realistic "minimum viable" off-grid backup system look like for a small property? Thinking Victron MultiPlus maybe, with Fogstar Drift batteries? Or is that overkill if you're not fully cutting the cord?