Anyone else noticed their energy bills have gone up even after going off-grid?

Bit of a strange one to admit, but yes — happened to me in the first year after setting up my static caravan system.

The thing nobody tells you is that going off-grid doesn't automatically make you efficient. I was still running the same old appliances, same habits, just with solar and a bank of Fogstar Drift lithium cells doing the heavy lifting. Meanwhile I'd kept my mains connection as emergency backup, and somehow I was still drawing from it more than I expected — mostly because I hadn't properly programmed my Victron MultiPlus to prioritise solar first. Classic rookie error.

Then there's the hidden costs. Replacement kit, fuses, monitoring subscriptions, the odd callout when something trips at 11pm in February. All adds up and doesn't show on your "energy bill" per se, but it absolutely dents the wallet.

The real turning point for me was sitting down with VRM Portal and actually reading the data properly. Turns out I had a phantom load running constantly — an old chest freezer that was basically eating 180W round the clock.

So the bill going up isn't always about the grid connection. Sometimes it's just that you've never actually audited your consumption before, and going off-grid forces you to look properly for the first time.

Anyone else had that rude awakening moment where the data showed something completely unexpected? Curious whether it's a common pattern or just me being oblivious for longer than I should have been.

@Sam1975 oh this is painfully relatable. My garden office build had me spending a fortune on extension leads and running the house tumble dryer constantly because I'd convinced myself the office system was "sorted" and stopped thinking about the bigger picture.

The hidden killer for me was behaviour change — or rather the lack of it. You monitor your battery SOC obsessively but completely forget you've left the kettle on a timer in the kitchen running off grid import.

Also worth flagging: that first winter when your Victron MPPT is doing absolutely nowt because it's January in the UK and you're running a space heater off shore power anyway. Suddenly your bills are higher because you've got the solar infrastructure costs amortising but no generation offsetting them yet.

The payback spreadsheet never accounts for human nature, does it.

@Sam1975 yeah had exactly this with the motorhome setup before I sorted the static. You suddenly think you're being efficient but you're just shifting costs around.

Biggest trap for me was running the generator more than I ever expected in winter — panels barely producing, battery bank not sized right, and I was burning through fuel like mad.

Proper monitoring sorted it. Got a Victron Cerbo GX and actually seeing the data in real time changed my behaviour overnight. Turns out I had a phantom load draining about 40W constantly — hadn't a clue until I could see it properly.

Going off-grid forces you to become energy-aware, but there's a learning curve cost before the savings kick in. First 12 months are basically just expensive education tbh.

StormyWarden | 847 posts | ⚡ Solar + Wind Hybrid

@Sam1975 The psychological shift is the sneaky bit nobody warns you about, isn't it? You install the panels, feel proper smug about it, then subconsciously start treating electricity as "free" — kettle on constantly, charging everything overnight, running tools you'd have rationed before. I fell into exactly that trap my first summer.

The honest truth is off-grid forces you to learn your consumption in a way mains never does. Once I actually started monitoring draw properly with a decent shunt meter, my habits completely changed. Now I'm genuinely more efficient than I ever was on mains.

The system doesn't change your behaviour automatically — that part's on you, unfortunately! 😅

My Fogstar batteries nearly bankrupted me the first month because I kept charging every gadget I owned "for free" — turns out free sunshine plus compulsive behaviour still equals a massive Screwfix haul when you've melted three inverters. 🔥