Off-grid?? (solar panels, refrigerator, cost, electricity)

[Kgryfon]

I am kinda-sorta looking at cabin in the woods, and the listing says it runs off a generator. How does that work? Any insights would be much appreciated. It also says that electricity could be run from the end of the driveway to the house. I can't really tell how far that would be from the maps. Place is in El Dorado county, CA. Thanks for your help!

[guidoLaMoto]

If it's on a generator, then you have to have that running whenever you need juice. Like any engine, it's size & output will determine how much fuel it will burn.

If this is to be just a weekend getaway spot, then your fuel cost would probably be on the order of $10 a visit. You wouldn't be able to leave anything in a fridge until next weekend.

If you wanted to connect to the grid, they'd run a line to the cabin at a cost on the order of $100s (in WI) or so if the distant from the road is on the order of a few 100 ft. If you're miles from the road, it can be on the order of $1000s - $10,000s to connect. You'd also have to spring for breaker boxes & whatever to be installed by an electrician.

Would this be for occasional use or are you considering living there full time? Is the cabin wired, or are lights & appliances connected directly to the generator?

[DCforever]

Utilities have a policy about length of a service drop they will run before they charge contribution-in-aid-of-construction. Your utility could be one of three in the area, PG&E, Truckee Municipal, or South Tahoe PUD. Call and find out their connect policy.

[mistyriver]

It could or you could have batteries that the generator charges whole state running and have power while the generator is off. Or have solar panels to charge the batteries as well.
You can have a propane fridge...they are very efficient but fairly small. But it would keep running while you were away.

[Submariner]

Whenever you want power you must run the generator.

My house sits about 150 yards from the pavement. So I am responsible for the power line from the pavement to my house. Many properties that I looked at shopping had distances over 10 miles.

[Kgryfon]

Thank you for the info. I've only know about generators in relation to campers, and they are really noisy. I have no idea if it has batteries or runs straight off the generator. I would be looking at it as a full-time home. I have questions for the realtor!

[Submariner]

Homes in my town that are on-grid al have generators for when the grid goes down.

A very common theme is to have two generators. A large 'whole house' unit and a small unit. The small unit can power your refrigerator, lights, fans and laptop, and it can run for 8 hours on a gallon of fuel.

The large unit can run all of that plus the well pump. These homes will run this large unit for one hour each day during blackouts. During that one hour, they will flush the toilet, take showers and do laundry. [all the things that need water] These large units will commonly consume one gallon of fuel per hour. Some homes may even run their chest freezers during this one hour period [for the most part chest freezers only need to run for one hour each day to stay cold].

These people have lived here for decades with frequent power outages, this two generator setup seems to be the most economic solution to living on-grid in rural New England. Their small generator can run two 8-hour shifts, and the big generator will run a single one-hour shift, thus consuming only 3 gallons of fuel per day. Everyone gets to take a shower and to do a load of laundry.