How to Read Gel Battery Voltage
A common mistake new solar users will make with our kits is reading your Gel battery charge using the bars or percentage on screen, and misinterpreting charging voltage vs resting.
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How to get the most out of your solar kit
An off grid solar kit is a significant investment, and with some careful planning and attention, you can maximise its output and longevity.
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10 Things to be aware of when buying bare land for off grid living
If you’re just starting the process of buying bare land in NZ, and you’ve not done it before, there’s a lot to think about! It’s important to do your due diligence when buying land, so to make things easier, we've listed ten things that...
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Top Tips from Off-Gridders
Our Facebook group, GridFree NZ, is full of off-gridders with plenty of knowledge about all the different areas of off-gridding, so we pulled together some of their advice to help you...
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How to Prepare for Living Off-Grid in Winter
Getting ready for your first winter off-grid? It can be a bit daunting heading into it, so in this article we list some recommended tasks to complete before winter really sets in.
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Generators for Beginners - Basics + What to Buy
Are you going off grid, have never used a generator, and have no idea what to expect? Here’s a rundown of some generator basics to help you get a feel...
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How to configure the Growatt WIFI-F monitoring device on your phone
Step by step guide to configuring your Growatt WIFI-F module.
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Off Grid Toilet Options
Going off grid and trying to plan your toilet system? Here are some common plumbed and no-plumbing toilet options and considerations for each, so you can work out the best off grid...
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Business Spotlight: Podlife
When we were at Fieldays in 2022 we had a chance to chat to some great off-grid related businesses, and one of our favourites was Podlife! Their modular pre-fabricated pods are...
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Getting Power to a Rural Property NZ
Have you just purchased a lifestyle block? Maybe you’re moving onto family land that has no services? Getting power to a rural property is usually the first task, so that you can progress all...
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How do I know how much solar power I need?
If you’re going off grid and asking yourself “How do I know how much solar power I need?,” this article is for you. We'll show you how to calculate how...
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Meet Some Fieldays Exhibitors!
We're here at Fieldays today and there's lots of other really good off-grid businesses here, so what I thought is I'd take the camera along and we'd ask a bunch of...
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How to Cook Off-Grid
One of the main things we tell people when they’re looking to power a full time off-grid lifestyle is that our solar kits aren’t designed to handle cooking – so...
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What are the best methods to heat water off-grid?
Electric hot water cylinders use a LOT of power, so it's best to heat water off grid with an instant gas hot water camping shower, a woodburner and wetback, or...
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GridFree Kit Installation Instructions 2022 + 2023
You can download a copy of the instructions for your kit on this page - they include the instructions for installing the panels as well as the wiring diagrams. If...
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How to Set Up the Growatt ARK Battery Hub
Need to set up your Growatt ARK battery hub? This episode of Billy's Workshop takes you through the whole process step-by-step for a hassle-free install.
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What's the difference between a Standard and a Hybrid solar kit?
Looking at our solar kits but not sure whether to go with a Standard or Hybrid kit? Here's a rundown of the key differences in function, contents, and recommended uses.
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How to run a washing machine/dishwasher on solar
You may have seen our larger kits listing a washing machine or dishwasher in the What Can This Kit Run? section - much like with running anything on solar, there's...
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Should I get a generator or a bigger kit? Or both?
When planning out your off-grid power needs, it's important to consider how your power needs, usage, and generation will change across the year. Specifically, it's important to consider what these will look like...
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Is off-grid solar right for me?
If you're asking whether an off grid solar system is the right choice for your lifestyle, the first thing to understand is the difference between off-grid and grid-tied solar.
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How to choose your off grid battery storage size
Start by asking what you plan to run, not how many batteries you need to go off the grid. The standard three bedroom household will likely require 8-12. The more...
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Solar Power FAQS: How do I Know What Size Solar System I need?
You can estimate your power usage with an online load calculator, or do the estimate manually: calculate watt hours by using each appliance’s power rating, multiplied by the time (hours) it...
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Configuring your Growatt 5kW ES Hybrid Inverter for Generator Input
How to change Manual and Auto Start Generator settings on your Growatt 5kW ES Hybrid Inverter
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Check out GridFree customer installation stories to see how other people went solar. Subscribe to our Youtube channel for more how-to videos and installs behind-the-scenes. Have a question you didn’t see addressed above? Contact us.