What to expect when you go off grid?

For most of our customers, the solar part of their off grid journey starts when they're ready to build on their patch of land. They want to get power connected, either to their main house or the little cabin they'll be using during the construction period. 

They call the power company to get power connected, get told it will cost tens of thousands of dollars, and start looking into other options! Then they find us - and if you're reading this, you've probably found yourself with the same problem! Or you're wanting to add solar to your caravan and some lovely person recommended us. However you got here, here's what to expect from the rest of the process:

Choosing the right solar power solution:

You probably already have a pretty good idea of what you need to power, so now's the time to start comparing our kit estimations to your needs. On every kit page, we've got a section outlining what you might expect to run on this kit over the course of one day, like this:

Keep in mind, this isn't intended to be all running at once, for example, you might run the coffee machine in the morning, then later you run the washing machine and the fan, then in the evening put the devices on charge, turn on the lights, and watch TV - with the fridge and router running the whole time. It also doesn't have to be exactly like our example, you might have water pump and not need a toaster, so you can swap out whatever works for you, while keeping the expected power use over the day the same. You can find info on estimating your power consumption here. You can also have a look at our comparison table.

We also recommend having a look through our knowledge base if you're new to solar.

Then you may need to decide if you want to upgrade to a hybrid inverter. We typically recommend these if you intend to wire it into your household switchboard, use a generator regularly, or expand in future. Otherwise, you can stick to the standard kit. 

If you're unsure which kit is right for you, whether to expand, or need something custom, feel free to get in touch and we can help!

Getting the kit:

Once you've decided on a kit, you can simply pay for it online - just add it to your cart and complete the checkout process, choosing pick up or shipping. For any custom orders, or if you want to put down a deposit and pay the full amount later, get in touch and we'll send you an invoice. If your kit is out of stock online, you're able to preorder it the same way, and we recommend getting in touch to find out what the delay will be. 

After your kit is fully paid for, you'll either come collect it or have it shipped from our warehouse in South Auckland.

For pickup, get in touch first to confirm a date and time, and bring a suitable vehicle or trailer on the day. Check your kit dimensions, be prepared for the big and heavy items, and bring a friend to help if you can.

For shipping, you'll receive an email when your order is picked up, and you can expect it to arrive 3-5 business days later. Make sure to check everything BEFORE signing for it - if anything's damaged, do not sign for it, and call us.

Read the pickup instructions here, and the important shipping information here.

Installing your kit:

First thing's first - if you're not able to install your kit immediately you'll want to give the batteries a top up charge every three months to keep them in good condition. You can just use a regular 12V car battery charger for this. 

Your kit comes with a full instruction booklet, and we recommend giving this a read before install day, so you can prepare your tools and roof access. If you lose the booklet, you can download it from the kit webpage in the Downloads section.

If you're not comfortable doing any part of this yourself, you can get in touch with one our recommended installers to do the work. While our kits are designed to be fully DIY, there are some exceptions. Wiring your standard or hybrid inverter into the switchboard legally requires an electrician as it involves 240V AC and we recommend contacting one of our listed installers as they are familiar with our kits.

If you run into any trouble during the install, feel free to give us a call to help!

Powering it up:

Once your kit is installed, follow the instructions in your booklet to turn the system on, and enjoy your GridFree power!

If you have any problems, double check everything is wired correctly, then check the troubleshooting section in your booklet or read it here. If your issue is not resolved, please get in touch with the details so we can sort it out. 

Tell us all about it:

We'd love to see photos and hear all about your life off grid, so please feel free to send them our way. If you've got a minute, feel free to leave us a review on Google too.