Heating the space they're using with a small solar setup has helped a northern Ontario homeowner cut back on furnace use. Going forward, they wondered about going 100% electric.
Here's what to know
Alongside heating, the setup serves as backup power, and its outlets can be switched to a generator. The homeowner described installing those extra solar-fed outlets around the house in a Reddit post on r/OffGrid.
The setup does not yet include an automatic inverter shutoff for low battery voltage. Around midday, the homeowner runs the heater and checks voltage at the charge controller, with no automated battery monitoring in place.
Electricity would be the main heat source at a separate property the homeowner is developing for off-grid living, with other heat sources available for winter. The home experiment is helping them plan that setup.
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More background
The homeowner described roughly four months of overcast conditions, with perhaps six hours of daylight, and identified December through March as the hardest stretch for solar-powered heating.
Multiple users pushed back on the feasibility of the original poster's approach, and one pushed them toward a wood stove despite the necessary "work and maintenance."
"Unless you have a massive solar array and even bigger battery bank resistant heating is not feasible," they wrote. "If you run a generator to charge/ run then it's not electric/ resistant heating."
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What can be done?
A solar air heater caught the homeowner's interest, though they wanted to weigh its cost against adding more solar panels. A commenter suggested a design that warms air with sunshine captured in a shallow, black-painted box with glass and vents.
Another commenter reported running an 8.7-kilowatt solar array with a Senville Aura mini-split in an RV trailer in Alberta at minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit. The homeowner replied that they had been considering Senville units, too.
For the homeowner, a key goal is keeping the off-grid property warm enough when no one is there. They clarified that the "wood stove would most likely be primary heat," when the property was inhabited.
For readers interested in the storage side of this setup, EasyHome also offers options for exploring battery storage. Pairing batteries with solar can help manage electricity costs by saving generation for later use and can provide backup during outages, which is a function already central to this homeowner's small system.
Where can I learn more?
Other homeowners are exploring similar ways to heat their homes with solar power and lower utility bills.
• A homeowner asked whether solar panels and batteries could power mini-splits without grid electricity.
• In Britain, solar-powered heat pump heating helped keep one home bill-free for five years.
• A UK homeowner said solar covered electricity costs for six months, including home heating.
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