Anyone using solar who is totally off grid?

Off-Grid for life here. The correct terms are;"off-grid" or "off the grid". Either, a person is connected to a power grid,"grid-tied" or off the power grid. That is, "off-grid". Everything else is incorrect. It should be noted that having a well, or garden, or livestock, has nothing to do with the definition. (You can technically live in a city disconnected from the power grid,but still generating your own,although it is rare). There is only off or on grid. If you rely on an electric company and pay an electric bill you are on grid. If you have a solar panel,but pay a power bill for everything else you are NOT off-grid. Thanks. Good luck to you. Because living off the grid long term and creating your own electricity is a big challenge when it isn't sunny in a while. I suggest wind turbine and possibly water powered sources too as backup energy sources if available in your area. For now,I have solar generator and Harbor Freight el-chepo 100 watt solar kit. No generators orgas powered anything etc. 10+years no issues except I had to replace (1) 100 watt kit after a three story pine fell on it after the ice storm this winter. Oupes solar generator is reliable and has the LifePro4 battery which is supposed to last at least 10 years with warranty. Hope this helps.😁

Keep batteries or battery bank inside or inside a sheltered area such as an old insulated cooler with some ventilation. I keep my one battery in my cabin. This greatly extends service life especially for old tech batteries. LifePro4 batteries are newest tech. They are temporature resilient. I've charged my Oupes Solar Generator in -4f. Still charges and powers like a champ! Hope this helps.🙃

Get hydro/wind power (if feasible), get a LOT of panels and trim usage during winter to ensure batteries charge to 100% daily, and/or run a generator. And yes, as LivingTheDrea says, keep batteries sheltered and close to room temperature if possible.

Location, Location, Location I'm in Arizona living off solar panels and batteries only. We found some of our batteries and solar panels off craigslist. We just keep adding panels and batteries when we can.

I've purchased a used Renogy 400W 'solar start kit' from FB market place. And 4x 100AH BattleBorn LIFEPO batteries. If all goes well, this July 4th weekend will see me setting it up.

Two, things. Battery type and location. If you're using Lead or AGM batteries you'll usually see a voltage drop related to temperature compared to lithium. It depends on your location. In my case for the southwest area of USA, we usually do not have a issue with sunlight for keeping batteries charged, because energy usage is lower. It cold enough not to need HVAC and the colder temps requiring heat is usually only when the sun is down. If you have a decently size battery and solar output calculated for winter months, then the only worry is forecast orkeeping batteries warm enough to charge.

I am totally off grid and love my solar

Winter is right around the corner here now. I stressed about it the 1st year I was completely off grid but lived. This will be my 3rd winter now. I live "normal". I know some people are on the verge of pioneerism. I like having my coffee ground and ready when I wake up, have a microwave (saves on wood and gas) and a fridge. I also have to sleep with a fan running or I don't sleep. That said... Depends on what you are worried about, the cold, or less day light. Cold, just keep them protected. Mine are in my basement, but plan on moving them to a storage container in the next few years. Saw someone just line their container with foam insulation in Alaska and they run fine. My container will be partially buried + insulated. If you have $$$$$ to spend, there are batteries with built in heaters. My basement is approx 70 during the summer, high 30's to low 40's during the winter. If the concern is daylight, panels will help. I bought a pallet of used panels from Signature Solar. It would take most of the day for batteries to charge. Now they are topped off around 11am - 12pm. I live in a canyon so I have much less light than others during the winter months. I'm only using 14 of the 27 250W panels. You can also tinker with tilt and what not. Mine are at 33 degrees fixed and facing kinda south. I know some people throw calculations and shit that makes NASA engineers sweat. I just googled "best tilt year around for my location" and used a cheap ass compass to point them somewhat in the general southern direction. I'll add tilt options later... Lastly, EG4 released a generator "chargeverter" that works with most generators that have a 200v output. That was a HUGE live saver / game changer for me. I still am power conscious, just not a Power Nazi anymore and don't have to invest in a special generator to run my inverters + charge batteries. This plugs straight into my battery bus, the other into the genny. Puts a direct charge on the batteries, so my Generac 8000 I've had for ages will work and charge up my batteries when / if needed. Wind power is a whole other beast. I was kicking that around and actually have a turbine here. I bought it for another project and was going to implement, but its 12v, my batteries are 48. Water... Unless you live someplace warm, that shit will freeze, so what's the purpose. I'm guessing since Wind requires special equipment, you'll probably need the same with water.

Around us going off gridd I the city they condemn your house

I have two gel batteries (these ones https://autosolar.co/baterias-gel-12v/bateria-gel-12v-300ah-tensite) find that on cloudy days they dont keep enough stored if I use them for anything demanding after 3pm. Sundown here at around 6pm. Even with them only feeding the internet router and a cat water fountain (don´t ask) they will not get through the night. So I have taken to switching the inversor off before going to bed just in case.

Oh and I am going to change the tilr because I have the optimum tilt but they get really dirty and I have to clean them with a mop , the guys at the place I bought them from said it is better to have them with more of an angle so the rain washes them. I guess it depends where you live. I am in Colombia.