In Europe it's somewhat common to have a small solar panel just on your balcony (i.e. not permanent attached to the building) and simply plugs into a nearby wall receptacle. https://www.theverge.com/24150901/ecoflow-powerstream-review...

For those wondering, the article did discuss the safety matter of using a power outlet as an inlet. And the article also points out that while this is allowed in several countries in Europe it's not allowed in the U.S., but I suppose you could always plug appliances directly into the battery instead.

Some resources:

  * https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/
  * https://diysolarforum.com/

But watch the video at https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/mobile-48v-system.html for something similar to a Goal Zero or Jackery

Depends on your jurisdiction, but roof mounted solar installs generally don't need building permits. Electrical permits on the other hand are almost always required.

If you actually want to offset cost, don't buy a portable battery pack. Get an AIO solar inverter and a server rack battery. They're generally plug and play - wire the panels to it, connect the battery.

If you want to run your home loads, the cheapest/simplest way (without going grid-tie) is to have an electrician add a critical loads panel supplied by your inverter output, then plug your inverter in to the grid for backup (in case no solar or batteries are low).

There is a ton of DIY solar info online, but it is very much regionally dependent. Both for permits and system design.

Here in Florida, I can get high output from an average panel, but there are a lot of permit issues (and rightly so, a poorly installed panel can become a severe hazard in a hurricane).

Where I lived in Michigan, there weren't many permitting or zoning issues, but I'd need 3-4x the number of panels to get usable output in the winter time.

Most truly small scale solar systems don't provide enough output/value to be worth the effort, unless you're living a very low-power lifestyle.

I'm interested in doing something like this as well. Build a pergola with a solar roof instead of just a metal one from Costco. I've seen a few videos online doing a similar sized system with like a Jackert or Anker Solix. Realistically with 2-3 harbor freight panels they're only enough to power like your home office. A fridge will burn through the battery pretty fast. I do believe you can have them do input and output straight into your wall outlet and you don't have to plug right the appliances into the battery/inverter.

Companies like Ecoflow sell mobile battery packs which you can connect foldable/small panels to by just plugging them in. No roof installation required. Those panels can be bought as a bundle with the packs. Those packs can then be connected to extension cords. It’s a starting point for short term outages.

The answers here have been pretty solid, a lot of what you want depends on where you live. For example, it is very likely that this is not possible if you're property is covered by an HOA. The definition of "it looks nice" is super hard to pin down (neighbors will complain at everything), and unless you're doing something really small, there is going to be some wiring involved. None of that should discourage you however.

"Zero emission generators" (aka battery boxes) are pretty easy to build, and even a 2kW inverter is relatively easy to hide/disguise. If you're doing this in a home situation (vs a camping situation) the 6V "golf cart" lead/acid batteries are really solid. A couple of those will give you 240 AHrs of 12V that can run a bunch of stuff. 240W panels can be stored at night and brought out during the day so keep them 'temporary.' Etc. Victron[1] makes nice chargers and monitors and are popular in the RV / Vanlife communities. Lots of online resources for hooking them up. And generally things you can roll around your property to different places are pretty easily defined as 'not a building' so immune from the permitting process generally.

[1] https://www.victronenergy.com/chargers

Before buying a "glamping battery", you'll want to ensure that it can be run unattended in your desired configuration.

I previously had a Bluetti EB70S and while it almost did what I wanted, it could only charge from AC or Solar, but not both and didn't have a way to set desired levels.

Now I have a Bluetti Apex 300, and I can set it to charge to X% off AC during overnight off-peak rates, and never drop below Y%.

In my jurisdiction, you don't need a permit if you're doing it yourself, and it's on your side of the panel.

So the plan I came up with is essentially the plan you have, but I connect my refrigerator to the battery by the panel rather than running an extension cord from my kitchen to the battery.

I disconnected the fridge and 2 other circuits from the panel, and terminated them with a nema 5-15p inlet receptacle like this: http://www.levitonproducts.com/catalog/model_5278-CWP.htm

I then put 4 solar panels on a 45 degree angle on the ground leaning against a south facing wall, anchored to the wall and ground.

The "solar generator" I used is this one: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/apex-300#/

It's similar to the glamping batteries you refer to, but is more targeted to home backup / off-grid / RV use than glamping.

That actually sounds like a pretty good plan.

I did something similar with my lawn mower. I bought a battery and a single solar panel from Harbor Freight, along with the controller and wires need to hook it all together. I'd set the panel in the yard when I needed to charge the mower's batteries.

The whole thing, including the mower, cost less than half a year's fees from a yard crew, and I ended up saving money overall.

After the experiment was done (and I realized the mower was too low for my grass and was harming it) I sold the mower and gave the rest to my father-in-law for his shed.

We then got professionally installed solar panels for our house and a full-house battery. (It isn't strong enough for the air conditioner, but oh well.)

If I had it to do over again on the small scale, I'd buy an Ecoflow battery (which I have actually bought) and a solar panel made for it, and your fridge idea is a good one. It'd probably also power a fan, a light, and some light entertainment, I think.

Edit: Might go with "Anker" or "Jackery" instead of Ecoflow now, as it might be cheaper for the same thing.

Pretty much exactly what you’ve described.

Where I am ya don’t been a permit for a shed if it’s under a 18 square metres, so 6x3m sheds are common.

You could look in to off-grid / caravan appliances, thereby saving on a smaller inverter, but they tend to be around 3x the price of regular appliances.

Highly recommended going for 48v system if you’re starting from scratch to save on ridiculously large diameter cables and stupidly high amperage you’ll be dealing with with a 12v system.

I did a repair this week on a poorly designed 12v system that had a 12v to 230v 7amp (1600 watt) inverter powering a 230v 10amp cook top in a camper van. That cooktop was pulling 235 amp from the battery through a very hot 175amp slow blow fuse.

Which is great if you want to melt the fuse post and the supply cables and… I found the fault before the fire started.

I have a massive array+battery (20kWh generation, 19kWh storage) and while it's great, some things to pay consider:

- if you need roof repair/replacement, do it before you get solar. Alternatively, make your array free standing

- prioritize the circuits you want to cover. Not every one is critical but health & safety (water, fridge, cooking capabilities) are key

- MOST jurisdictions won't require permitting for the grid (especially if it's not connected to your house) but MOST will require an inspection if you want to connect to the grid

- if you connect to the grid, make sure you understand how your electricity provider addresses net metering. I wrote about it here: https://geekamongthetrees.com/what-is-solar-net-metering-or-...

https://craftstrom.com/how-it-works/ is closest to what you want.

You don't need permit, and you don't even need new wiring.

Hybrid Inverter. Main power and solar power go in, house power goes out.

No feeding of solar power to the grid so no permits.

You can add a battery if you want to reduce your reliance on the grid. Or use it with a battery but without solar panels as a whole house UPS.

> no building permit is required

This will be the main issue. No matter what you're going to be doing work inside the main service panel on your house adding new feeds and you'll need to install a transfer switch to disconnect your house in case of a power outage. Most electrical work inside a panel like adding circuits will require a permit in the US. Seems like your plan doesn't involve any of that though so you should be ok permit wise except maybe needing one for the pad and structure.

Depending on where you live, that you can buy solar panels+battery kits that plug into the wall and feed the circuit that way, no need to run extension cords to plug in individual appliances. However I don't think those types of setups are legal in the US, they don't trust the backfeed protection

How is "using poured footings with short posts" not a permanent structure? Are you pouring the footings into buckets and not into the ground?

The glamping approach is probably your best bet if you want to avoid paperwork. The equipment has gotten very good and quite cheap in the last few years.