off grid electricity

I've been looking at a back up just in case too. I think a couple independent systems, I'm really just wanting to make sure it lasts until march

Consider a generator that runs off of propane.Natural gas refitted with an LPG orifice. At least then a truck can bring your fuel and no questions asked.

hotrodharley said:

I have lived in Northwestern Montana, Northern Washington, Alaska and all over Colorado from Durango to South Central in Del Norte (Alamosa -the coldest spot in the nation is 60 miles from there) along with Cut Bank, MT (I lived 35 miles from there) to the Front Range, Ft. Collins and Greeley. I have seen everybody and everything come and go. Abandoned dreams with creditors hounding them. In Colorado the only need to super rural is costs anymore. Ridiculous rents. If I were going to move anyplace except back to Alaska I would go to Oregon. I would say WA but you cannot grow your own there!!! Go where there are cheap rents and the electricity is almost invariably cheaper. I'm really watching for the development of low-voltage, low-amp LED arrays.

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you ain't kidding about Alamosa. the cold and the wind there combined are hell in the winter.

OP, have you considered just growing all you need in a greenhouse in the spring/summer/fall and grow enough to last a year?

going underground and off the grid for a plant that is now legal to grow here sounds a bit extreme and costly.

Yeah, man.Move over by Rifle or Dinosaur and check it out. Nobody wants to live there so it should be cheap. Beautiful Rock Springs, WY close by for when you want to go to a really big city.

hotrodharley said:

And big enough to keep Exxon stock rising. Fool's errand. I'm from Alaska and can tell you generator power is a bad option. Not only fuel costs but generator upkeep as well. There ain't no such thing as "a" generator because you need another as backup. It's far cheaper in the short run to pay for the poles and the span to get juice to your property. Then begin installing a solar array and battery bank. By law you MUST hook up to the grid (stupid law) but you get paid if you generate more than you can use.

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If you got the money then get this

http://www.emergencypower.com/dieselgenerators/home#!/~/product/category=3128634&id=13428566

This will more then do the job and you can run this hot shit for months. Put it in your garage and make sure the it's well ventilated. Also, put an acoustic box around it to (make sure that is also well ventilated). Always use diesel generators, if you are gong to go that route. Also, in reference to a solar setup. If you live in Florida then you can do an off grid setup. If you are going to go off grid then make sure you use forklift batteries (I would suggest 10 or more ). Run them parallel to. Here's a trick to off set the power company via smart meters. IF you cannot afford an off grid setup then still get the forklift batteries and a charger for it. Then hook it it up to a power inverter. A FPL guy said the smart meters can tell if you are ding a 12/12 or/and 18/6. The battery bank will off set this...especialy if you are using a ups for each grow light. The smart meter will think you are just charging shit all day. Think about it...the solar panel acts as a power source....if you cannot afford it then bit the bullet and use your home power to for the forklift battery charger; for which charges the battery; for which hooks up to the power inverter; for which hooks up to the powerstrip/ups..etc. YOu cannot lose trust me.

Or use that diesel generator, I made reference to, then you can have it run either have to time to off set the power company (example: make it run half of the time when you conduct a 18/6 for veg and the same concept applies for the 12/12.

18/6 (The generator runs for 9 hours out of the day.
12/12 (The generator runs for 6 hours out of the day.

The remaining hours will run on grid. You cannot lose my friends. Just make sure all your lights are hooked up via UPS.