My name is Brian Betz and I have been an employee of Backwoods Solar since 2010. My background involves solar hot water and radiant floor heating systems. My hobbies include alternative home construction. My off-grid journey began in 1995 on a homestead property near Reed Point, MT. A small 12V “RV” style system fit my needs perfectly at that time. My loads were minimal with 12V lighting and pressure pump and a Trace DR inverter powering my TV, stereo and occasional power tools. A simple little system for a single guy who wasn’t home a lot during the days.
Fast forward to 2025 and things have changed a lot. I now have 6 in the family, although two are now out of the house. My newest homestead is outside of Sandpoint, ID and power needs have grown. My own situation is a prime example of how a system can evolve over time as power needs change and/or the budget for the system gets bigger.
The Sandpoint home started with a 24V system that included a Xantrex TR inverter. That quickly changed to a 48V Magnum Energy system and then a 48V Schneider system. Along the way new outbuildings were added which allowed for more solar to be added to these new roofs. A north-facing property and lots of trees does not allow for any kind of ground mount installation. This summer the Schneider SW4048 was replaced by 2 Victron MPII 48V 3kW inverters. It is not uncommon for our household to do 2 loads of laundry with a liquid propane clothes dryer and 1-2 loads of dishes in our dishwasher each day. We power a 120V well pump, a 21 cubic foot AC fridge/freezer and an 8 cubic foot chest freezer. Starlink satellite is always on drawing around 50W. Plan on up to 100W when the internal heater kicks on to melt snow.
Early on I was able to implement a micro-hydro turbine in our small mountain stream. While the stream is seasonal only, it helps provide us power thru the dark days of winter when the creek flow increases. One turbine turned into two when I was able to pick up another turbine at a great price. Each turbine produces about 150W at peak output. 300W x 24hrs/day =7.2kWh/day. That is enough to power our usual loads most of the winter. Occasional sunshine will top off the lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) Eclipse battery bank every week or two even in December. A backup generator is only used in the fall when cloudy skies prevail and the creek is still low. My current system is described below.
Solar Arrays
- Original rooftop array on house- 8 x 200W of various brands. 4 strings, each wired 2 in series to a Schneider C40 controller.
- Barn array – 6 x 235W ET Solar. 1 string wired in series to a Midnite Classic 250.
- Shop array – 8 x 395W Canadian Solar. 1 string wired in series to a Victron SS450-100.
Micro-Hydro Turbines
- Hi-Power Hydro LV400, 48V wired directly to the battery bank.
- Energy System and Design, Stream Engine. Configured for 48V wired directly to the battery bank.
Inverters
Victron MPII 48-3K (x2) Being run in split phase 120V/240V where each inverter handles one positive leg.
Power Center
Midnite E-Panel for Schneider SW4024 Inverter. Various Midnite Baby Boxes used as combiners.
Batteries
- Eclipse 48-100Ah LiFePO4 (x3)
- Eclipse 48-200Ah LiFePO4 (x2)
Charge Controls
- Schneider C-40 controls House Array
- Midnite Classic 250 controls Barn Array
- Victron 450-100 controls Shop Array
- Morningstar Tristar 60 used as a diversion control for micro-hydro turbines