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🏔️ Off-Grid in the Welsh Mountains: A 20kW Power Revolution

🏔️ Off-Grid in the Welsh Mountains: A 20kW Power Revolution

Welcome back to another project showcase from the Off-Grid Installer team! Today, we’re high up in the stunning peaks of Mid-Wales, where we’ve just completed a massive installation for a remote mountain cottage.

This property was truly “off the map”—no mains power, no mains water—just raw nature and a very determined homeowner, Richard Smith. Richard found this gem at auction and knew he needed a power system that could handle the harsh Welsh winters while providing enough energy to make it feel like he never left the grid.

⚡ The System Breakdown

We designed a high-capacity, resilient system to ensure Richard has “ample power” year-round:

• Solar Array: 20 high-efficiency panels mounted on a custom ground-mount system using solar buckets. Because the wind can exceed 100 mph up here, each panel is secured with 150kg of ballast.
• Power Optimization: We used SolarEdge Power Optimizers on every single panel. This allows each panel to work independently, so if those beautiful surrounding trees cast a shadow on one, the rest of the array keeps pumping out maximum power.
• Inverters: Two 10kVA Victron Quattro Inverters working in parallel to output a rock-solid single-phase grid for the entire house.
• Battery Storage: A massive bank of ten 5kWh LEOCH Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries, totaling 50kWh of storage.
• Backup Power: When the sun isn’t shining, a brand new 20kVA Ferbo diesel generator kicks in to top up the batteries and keep the lights on.
• Smart Control: The whole system is managed via a Victron Cerbo GX Touch 50 screen, allowing Richard to monitor his yields and state of charge (which hit 100% by midday during our final tests!) at a glance.

🛠️ The Challenge

The location presented some unique hurdles. The site was originally overgrown, requiring significant groundwork to prepare the “MOT” gravel base for the solar array. We also had to manage shading issues from the nearby foliage, which our team (including “Mad Martin” the electrician!) handled with some strategic tree clipping.

🏡 Results

Richard now has a system so robust he can “pretend he’s on the grid.” From the custom-built plant room with its convection-cooled battery housing to the automated generator backup, this is off-grid living at its finest.

We headed to Mid-Wales to tackle one of our most scenic (and windiest!) projects yet. 🏔️ In this video, Leigh and the team walk you through a complete off-grid overhaul for a remote mountain home. With 20 solar panels, 50kWh of lithium storage, and a 20kVA backup generator, this home is officially ready for anything the Welsh weather can throw at it.

Highlights:

• 0:00 – Introduction to the site
• 0:32 – The 20-panel solar array & ballast strategy
• 1:34 – Meeting the customer, Richard Smith
• 3:38 – The 20kVA Ferbo Generator
• 5:28 – Inside the Plant Room: Victron Quattros & LEOCH Batteries
• 6:27 – System monitoring & 100% SOC!

#OffGridLiving #SolarPower #OffGridInstaller #RenewableEnergy #WelshMountains #VictronEnergy #SolarEdge #LithiumBatteries #SelfSufficiency #MountainCottage #HomeSolar #CleanEnergyWales #OffGridHome #SustainableLiving

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