Off-Grid Solutions — Cabins & Acreages
Off-Grid Cabin & Acreage Solar in Alberta
Whole-site power for cabins, remote acreages and shops with no utility service. We size the array against December, use lithium built for the cold, and give you honest generator hours instead of a system that runs short in January.
Call Us Directly
(587) 330-7502
Free 15-Minute Design Review
Tell us about the site and your loads and we will run the December numbers and quote a system.
What Whole-Site Off-Grid Actually Means
Off-grid means there is no utility service to the property. That has three plain consequences: no FortisAlberta connection, no micro-generation application, and no export credits, because there is no grid to export to. You own the whole power supply. That is a real advantage in speed and independence, and it puts all the weight on getting the design right for the worst week of the year.
It is often the cheaper answer when the grid is far away. Extending a rural power line can cost tens of thousands of dollars per kilometre before a single bill arrives. Past a certain distance, a well-designed off-grid system costs less than the connection alone. We run both numbers and tell you which one wins for your site.
Ground-mounted panels need an electrical permit; there is no building permit for a ground mount, and off-grid skips the FortisAlberta micro-generation step entirely.
Sized on Real Alberta Sun, Not a Guess
We size off-grid systems by running your site through eleven years of hour-by-hour Alberta weather data, then dispatching the array, battery and generator hour by hour across that record. We calibrate the model down by 15% to match what our own installed systems actually produce in the field, so the numbers are conservative, not optimistic.
December is the binding month. At a steep winter tilt, an Alberta array yields roughly 1.5 kilowatt-hours a day per kilowatt installed in December, a fraction of the summer figure. A steep seasonal tilt adds about 27% of production over November through February and sheds snow. Design for December and the rest of the year takes care of itself.
Five Things We Learned Building These
Every one of these came out of engineering a real Alberta off-grid site, not a brochure.
A small generator is honest, none is not
With no generator, an Alberta off-grid site runs short about 66 days a year. A right-sized system needs one that runs on the order of 200 hours a year. We design the generator in from the start, not as a patch.
Lithium beats lead-acid on total cost
On a real design, flooded lead-acid cost over $12,500 more once ventilation, spill containment and the larger building were counted, with a shorter warranty and no way to finish charging in a short winter day.
Put the electronics where it is warm
Housing the inverter and battery in a heated space the client already has saved roughly $18,000 on one build and cut generator hours. Only lithium allows it, because lithium must not charge below freezing.
Flex the battery, do not cut the array
Trimming one panel rack to save money added about 100 generator hours a year. The array is the cheap part to keep; storage is where you scale up or down.
Off-grid needs about half the engine
A well-sized battery covers the surges and the generator only ever has to cover the average load, so a good design needs roughly half the generator a naive one would specify.
The Equipment We Build With
Array
LONGi 620-watt bifacial panels on Azgard ST-15L ground racks anchored on Twist screw piles, set at a steep winter tilt. On a wall or a rack, sized against your December load.
Storage
Lithium iron phosphate from Pytes or EG4, kept in a heated space where the site allows it. Lithium tolerates the cold, charges fast, and lasts far longer than lead-acid.
Inverter and generator
A Sol-Ark hybrid inverter runs the site and manages charging, and a right-sized propane generator covers the darkest weeks automatically. The engine is part of the design, not an afterthought.
A detached shop or outbuilding folds into the same design. We size the array and inverter for the combined load and grow storage as you add the second building, rather than running a separate system for each.
Three Worked Examples
Every off-grid system is sized to the site, so we quote on request rather than by the watt. These three show the range, from a seasonal cabin to a fully engineered acreage.
Small
A weekend cabin
Lights, a fridge, a water pump and device charging for a few kilowatt-hours a day. A modest array, a lithium battery for the evenings, and an optional small generator for a run of grey days. Seasonal use forgives a smaller battery.
Typical
A lived-in acreage or shop
A full-time home or a working shop with a well, a freezer or two, and power tools. The array is sized against December, storage carries the nights and short days, and a propane generator covers the darkest stretch.
Large
The engineered reference build
An 18.6 kilowatt array of thirty LONGi 620-watt panels on two Azgard ST-15L racks and eight screw piles, a Sol-Ark 15K inverter, 40.96 kilowatt-hours of Pytes lithium and a 10 kilowatt propane generator. Simulated over eleven years: the generator ran 201 hours a year and there was not a single day short of power.
For farms and businesses the Clean Technology investment tax credit is a 30% refundable credit that solar equipment is expected to qualify for. Confirm the details with your accountant.
Frequently Asked Questions
More Off-Grid Solutions
Get an Off-Grid Design That Holds Up in January
Book a free 15-minute design review. We run the December numbers for your site, compare off-grid against a grid extension, and quote a system built for the cold. Typical installs run two to six weeks out.
Serving cabins, acreages and shops across Alberta.