I recently built a small but scalable 24v off-grid solar power system as a fun/educational project for myself and a backup power source. I had no prior electrical experience but read and studied obsessively. I built the system for a little under $1000 all inclusive. It ain't pretty, but it works as it should.

We started with the system in our basement and for six months, we ran our washer almost exclusively off solar power and various other applications in the basement where we could easily run power from the inverter.

Early this year, with the help of an electrician friend, we wired it up to power our garage, which ran off a separate meter and cost us $35 a month even if we didn’t use any electricity. The conversion also qualified us for a $300 solar tax credit. It's been a fun and interesting project and now it's paying for itself. Better for the environment, less reliance on the grid, more money in my pocket. I’ve even done a little bit of crypto mining using solar—free electricity!

For those interested in more details, here’s how it works in brief. The solar panels (four 100w panels currently) feed a solar charge controller which charges two 100Ah batteries wired in series. Those in turn power the inverter, which converts DC power into more readily usable AC (also considerably more dangerous). Also, as I mentioned above, my system is scalable. I can have up to 1040w of panels in total with my current system. But if I were to upgrade, I'd also add more battery capacity, because on a sunny day, I take in far more power than my batteries can store.