Ratch,
I agree with your affordable comment; At this time, grid is cheaper, per watt, than any other solution.

Off Grid, either too far away, or backup is where it is muddy.
If I need a tiny system, The difference between the 100 Watt Harbor and a 100 Watt Renogy sitting on my deck is not big enough to matter.
--If I am trying to generate 5000 Watts an HOUR I want the best panels.


If you have power NOW, screw solar, a house charger is nothing, like 20.00. Buy your 30 Ah battery, plug it in to a good charger and walk away. Lead Acid, Lithium, Nickel Iron, If you can charge it from your house, WHO CARES? lol, seriously, At grid prices 11 cents per 1000 Kw/hrs., like .01 cents per watt.
You have a good point about several smaller sources, instead of one larger battery; You do avoid a single point of failure....

I have my OH CRAP system in my garage, with the batteries plugged in to the grid. No Hail risk, no lighting threats, no stealing, bird poop.....

If you have a solar system plugged in to a 30 AH battery, and are having issues, something is wrong with the setup. Again, Lead Acid, Lithium, whatever. If the system is charging correctly, and not overcharging your battery should be full. If you have stuff hooked up to it for a load, and it is not staying full/topped up, it is not balanced correctly.


When I was testing my Oh Crap with my freezer, I had screwed up my loading calculations-- I did not account for wire losses correctly, and kept running out of power.