Basic off-grid living

There are various degrees of off-grid living.  On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the simplest,  here's a chart of varying degrees: 

  OTG ranges

1  USB & lights only
2  add A V,  SHW
3  100% rainwater
4  waste=food
5  grow 50%+ food 
6  fossil fuel free
7 
8  full kitchen? dryer
9   campus/complex
10 seasonal storage


Let's take each separately:

1.  USB & Lights solar systems are usually done with lo-voltage 12VDC systems.  Supplying electricity for USB charging (smartphones, tablets etc) and a few (<10) LEDs (~5watts each) is very simple:  one small solar panel (~20watts) a controller (~$15) a used golf-cart deep discharge battery similar to a T1275 (~$50) and some wiring, terminal and switch boxes AND some good know-how is all that's needed.


2.  Adding AV (Audio and Visual) to the USB and LED lights brings in one more component - an inverter and a second set of electrical supply characteristics:  120VAC.   That's a big step up from just doing a simple 12VDC system.  You now need to power up an inverter and now have two different electrical circuits:  12VDC and 120VAC.  One of the decisions you need to make is whether to turn all your lighting to 120VAC or remain at 12VDC or a combination of both.  I like the latter because it allows you to buy readily available 120V light bulbs that are cheap along with their fixtures.  12VDC lighting is usually limited to RVs, marine, and camping stores. But having a dual voltage lighting system does add some un-needed complexity:  do you really need two different lighting systems?  Welcome to the start of a long road for continual decisions - neither of which is good or bad - just different options.
My advice here is that if your're going to stop here and only have a small house or room, then stick with just one (12VDC) lighting system, and use the inverter just to plug in your laptop, TV or music system.

Sizing the inverter:  If you're going to plug in a big-screen TV you'll need to increase your battery, probably solar PV panels and maybe even the size of your wiring.  Some big-screen TVs can draw well over 200watts of power.  If you want to watch movies on continual cloudy days, late into the nite - well, then you'll REALLY need to power up.