Off-the-Grid in the Northland | Jackie Bartosh

Off-the-Grid Living in the Northland

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Off-the-Grid Homes Demonstrate Independence

By Jacqueline Bartosh

Does solar power work in the far northern regions of the United States? Or is it too cold, and too dark to live off-the-grid this far north? Some might think so, but others are proving it’s not.

Currently around the Northland there are several homes that are solar powered, in fact, quite a lot. Many businesses are solar powered, for example, the Whole Foods Co-op in Duluth. But the Co-op is ‘grid-tied’ meaning they are hooked to the power grid, and being serviced by an electric company.

So if their solar panels aren’t producing much on a dark cloudy day in winter, they can draw electricity from the grid. What about off-the-grid systems?

This article is going to showcase three successful off-the-grid homes in the Northland. Each home is unique in how it uses Renewable technologies:

Off-the-Grid Toupal-Bartosh Home

Toupal-Bartosh Home in Lakeside, Wisconsin

Toupal/Bartosh Residence

The first is the Toupal/Bartosh home located in Lakeside, Wisconsin on the south shore of Lake Superior. The home’s electrical and heating consists of the following components:

  • 3 Kwh Photovoltaic panels
  • Solar thermal panels
  • 1.5 Kwh Wind turbine
  • Lithium Ion battery storage
  • Electric heat pump
  • Outdoor wood boiler & interior fireplace
Toupal-Bartosh home features custom-made fireplace built by owner

Toupal-Bartosh home features custom-made fireplace built by owner

The home was built by the homeowners in 2003, with the intent of building a grid-tied residence. However, issues with the local power company led to the decision to go off-the-grid.

The 3 Kwh solar photovoltaics and 1.5 Kwh wind turbine provide all of our home’s electrical needs throughout the year. Solar is their biggest producer in the summer months, while the wind turbine is the major producer in the winter months, as Lake Superior provides plenty of wind!)

All of the electrical energy produced via sun or wind is stored into a 20 Kwh Lithium Ion battery unit.

Within the home, you get no sense you’re off-the-grid, because it has all the appliances of a traditional grid-tied residence. The home is wired with AC electrical just like any other traditional home.

Solar thermal provides the home’s domestic hot water and in-floor heating. If the sun is shining, even on a cold below-zero January day, in-floor pumps are distributing solar-warmed water heat throughout the tiled floors, and hot showers are plentiful!

During those long, cloudy overcast Northland days with little or no wind or sun, wood is burned in an interior fireplace, or in an outside wood boiler. The outdoor wood boiler supplements the same domestic hot water, in-floor system that the solar thermal uses.

Another feature of this home is a heat pump. In the event too much wind or solar power is generated, an electric heat pump turns on automatically, to use up the excess power, which is also connected to the domestic hot water, in-floor system.

Contrary to grid-tied home, off-the-grid homes cannot “sell back” to the power grid. For that reason, these homeowners found a way to turn excess energy into heat. Through technology, they have managed to turn the nasty cold winds of Lake Superior into power & heat.

Powell Residence, Ely, Minnesota

Powell Residence, Ely, Minnesota

Powell Residence

The Powell home located in northern Minnesota in the small town of Ely. This home’s electrical & heating system consists of:

  • 2.5 Kwh Photovoltaic panels
  • Solar thermal panels
  • Lead Acid battery storage
  • Interior wood stove
Interior view of Powell Residence

Interior view of Powell Residence

This new construction home was intentionally built to be off-grid. It was something the homeowners wanted from the start.

The 2.5 Kwh photovoltaics provide all the home’s electrical needs throughout the year. All solar energy produced is then stored into big lead acid batteries designed for off-the-grid applications. This home is wired for AC electrical, and has all of the appliances you would expect to see any other home in the Northland.

The solar thermal panels in the Powell home provide all of the domestic hot water and in-floor heating. This home’s system includes several massive hot water tanks for heat storage. As a result, when a short, sunny winter day ends, there is plenty of heat to last into the night. On cloudy days, an interior wood stove burns wood.

The Homenn home, Port Wing, Wisconsin

The Homann home, Port Wing, Wisconsin

Homann Residence

The third home in this off-the-grid review, is the Homann home located on the south shore of Lake Superior in Port Wing, Wisconsin. The home’s electrical and heating system includes:

  • 1.5 Kwh Photovoltaic panels
  • Solar thermal panels
  • Lead Acid battery storage
  • Masonry Heater

While still under construction, this new home is being built from the start as an off-the-grid structure. While currently being used as a cabin, the plan is to build a full serviced home as a retirement home in a few years.

Fireplace inside the Homann Home

Finnish Masonry wood burning fireplace inside the Homann Home

The 1.5 Kwh photovoltaics currently provide the home’s electrical needs. All electrical energy produced is stored in lead acid batteries. The home electrical is wired AC, and currently hosts some appliances. More appliances will be added once the owners choose to reside there full time.

The solar thermal panels provide the home’s domestic hot water and in-floor heating. But this home has a unique feature unlike the first two homes profiled above.

The first home (Toupal/Bartosh) reviewed in this article uses direct solar heat, and once the sun goes down, the heating stops. The second home (Powell) uses massive hot water tank storage to preserve and use up stored heat.

However, the Homann’s went a step further, and use a sand mass under the house to store the heat. The sand mass consists of heating coils buried in 3 foot deep sand under the home’s concrete slab. Insulated on the bottom sides, the heat can only be released upward thru the concrete floor.

All of summer’s stored solar heat slowly releases itself throughout the cold winter months. The owner also included heating coils in the slab itself. This permits him to control where and how much solar heat goes into the sand mass, or to the in-floor coils.

The home also features a Finnish masonry heater, which is the most efficient wood burning fireplace on the market.

In closing…

Solar technologies are constantly improving, solar prices are dropping, battery storage options are widening, and going off-the-grid is a choice many are taking. Even here as we endure the cold, dark winters of the Northland, homeowners are living successfully off-the-grid.

The three homes spotlighted here prove that the solar rays of the sun can power and heat a residence without the need of relying on fossil fuels or the traditional power grid.




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