Originally Posted by MikeL2
Maybe my experience can answer part of your questions - but it's not the same setup

I bought a house fall of 2019 with rooftop solar already professionally installed. Originally rated at 7000 watts, NO STORAGE, reversible electric meter for the grid.
System originally installed in 2011, Total cost about $48,000, final cost to homeowner after federal and state tax credits was about $20,000.
NO modifications to roof needed, but roofs here have to be built for a heavy snow load to begin with. House built in 1996.

3 bedroom, 1500 sqft finished, central air, all electric except for propane heat. Northern NY location, Jefferson County, so definitely have a heating season and winter days without much solar available. Most of the time one resident.
In any given month my meter runs backwards, taking watthours off, when I make more power than I use. I don't accumulate any credit beyond a month at a time the way my usage is calculated from the monthly meter readings. My usage from the grid for last year and a half:

ReadDate & Days Read Type Total kWh
6/30/2021 & 34 Days Actual 0
5/27/2021 & 28 Days Actual 0
4/29/2021 & 30 Days Actual 17
3/30/2021 & 32 Days Actual 0
2/26/2021 & 28 Days Actual 584
1/29/2021 & 31 Days Actual 675
12/29/2020 & 34 Days Actual 805
11/25/2020 & 29 Days Actual 650
10/27/2020 & 29 Days Actual 581
9/28/2020 & 32 Days Actual 103
8/27/2020 & 29 Days Actual 0
7/29/2020 & 29 Days Actual 85
6/30/2020 & 32 Days Actual 0
5/29/2020 & 29 Days Actual 0
4/30/2020 & 31 Days Actual 0
3/30/2020 & 28 Days Actual 0
3/2/2020 & 33 Days Actual 370
1/29/2020 & 30 Days Actual 448
12/30/2019 & 34 Days Actual 760
11/26/2019 & 28 Days Actual 179
10/29/2019 & 32 Days Actual 0
9/27/2019 & 28 Days Actual 0
8/30/2019 & 4 Days Actual 0
(excel tables get screwed up when pasting into this site)

So...in general you can see I make more than enough power from April into September. Some months I send 400-500 kWh back into the grid. A major factor during the winter is my panels will get covered with snow and ice and I can get several months with just about zero generation. I expect that if I had pole mounted panels that could be repositioned seasonally - and could get snow/ice brushed off - my Oct - Mar numbers could be a lot better. Could also reduce power from grid if I had storage so I could use my own power at night.

For completely off-grid you'll need storage (probably at least several days worth) and another source of power for extended low solar output. The off grid setups I've seen around here all have backup gas, diesel or propane generators. If you're looking at a year-round residence and want reliable electricity I think you pretty much have to include a fueled generator - a large enough battery bank to cover everything for more than a few days will get real expensive.

You could also add a small wind turbine if you location has wind potential. There are also ways of generating from low-head hydro power if you have a good stream to work with.
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You can never beat Real world information
Thanks for posting this.