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Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

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Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#21

Post by handrous »

ortusdux wrote: post #2

This appears to be from 5 years ago. I would love to see a follow-up! Way off topic, but the brand of shed he bought, Tuff-Shed, had a series of TV ads that will be forever stuck in my head. The voice-over was a call and response that played on the fact that the brand name sounded like tough shit. Need somewhere to store your lawn mower? Tuff shed! Tired of all your stuff getting rained on? Tuff shed!

IIRC K-Mart ran a TV ad that played on "shipped" sounding kinda like "shit", promoting their ability to ship stuff you bought. "I shipped my pants!" "I shipped the bed!"

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#23

Post by mynegation »

Aspos wrote: post #14

I've spent far more while arranging for space at home, and the resulting workspace is not as great. I wish there was such a Shed-as-a-Service in a bikable distance from my home. Seriously, I believe there is some demand for local, tiny offices for remote workers.

Coworking spaces are a thing, and - being tired from WFH - I am currently enjoying working in those. As much as I wish I could build something like this, this is a good enough option. The price is a bit steep in the large city where I live: 500 CAD for dedicated desk and about 1000 CAD for 1 person office. On the flip side you have all the niceties of the modern office, including espresso machines and sometimes beer and carbonated water on tap! Curious to see if all the extra office space from people not wanting to return to the office depresses the prices.

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#24

Post by pengaru »

Syonyk wrote: post #3

There's been some conversation about this at the previous link, back when it was over at syonyk.blogspot.com (I moved off that because Google ruined their new Blogger interface). Five years later... still the best place I've ever worked from. Nothing to say, really. Power is reliable, I have more of it than I really need with how much solar I've got, the generator works fine in the winter, my speakers rock, and I don…

FYI TFA is just a blank dark scrollable page without js here on FF w/noscript.

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#25

Post by timbit42 »

tejohnso wrote: post #13
Syonyk wrote: post #3

There's been some conversation about this at the previous link, back when it was over at syonyk.blogspot.com (I moved off that because Google ruined their new Blogger interface). Five years later... still the best place I've ever worked from. Nothing to say, really. Power is reliable, I have more of it than I really need with how much solar I've got, the generator works fine in the winter, my speakers rock, and I don…

I didn't expect Starlink equipment to be very power hungry. That's unfortunate. Really damages my rural off-grid small home fantasy.

Well, it's talking to satellites 400 kms away.

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#26

Post by Syonyk »

pengaru wrote: post #24
Syonyk wrote: post #3

There's been some conversation about this at the previous link, back when it was over at syonyk.blogspot.com (I moved off that because Google ruined their new Blogger interface). Five years later... still the best place I've ever worked from. Nothing to say, really. Power is reliable, I have more of it than I really need with how much solar I've got, the generator works fine in the winter, my speakers rock, and I don…

FYI TFA is just a blank dark scrollable page without js here on FF w/noscript.

Interesting. Indeed it is, I just tried with JS disabled. That certainly wasn't the intent, I'll have to figure out what it's doing. However, it shouldn't be setting any cookies...

Web dev is no longer my strong suit... never really was, but I used to know a lot more about it than I do now.

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#27

Post by Syonyk »

thescriptkiddie wrote: post #20

TFA mentions difficulty trenching in rocky soil as an obstacle for running power to the shed. I'd like to point out that running power overhead is also an option.

It is, but that comes with other problems that not having overhead stuff simplifies, like not being able to run the tractor around, and having the office then officially grid tied, which means I need inspections and permits and such.

It's totally fine off grid, and I like it that way, plus it offers me a rather robust backup power system.

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#28

Post by franciscop »

This is an amazing read, and something I might do some day. A thing I've learned recently living in Japan's tiny places, is that good insulation helps you keeping electricity costs down but has the disadvantage of building CO2 faster.

So I would strongly consider getting a CO2 monitor for the shed. Considering size and the strong insulation you added, I doubt you can be more than a couple of hours before getting into "warning" CO2 levels (1000-2000ppm), and a full work day inside there very likely gets you into dangerous levels (2000+ ppm) which is associated with headaches, sleepiness, and stagnant, stale, stuffy air. Poor concentration, loss of attention, increased heart rate and slight nausea may also be present[1]

[1] Health Effect tab https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/chemical/carbondioxide.htm

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#29

Post by jimt1234 »

hindsightbias wrote: post #9

Having built a few sheds, tips for those in the US: 1) Most areas allow 120-150 sqft as max size with no permit. thats usually interior dimensions so if you want it all you have to buy longer lumber and cut down to maximize interior. 2) Counties usually do not allow any interior water or electrical wiring w/o inspection. So exterior solar and battery box and extension cord run in to power stuff. 3) If you buy somethi…

This is good info. Another thing to be mindful of is property easements - they're different everywhere and they can change over time.

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#30

Post by Syonyk »

franciscop wrote: post #28

This is an amazing read, and something I might do some day. A thing I've learned recently living in Japan's tiny places, is that good insulation helps you keeping electricity costs down but has the disadvantage of building CO2 faster. So I would strongly consider getting a CO2 monitor for the shed. Considering size and the strong insulation you added, I doubt you can be more than a couple of hours before getting into…

Yeah, I have a CO2 meter, and you're right. I tend to leave the window a bit open with a fan circulating, and especially if I've got a burner running for heat in the winter. During wildfire season, I just accept that a bit of CO2 is less-bad than the PM2.5 levels (100+ ug/m^3 on a bad day), though I've considered building an algae based CO2 absorber for in here.

The other problem is if one has farted, it takes all day to clear unless you've got a window open.

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