Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office
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Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office
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Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office
#2This 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!
Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office
#3There'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't have a commute. I cannot recommend such a thing highly enough.
//EDIT: Oh, I suppose I also have Starlink out here, but Dishy is so power hungry it lives on the house and I run connections out it over the property area network if my primary rural WISP connection (on the office) is acting up.
Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office
#4This 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!
There's a bit of a follow up here: https://www.sevarg.net/2020/05/23/on-working-from-home-and-j...
But... really, there's nothing much to say. It just does what I ask of it, which is to be an amazing workspace.
Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office
#5Great build and very similar to my off grid office. Tuff sheds are unbeatable for the price.
I went with a 16' x 12' (max size without needing a permit). Spray foamed the interior. Have not needed AC, but planning on putting in a 9k BTU mini split for heating/cooling.
I have a 3.3kWh 12v battery for accessories (lighting, water pump, fridge, cameras, 5G/wifi) and a 5.6kWh 48v for the rest.
I bought 5kw of used panels but have not mounted them (right now only 1.25kw hooked up laying on the ground)
Future plans are to try solar hot water storage - either insulated vacuum tubes, or dumping excess solar -> heating element.
Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office
#6Neat project! I just finished a daylight basement remodel, the corner of which is my new office, and I learned a lot of the same lessons. GRK screws are super nice. Rock wool is way nicer to work with than fiberglass. Expanding spray foam can go into lots of nooks and crannies to make a space feel less drafty. Chalk lines marking the studs are a great idea.
One lesson that I'll add is that a dry wall lift (https://www.amazon.com/Drywall-Lifter-Rolling-Caster-Constru...) changed my project from "nigh-impossible" to "totally doable". I hung almost a 1000 sqft of drywall on the ceiling solo with that thing. Even if I never use it again, it was worth the money.
Now to go read all of OP's solar design posts to prep for my next project.
Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office
#7Great build and very similar to my off grid office. Tuff sheds are unbeatable for the price. I went with a 16' x 12' (max size without needing a permit). Spray foamed the interior. Have not needed AC, but planning on putting in a 9k BTU mini split for heating/cooling. I have a 3.3kWh 12v battery for accessories (lighting, water pump, fridge, cameras, 5G/wifi) and a 5.6kWh 48v for the rest. I bought 5kw of used panels…
I thought about some hot water storage, but I just don't have the space for the tanks, and it seems more trouble than it's worth. I have heaters, but mostly bundle up in the winter and focus on keeping myself warm. An incandescent bulb over the keyboard is great for heating hands too!
Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office
#8Neat project! I just finished a daylight basement remodel, the corner of which is my new office, and I learned a lot of the same lessons. GRK screws are super nice. Rock wool is way nicer to work with than fiberglass. Expanding spray foam can go into lots of nooks and crannies to make a space feel less drafty. Chalk lines marking the studs are a great idea. One lesson that I'll add is that a dry wall lift ( https://w…
Why not just rent the drywall lift? If your work stretches across a week it's not cheaper, but the goal would be to rent the lift, hang all the drywall, return it to the lumber-yard/home improvement store/hardware store by the end of the day.
Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office
#9Having 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 something pre-built, make sure they built on 16” on center or some other standard otherwise you will be hand cutting every piece of insulation. 4) Metal roofing is pretty cheap at Home Depot, but right now you have to order a minimum number of sheets (I wanted 14’ sheets, but at qty of 10, twice what I needed, so bought shorter lengths) 5) Many items I had to special order two years are stocked at HW stores. For example, Techshield OSB which has a foil face is cheap and dramatically decreases interior heat transfer in walls and attic 6) Watch YT videos on deck building and framing. There are many good examples. A flat deck is half the battle. Much of this can be done alone with practice but you really should have help for rafters, roofing and ceiling plywood. It’s easy to get injured trying to handle 1/2-3/4” plywood 12 feet up.
Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office
#10Neat project! I just finished a daylight basement remodel, the corner of which is my new office, and I learned a lot of the same lessons. GRK screws are super nice. Rock wool is way nicer to work with than fiberglass. Expanding spray foam can go into lots of nooks and crannies to make a space feel less drafty. Chalk lines marking the studs are a great idea. One lesson that I'll add is that a dry wall lift ( https://w…
Why not just rent the drywall lift? If your work stretches across a week it's not cheaper, but the goal would be to rent the lift, hang all the drywall, return it to the lumber-yard/home improvement store/hardware store by the end of the day.
1000 sq ft of drywall is probably several evenings of work for a DIY'er, and not something you want to force into one long day.
I will sometimes buy tools like this (new or for craigslist) and resell on craiglist, and then I think of it as "renting from craigslist" but without a deadline to return it.