The year was 2006. Two women—one a fellow singer in a devotional music group and the other a friend—invited me to join them in purchasing a 17-acre property on a ridge in the Santa Cruz mountains overlooking Monterey Bay. I took out a home equity loan on my existing property to cover my share of the down payment and accepted the invitation.
The property was far from turnkey, but we were ready for an adventure. The fact that it was an off-grid solar property was part of the appeal. Fast-forward to 2026: we still own the place, but the solar energy system is gone. Scrapping the system and bringing in utility power was not our first choice. A number of financial, logistical, and natural events over the years pushed us to that decision.
Below I describe our system and what happened to it, summarize what I learned about living off-grid, and explain why the drawbacks eventually outweighed the benefits for us.
An Undersized System Gets Fried
The photovoltaic system powering our house consisted of six 175W Shell solar panels, a charge controller, and a battery bank of 16 lead-acid batteries. Those batteries fed a Xantrex 48V inverter, which supplied 120/240V electricity to the main panel on the house. A 10 kW diesel generator (we actually used biodiesel) sat in a concrete bunker some distance away and was wired to the inverter to start automatically and charge the batteries when needed.
The previous owners had installed the system themselves and had the main house outfitted with gas appliances. The biggest electrical loads were the well pump and a jet pump to pressurize the water system. They had also hooked up a pool pump, but judging by how often the generator cycled on during normal use, the panels couldn’t reliably handle that load, so we abandoned the pool pump.
We quickly grew to dislike the generator. It sounded like a truck and belched thick black smoke whenever it ran—which was often. Biodiesel was difficult to source and expensive. We planned to replace the generator, but we never got the chance. One spring day a rogue bolt of lightning struck the building that housed the inverter, about 20 feet from where we were sitting. The inverter was fried, and the strike traveled along wiring to the generator and disabled its control panel as well. One lightning event took our entire power system down.
When You’re Off-Grid, You Need Friends
Left without functioning power, we were fortunate to have a nearby neighbor willing to help. They allowed us to connect an emergency cable to their panel to run essentials. Over time they agreed to a heavier cable and a larger breaker. We added a meter so we could track usage and pay our fair share, and we connected a subpanel to back-feed the property.
This improvised arrangement was technically unsafe and not to code, but it kept us going for several years while we debated our next steps and tried to find affordable, reliable solutions.
Comparing the Costs of Solar and Grid Power
Utility power felt like a relief: no more battery maintenance, no noisy generator, and fewer ongoing system upgrades. But bringing the utility to our property required burying a cable beneath the road from the nearest pole, a run of roughly 400 feet. There were also costs to install a main panel, run wiring to outbuildings, and bring everything up to code. Estimates for the full installation ranged from about $80,000 to $125,000.
We still considered staying off-grid and asked local solar contractors for quotes. The numbers surprised us. A robust off-grid system with enough panels and battery storage to meet our needs cost at least as much as utility hookup—for some bids, more. One proposal was around $110,000; another, which included a high-end Kohler backup generator, came in near $130,000. Those figures already reflected the federal tax rebate available at the time, so the sticker price was substantial.
We Chose to Tie to the Grid — Partly, But Not Only, Because of Money
The idea of generating our own electricity had a strong emotional pull: self-sufficiency, environmental stewardship, and a sense of independence. We imagined free energy. In reality, off-grid electricity still incurs real costs. Components must be purchased and maintained. Our replacement batteries cost about $3,500 and lasted only five to seven years. When something failed, we relied on local technicians who might not understand the particular DIY system and who charged for service calls regardless of whether they could fix the problem quickly.
Environmental thinking also played a role in our decision. Our individual system provided renewable energy for our home, but the local utility was steadily increasing the renewable share of its generation. Supporting a cleaner grid that serves the whole community felt like a reasonable alternative to a precarious, aging private system.
Permitting and resale considerations were decisive as well. Our original DIY wiring would not have passed modern inspection, and there was no guarantee future systems would meet ever-evolving codes. Tying to the grid and cleaning up the wiring to meet code ensured compliance and made the property more marketable.
With those practical realities in mind, the dream of complete off-grid independence faded.
Still Off-Grid? A Few Takeaways
- Every property is different. For some sites, especially those far from utilities, a professionally designed and installed solar system still makes sense. Don’t DIY complex systems—hire reputable contractors who know local code and have good relationships with permitting authorities.
- Shop for contractors who can offer unbiased recommendations rather than pushing specific products. This helps you take advantage of the full range of equipment choices and avoid paying for unnecessary features.
- Follow electrical codes for wiring and installations. Proper permits and inspections protect you and preserve the property’s value for future sale.
- Monitor energy use carefully. If you rely on a generator during extended cloudy stretches, remember that generators consume fossil fuel, wear out quickly when run for long periods, and undercut the environmental benefits you may be seeking.