Solar is expensive and can get very complicated........ So if you decide on a solar system, my best advice would be stay as simple as possible, and even then.................
I have a 16kw system by Outback here at home, we put in several years ago. It is a extremely complicated system. It was not cheap either. It can be totally off grid. Yes, if everything is up and running, you can have the power needed for most of your survival needs. You still have to manage power properly. The big heat and air con units you can forget, especially the heat. Those big 5 ton units suck up power like you can't believe. We do have a few of the Mitsubishi units that are not so power hungry, normally 1.5kw and you can have some comfort with those, with the solar power, without kicking the system.
You have to get very serious about managing your power, and shutting systems down when the sun goes down. As the sun goes down, we start shutting everything off, except all fridges and freezers and a few lights which are all LED. We can run all fridges and freezers all night until the sun comes up the next day without issue, our batteries go down to around 75-80% overnight. We have 24 large Outback batteries, would have to look at the exact specs if asked, as I don't remember exactly........ Once the sun starts hitting the panels, all power goes to charging batteries back up to 100%. Through the night the freezers and fridges here run from 1-1.5kw. You can start using the system if you have sunshine as the day moves forward. What you cannot use is ovens, heat pumps, dryers and such as that....... Just draw way too much electricity........ What you can run is your water! Having a well 350 ft deep, water is very important, most well pumps pull around 2kw when running. When we did the solar, we also did the hybrid hot water heaters, and we can run those without issue and have hot water, very important for moral, at least for me!
Now you can get by and survive on far less than a 16kw system, but solar is not very efficient, I do not have 16kw to work with. In the winter, because of the position of the sun and the location of my panels, I hit about 8-9kw at best on good days........... summer I hit 12-13kw at best....... I think you could get by reasonably with a 8kw systems and a good size battery bank. Remember, every bit of power flows through the batteries, and out the batteries........... So the batteries are extremely important and vital to your off grid use.
The 16kw system I run here, was put in about 6-7 years ago, and at that time cost a tad over $110'000.00. It is tied to the grid, and if I managed it daily then you could expect it to pay for itself in 20++++ years........ So get that out of your mind............ this system is for "When" the shit hits the fan..............
One of the biggest issues is maintaining the system, it requires update and experienced people. The company that put the system in was really good at the time, but only because of the people doing the work. They were competent. Those people are no longer with that company, and I would not let them change a damn light bulb now! Fortunately, the fellow that actually installed this system went out on his own, and I have him to help keep the system up and running........ but it takes constant tech support from Outback to keep that going........Today, guess what? Competent tech from even Outback is hard to come by as well.............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In addition to the Outback systems here at home, I have a 4kw system at our Farm. There is no power there, with the exception of this system, and a 10kw gas generator. The Solar there is a company from Germany. And it is CRAP and has been CRAP from the first day forward and is currently down for over a year now. It was not a very complicated system, and when it worked it was great. I could run the water pumps, also well water, LED lights and ceiling fans, and the cabin is also heat/cooled by the Mitsubishi units, around 1.5kw each when running....... But we have had issues with the inverter from day one. We are going to undertake that problem in the very near future, and if it can't be solved we plan on changing the system to an Outback at that point......
When Solar works, then it is fantastic........ It is just great to walk around and see everything working, knowing it is coming from Solar............... But it is expensive, and it is complicated, and in my case way over complicated.
Advice
#1 Find and Vet the most competent people you can. Get insured support for whatever time frame you can, you are going to need that support.
#2 The best Solar systems are without doubt from Outback in my opinion. Solar energy is very serious in Australia, where Outback originates, I know, I have been there and seen incredible systems they actually use in the "Outback" and depend on these systems every single day, as it is the only power source available to them.........
#3 Get the most simple system possible. The more complicated it is, the more problems it has down the road. The system I have is run by computers, and beyond my area of expertise, which is damn near nothing. It was reasonably reliable for several years after the bugs had been worked out of it, when installed it was the biggest and greatest and newest Outback had to offer, and required a lot of bug removals....... Once it was up, it did extremely good. Later when it did need some attention, the company responsible no longer had competent people, and they literally screwed the system up. Now, that I have my guy back on the job, it is taking some time to get it back to where it was. Currently it is only running 1/2 of capability, because of incompetent people. In addition, now even Outback people are not on top of it either, my guy has ONE individual at Outback that has a clue as to what is going on and they are in consultation over it. Keep it simple, and keep your objectives simple as possible...............
#4 Backup Generator System for heavy loads when required. In 2000 I had a 40kw propane system put in. Along with 500 gallon tank, only its not gallons and only fill it to 80%.... This thing will run everything on the compound at once...... When used, it is not used 24/7 to run the world. It is used sparingly as a backup to some systems, and to supplement....... normally one or two hours at a time. Backup home gen sets are very reasonable these days, to get by, you don't need 40kw, you could do very well on 10-15kw and run most systems. Here on the compound there is quite a bit of area and we are power pigs. Single family dwelling one could get by with a small system Solar 4kw or so, and 10Kw gas/propane generator. I would go propane since you have no concerns of gas or diesel going bad...........
Thats about all I can tell you which is not much really.........
