Solar panels are mounted, and the control system is fixed in place.
They just need to be connected.
The project was brought to life in July 2025 when we contracted Sparkpoint Solar Lda. to supply and install a 6kW system with 32kWh battery storage.
After various delays, some expected and others unavoidable, the project was completed in January 2026.
We are not completely off-grid as of January 2026. The battery storage, while significant, will only be sufficient to power our needs for up to three days, depending on how strict we are with the usage. The system needs some form of backup generation.
The weather, so far this Winter, has been extremely dull. Sometimes going a week without any significant sunshine, and many days of low cloud/fog.
On a fairly bright day, even without direct sunlight, the system should supply 1-2kW of energy, which is enough to keep things going and add some charge to the batteries. We really need a few hours of direct sunshine to get the batteries fully charged for overnight use.
The Victron control system, which manages the battery charging and power distribution, is quite impressive.
Now we wait for the team to return, connect the solar panel arrays to the control centre, and commission the whole system.
I suspect some changes to the system will be required.
