Solar energy
Off-Grid Solar Systems
Where there is no grid, the house is the utility. Storm Resilience Electric designs and installs off-grid solar for Savary Island, cabins, and remote lots around Powell River, and upgrades the systems that were built up one piece at a time.
An off-grid system has to get through December, not just July. The array is sized for the darkest months and the days of cloud in a row, the battery bank is sized to carry the nights and the stretches with no sun, and a generator is there for the weeks when neither is enough. How the place is used decides all three: a summer cabin with lights and a fridge is a small system, a year-round home with a well pump and a washer is a large one.
The point of designing it as one system is that the parts match. A charge controller that can take the array, an inverter that can start the pump, a battery chemistry that suits the temperature and the cycle count, and wiring and protection that meet the same code as a house in town.
Designing for a coastal winter
Many island systems have grown over years: a few panels added, a bigger inverter, a second bank of batteries wired in beside the first. They often work, and they are often not safe. A visit looks at what is there, what is worth keeping, and what should be replaced. Moving an older lead-acid bank to lithium, replacing a tired inverter, and adding proper disconnects and overcurrent protection are the most common upgrades.
Generators are integrated rather than left as a separate thing: set up to recharge the bank when it runs low, so they run for a few hours instead of all night.
Upgrading an existing system
Clear from the first call
How a job goes
Call or write
Say what you need, where the property is, and anything you already know about the panel or access. Photos help.
Site visit and quote
Mitch looks at the panel, the roof or the space, and what the house actually runs. The quote says what the work includes before it starts.
Permit and install
Permits are pulled where the work needs one. The install is scheduled around ferries and the jobs already booked.
Inspection and handover
The work is inspected where required, then walked through with you: what was done, where the shutoffs are, how to read the app if there is one.
How big a system does an off-grid cabin need?
It depends entirely on what you run and when. A list of the appliances and how the place is used, plus the site, gives a design. Nothing is quoted from a rule of thumb.
Can you work on Savary Island?
Yes. Savary is part of the regular service area, reached by water taxi from Lund. Visits are planned ahead so the day covers the work.
Does off-grid work still need an electrical permit?
Yes. Off-grid installations in BC are governed by the same electrical code and permit requirements as a grid-connected house, and they are handled as part of the job.