Start with what you actually use
Everyone shops for panels first. Wrong order. Size everything to your daily load — the watt-hours you burn in 24 hours — and the rest falls out of that number.
- List every device, its watts, and hours per day. Add it up. The total is usually smaller than people fear.
- Your biggest draws are almost always the fridge, water pump, and anything that makes heat.
- A cheap plug-in meter tells you real numbers instead of guesses.
Size for your worst month
The high desert gives generous sun most of the year, then short cloudy winter days. Build for winter and summer is a bonus.
- Match panel wattage to your load plus the few 'sun hours' you get on a short winter day, not a perfect June one.
- Junipers, ridgelines, and your own roofline cast more shade than you'd think — site panels for clear sky.
- Tilt steeper in winter to catch the low sun.
Where most of the money goes
Storage is the heart of an off-grid system and the part worth spending on.
- LiFePO4 (lithium) handles deep cycling and cold far better than lead-acid and lasts longer.
- Size for one to two days of autonomy so a cloudy stretch doesn't black you out.
- Cold cuts capacity and you shouldn't charge a frozen battery — insulate the bank.
Don't cheap out on the boring parts
The unglamorous components are where bad systems fail.
- Size the inverter to your peak simultaneous load, and use pure sine wave for electronics.
- Fuse every battery connection and use heavier wire than feels necessary — thin wire wastes power as heat.
- Keep runs short between battery, inverter, and panels.
Plan for the bad week
Even a great solar setup meets a stretch of gray winter days. Backup is not optional out here.
- A small inverter generator covers the worst week and tops off the bank.
- Store fuel safely and rotate it.
- Know how to switch over before you need to, in the dark, in the cold.
Out near Concho or St. Johns? We'll bring it to your land.
Water, propane, groceries, gas cans, lumber, a forgotten part from town — Concho Dash runs errands and deliveries straight out to off-grid parcels in the area. No app, no membership. Text what you need.
See what Concho Dash hauls → Text or call · 480-201-7275Want the full power playbook?
The High Desert Survival Guide walks through real load calculations, winter derating, and backup planning step by step.
Get the High Desert Survival Guide →