Latest Articles

Using the Victron Virtual Switch to Automatically Control a Generator Introduction One of the biggest challenges with off-grid power isn’t making electricity, it’s knowing when to make it. After recently setting up a Virtual Switch in a Victron MultiPlus, it quickly became clear that this is an excellent way to automatically control a generator while…
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From 12 Volts to 48 and Beyond Introduction For a long time, 12-volt solar systems were the standard. If you had a small cabin, RV, or boat, 12 V made sense. As systems grew, 24-volt setups became more common. Sure, 48-volt systems have existed for a long time, but their use was mostly in specialized,…
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Why Turning It Off and On Still Works Introduction I’ve had a few calls lately from customers saying their inverter isn’t charging the batteries, even though the generator is running fine. Often, the generator just needs a quick check for a tripped breaker, especially with smaller units paired with big inverter/chargers. More often than not,…
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What Solar Owners Actually Need to Know Introduction Recently, a customer wanted to add lithium batteries to their Schneider system. During our discussion, we discovered that this particular model of inverter couldn’t communicate with these newer rack-mount batteries via CAN bus or a closed-loop system. However, the good news is that the system can still…
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The Difference Between “Basic Power” and “Feels Like Home” Introduction When you see an inverter labeled as 1000W, 2000W, 3000W, 6000W, or 8000W, that number is not about how much power you make. It’s about how much power you can use at one time. Think of the inverter like a doorway. A small doorway only…
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Ask These 5 Questions First Introduction One of the most common things I hear from new cabin owners goes something like this: “The realtor said it had a built-in solar system. We thought that meant it would work like a normal house.” That assumption makes sense, but it’s usually wrong. When buyers hear solar system,…
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One LED Light, Three Battery Voltages Introduction As we head into a new year, I want to start with something simple, but powerful. When people think about off-grid solar systems, the conversation often jumps straight to panels, batteries, and inverters. But real understanding starts much smaller. Sometimes it starts with a single LED light bulb.…
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Making Smart Choices in a Transitional System Introduction We get called out to some interesting solar setups from time to time, and this one definitely qualifies as a “tricky solar decision.” The customer has a mix of gear: Their goal is to run a temporary system for a couple of years before upgrading to a…
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(One Controller, Mixed Panels) Introduction We get called out for solar upgrades all the time, it makes up about half of our work. Just recently, we had a customer who wanted to add a second solar array to an older Magnum Energy system running a PT100 charge controller. Their existing array is made up of…
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How to Know If a Pole-Mount Solar System Will Work for You Introduction Over the years, I’ve installed several pole-mount solar systems and just recently have another customer interested in putting one in. They’re one of my favourite ways to set up a solar array, especially for off-grid cabins. But they’re not the right choice…
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