Bunker

If you go the way of installing your batteries and system components in a bunker close to your house then you will be looking at some major extra construction. You can either outsource all or part of this job to a contractor but that will cost you a pretty penny. The alternatives are to either let a contractor do part of the job or to do all of it yourself. Another way of dealing with the problem is to put all the batteries in a box in your basement or some closet.

The bunker originally wasn't part of the plan, it is also the biggest part of the total amount of work done. Go figure... so much for planning I guess :)

And it is not as if it is a particulary large bunker either. It's only 10x10x7 ft (3x3x2 m), just large enough to house the batteries (with room for an extra bank in case we want to expand in the future), and the switchboard with all the gear on it.

My motivation for building a bunker is simple, I plan to experiment a lot with all this stuff and in case I mess up in a big way I'd prefer to still have a house. That does not mean that it is not safe to put your batteries in the basement in a well ventilated battery box, it just means that I'm paranoid. Also I wanted to have plenty of expansion room in case I decide to install a secondary battery bank, another inverter and so on. This system was designed with growth in mind, and the bunker did not cost a lot of money to build, even if it did occupy quite a bit of time to construct it.

Check the Step-By-Step section on detailed instructions on how to build a bunker like the one that we've got, and how to avoid some of the pitfalls that you can fall in to (and that we fell into) when you're building one.

If you are construction challenged but you still want to have a bunker I guess finding a contractor is your only option.

The biggest drawback of an alternative energy solution that is completely off the grid is that the batteries give off vapours when they are being charged, and that given bad ventilation and a spark or two the whole thing can literally explode. This is not something you want to happen, so if you decide to place your batteries in your house you have to make real sure that your batteries are well vented to the outside world and that the enclosure they are in is airtight.