>> Fall and winter is coming and winds picking up a bit. So, my
>> Off-Grid system will be able to carry more loads as the wind
>> production increases. What am I really looking for in terms
>> of identifying new loads to add throught fall/winter/spring?

Hello, To me it's the most predictable loads that I like to use on the green system, thus the refrigerator. The lighting I usually like the outdoor circuit because it's a set usage that I can predict for load balancing. The less predictable I like to leave on the grid unless it's an emergency lighting need or sometghing for emergency power.

As long as all the green energy gets used, it doesn't matter as much where to goes to me. Except that I want certain lights and appliance on my back-up power for emergency use. Other than that as long as the green power all gets used and none wasted, it's a well tuned system. So, the goals are to me.

(1) Most critical Emergency Loads, Refrigerator, Sump Pump, Emergency Lighting

(2) Most Predictable loads to measure, better for tuning the system loads to actual production.

Your system sounds like it's a rap. You may look at some more stuff to be moved over seasonally? Like Oct through Mar, you may cut over the washing machine or some other load that can be moved in/out seasonally.

Like right now, your off-grid summer load sounds really well balanced to me. As winter winds pick up, you will have more wind production. So, start looking for a predictable load to be added to your off-grid circuit through winter. Might put a monitor on the washing machine or look at some more lighting that's predictable.

I like washing machine because it has a plug. Things with a plug are easy to add another box next to existing and winter/summer can simply plug into other circuit. About Oct to Apr or so, you flip a few things over like that to be sure all that winter production will get used.

Television for most people is pretty predictable because you can put an energy monitor on it and see what actual use is. Plus people's television habits across a week are pretty consistant. So, if you monitor the kwH for a week, you can predict that load pretty well.

Below is a chart that is based on US Dept of Energy statistics. This helps give an overview of what an average house's loads look like.



If you have our Grid-Tied system, there's no concern for any of this really. With our Off-Grid the energy all gets used and loads are tuned automatically. Anything unused just trickles out into the grid and runs the meter backward.