offgrid_ollie

I do this manually — run the heat pump hard from 10am to 2pm when solar production peaks, drop to minimum at 4pm. No automation, just habit. Saves 3–4 kWh per day in winter and meaningfully shifts my grid pull time. A Span panel would automate it but $3,000 is a lot for what I can do by hand.

PNW off-grid 12 months in. Steeper tilt for snow shed is exactly what I did — 50° tilt on my array even though my annual-optimal would be 38°. I lose maybe 6% annual production but gained meaningful January and February generation. Worth it for anyone with serious snow load.

PNW sizing note: Seattle's 3.5 PSH annual average is a seasonal lie. June–September I hit 5+ PSH. November–February I'm at 1.8–2.2 PSH. If you're sizing for energy independence and you live north of 45°, size for the winter minimum and let the summer be surplus. Annual averages produce a system that fails in December.

PNW off-grid, similar experience. Solar-to-car ratio is about 87% annual average but drops to 68% November through January. The compounding savings point is real — my electricity cost for the house is fixed infrastructure cost, not variable fuel price. Three years in and I've felt zero of the gas price volatility I'd have paid on a commute in an ICE vehicle.