As an avid sailor, I recently purchased a beautiful sailing boat named Luna. However, before I will set sail on any adventures. I have some upgrades to complete. One of the bigger tasks is to upgrade the electrical system to meet my needs. I need more batteries, more solar panels, all to be able to power all the extra equipment I plan to add. I basically have to re-design the entire electrical system. But in order to do this correctly, I need to be able to simulate the entire electrical system before building it. Testing the electrical consumption and production based on how I planned to used it will help me avoiding costly mistakes. The easy way would be to do what most other people seams to do. Just use Excel and accept the inconveniences that comes with it. But I’m not a big fan of Excel. So I decided to take a different route. Instead I developed the Off-Grid Calculator that does the same thing, but better.
Off-Grid Calculator
The Off-Grid Calculator is an all-in-one solution created to: simplify the calculation of the energy consumptions, Estimate the solar panel output’s in different conditions, And to determine how long the battery would last in different situations. With the Off-Grid Calculator, I’m now able to get detailed insights of the power usage. This helps me make accurate decisions about how to manage my energy consumption.
Here is a list of some of the features available in the software today:
- Add charging equipment like Solar panels, Generators, Alternators, Battery chargers and wind turbines.
- Add consumable devices and configure the consumption and stand-by consumption.
- Configure battery banks and see if your configurations is sufficient.
- Calculation of consumption includes losses from things like cables and inverter efficency.
- Create simulations to verify if system is stable.
- Errors and warnings for miss configurations like: not enough solar panels or batteries, wrong cable dimensions or incompatibility issues.
In development
As a developer, I wanted to create an app that was not only functional. It needed to be visually appealing and user-friendly. I needed to make sure that that anyone could use it with ease. Even without any prior knowledge of electrical systems. The development started a few months ago, and has been both fun and educational. I’ve already spent countless hours researching, designing, and testing the app to ensure that it met my high standards.
Check the Off-Grid Calculator product page for more information
However, I want to be transparent about the fact that the app is still under development. While the current version is fully functional.. There is still work to be done. There are a few features that missing. And on the todo-list is: integration with system components, reporting, and even more accurate energy consumption calculations. I am committed to making Off-Grid Calculator the best possible solution for all off-grid enthusiasts.
As soon as the app is ready, it will be release it here on my website. In the meantime, I welcome feedback and would love to hear suggestions and how it can be improved.
My goal with this project is to help others like me who want to live off-grid and need an easy way to monitor and manage their power usage. I hope that the Off-Grid Calculator app will make it easier for everyone to enjoy the freedom and adventure that comes with living off the grid.
Once it’s released you will be able to download it on the Crea Area pages.
Interested in becoming a beta tester? Drop a comment below or use the contact form
