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Residential Solar · Bastrop & Fayette County, TX

Off-Grid Solar Systems in Bastrop & Fayette County, TX

For properties where running utility lines is expensive or impractical — a fully independent system with no net metering and no utility fallback, sized around your household's real usage through cloudy stretches and overnight, not just today's sunny afternoon.

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Serving Bastrop & Fayette County, TX
Free On-Site Assessment, No Pressure
Sized Around Your Actual Property and Usage — Not a Template
Quick Check

Does Your Situation Sound Like This?

Exactly the case off-grid solves. When extending utility lines to a property would be expensive or impractical, off-grid becomes the practical option rather than a cost-saving gimmick.

Worth comparing directly. An off-grid or hybrid system sized to what's actually needed can come out cheaper than paying to extend utility service to a far corner of a property.

This is exactly what sizing is built around. The battery bank and generator are sized to a worst-case seasonal scenario, not an average sunny day.

Good — most off-grid systems keep one. Solar and battery cover day-to-day use; the generator covers the rare extended low-sun stretch.

These get sized specifically, not averaged in. A well pump's startup surge and AC's continuous draw are accounted for directly in the load calculation.

Fair question — they're genuinely different. Off-grid has zero utility connection; battery backup keeps the grid as a fallback. See Battery Storage & Backup Power for that alternative.

A Different Design Problem

Why Off-Grid Isn't Just Grid-Tied Without a Cord

No Fallback Changes Everything About Sizing

An off-grid system runs completely independent of the utility grid — no net metering, no interconnection, nothing to draw from when production is low. That means the battery bank has to be sized to cover your household's full usage through cloudy stretches and overnight, not just act as backup the way a grid-tied-plus-battery system does. The standard sizing approach: daily energy use (in watt-hours) × days of autonomy you want to plan for, divided by the battery's usable depth of discharge. As a general industry reference point, 2 to 3 days of autonomy is a common planning baseline, stretched to 4 or 5 days in areas with frequent prolonged overcast weather — sized around the worst realistic stretch, not an average day.

Most Off-Grid Systems Still Include a Generator

Even a well-sized battery bank can be exhausted by an unusually long low-sun stretch, which is why most genuine off-grid setups pair solar and battery with a backup generator rather than relying on solar and batteries alone. That's not a sign of a poorly designed system — it's standard practice for true independence.

A Real Option Where Utility Access Is Impractical — Not a Cost-Saver on Its Own

Off-grid tends to cost more upfront than grid-tied for the same household usage, because the battery bank and generator have to cover everything the grid would otherwise provide. It makes the most sense on properties where running new utility lines would be expensive or impractical — remoteness that works in solar's favor, not against it, in that specific case.

Set Expectations Directly

What Off-Grid Doesn't Include

Off-grid means no interconnection agreement and no utility bill credit — nothing is being sold back because nothing is connected. It also means no fallback: if the battery bank is depleted and the generator isn't running, the system is out of power until conditions change. This is worth stating plainly, since it's the tradeoff that makes off-grid meaningfully different from a grid-tied system with battery backup, which is what most homeowners who still have utility access actually want. See Grid-Tied Solar Systems and Battery Storage & Backup Power for that alternative.

Costs & Incentives

What Solar Actually Costs Right Now

Pricing

No flat installed-cost number posted here — off-grid systems vary enormously by household usage, battery bank size, and whether a generator is included. Every quote comes from the free on-site assessment.

Federal Tax Credit

The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit ended for systems installed on or after January 1, 2026 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act, per IRS FS-2025-05) — this applies to off-grid systems the same as grid-tied.

Texas Property Tax Exemption

Still active. Texas Tax Code §11.27 exempts the added value of a solar energy device from your home's appraised value — filed via Form 50-123 with your county appraisal district. This generally applies to an off-grid system's panels the same as a grid-tied one.

Battery Warranty

Residential battery components are typically warrantied around 10 years or a set number of charge cycles, whichever comes first — measured in cycles rather than age alone, so how hard the battery is used affects how it wears.

Top Questions, Ranked

Off-Grid Solar FAQ

1. What's the actual difference between off-grid and a grid-tied system with battery backup?
Off-grid has no utility connection at all — everything runs on solar, battery, and usually a generator. Grid-tied-plus-battery stays connected to the utility and uses the battery mainly for backup during outages, with the grid as a fallback the rest of the time. Off-grid is the right call when utility access itself is the problem; grid-tied-plus-battery is right for the more common case of wanting backup power while keeping the grid connection.
2. How much battery capacity do I actually need to go fully off-grid?
It's calculated from your actual daily energy use in watt-hours, multiplied by how many days of autonomy you want to plan for, divided by the battery's usable depth of discharge — not a flat "hours of backup" number. A general industry starting point is 2 to 3 days of autonomy, extended further in areas with frequent long overcast stretches. We calculate this from your real household loads during the on-site assessment.
3. What happens during an extended stretch of cloudy weather — do I run out of power?
That's exactly what the battery bank and backup generator are sized to handle — the design uses a worst-case seasonal scenario (highest usage, lowest solar production), not an average day, specifically so an unusually long low-sun stretch doesn't leave the system without power.
4. Do I still need a backup generator if I have an off-grid solar system?
Most true off-grid systems include one. Even a well-sized battery bank can be depleted by an unusually long low-sun period, and a generator is the standard fallback for that scenario rather than a sign the solar and battery sizing was done wrong.
5. How much does a true off-grid system cost compared to a grid-tied one?
Off-grid typically costs more for the same household usage, since the battery bank and generator have to cover everything the utility grid would otherwise provide. We don't post a flat number because battery bank size and generator inclusion vary so much by household — your real number comes from the on-site assessment.
6. Is off-grid actually cheaper than extending utility lines to a remote property?
Sometimes, yes — if extending utility service to a remote part of a property would be expensive, an off-grid or hybrid system sized to what's actually needed can be the more practical and cost-effective option. This is worth comparing directly rather than assuming grid extension is automatically cheaper.
7. Can I still run high-draw appliances — AC, a well pump — off-grid?
Yes, but they have to be accounted for specifically in the load calculation, since large or bursty draws (a well pump's startup surge, AC's continuous draw) significantly affect battery bank and generator sizing. This is why sizing starts with a real inventory of what you want to run, not a generic package.
8. What happens if my usage grows later — can the system be expanded?
Often yes, if the initial design leaves room for it — additional panels, battery capacity, or generator capacity can sometimes be added later, though it's more efficient to plan for known future usage (an EV, a workshop) upfront than to expand afterward.
9. How long do off-grid batteries last, and what does maintenance look like?
Battery lifespan is measured in charge cycles rather than just years — residential batteries are typically warrantied around 10 years or a set number of cycles, whichever comes first. Off-grid batteries tend to cycle more heavily than a battery used only for occasional backup, since they're doing the daily work the grid would otherwise handle, which affects how they wear over time.
10. Do I lose any tax incentives by going off-grid instead of grid-tied?
Not meaningfully — the Texas property tax exemption applies to the solar energy device itself, not to whether it's interconnected, and the federal residential credit's 2026 termination applies to grid-tied and off-grid systems equally. There's no separate off-grid penalty in either program.
Where We Install

Serving Remote & Rural Properties Across Bastrop & Fayette County

For properties where extending utility service is impractical. See Grid-Tied Solar Systems if your property already has utility access, or the full Residential Solar Panel Installation overview.

Considering Full Independence From the Grid?

Get a free, no-pressure on-site assessment for your property in Bastrop or Fayette County.

Call (512) 866-4970