How to Wire an Off Grid Power System

Store your DC generator as close as possible to the home or building you are powering. Protect it from the elements but make sure that it is out of living areas used by people and animals, as the deep cycle batteries of the generator's battery bank will give off fumes as it powers your home. An attached garage or shed is ideal for this purpose.

Wire your DC generator to indoor outlets. Regardless of whether you use solar panels, a water wheel, wind turbine, or hand and foot cranks your generator will produce and store DC power. DC current requires heavy gauge wiring, so you will need to run special wiring through the walls to indoor outlets; standard AC wiring will not support DC current correctly.

Use regular lamps and fixtures for lighting with the DC power outlets. Replace the bulbs in any lamp or fixture with incandescent, compact fluorescent or halogen bulbs; you'll need special 12DC bulbs. For fluorescent lights, change the actual light fixture; both AC and DC fluorescent bulbs can run on DC power, but you'll need a DC fixture or to modify the existing AC fixture. An AC fluorescent fixture can be made to run on DC power by changing the internal ballasts from AC to 12-volt DC.

Plug an AC inverter into one of your DC wired outlets to power standard AC equipment. AC inverters with varying abilities come in many shapes and sizes. Choose an inverter for indoor home use that has built-in standard AC outlets. This "room by room" method of using AC inverter power is the most efficient way of utilizing an "off grid" power system. If you are far from a commercial electrical utility, don't wire an AC inverter to the house's main exterior power input. DC wiring and lighting is the most efficient way to use a DC generator away from municipal power systems.

Charge your generator's battery bank and you are ready to use your "off grid" power system.