Does anyone have a tool/workshop that runs entirely on solar energy?

[Dover]

I may be wrong, but my assumption has been that power to run all those tools creates too much of a load to make solar plausible and an affordable solution. Maybe the main residence/house actually draws more. Just don't know, and will have to ask a solar installer.
I just thought that if anyone has done a solar workshop they might be able to share some first hand experience.

Right now we're still connected to the grid but want to eventually get off it entirely. Of course it would be much less expensive to
just hook the workshop up to the grid, but we're trying to determine if it makes sense to
install solar in the workshop now (if solar would even power it) instead of attach it to the grid initially and then switch.

[Kolesar]

1. I met an entrepreneur with an off-grid house and shop

He started fabricating gardening tools with a router. He used a gasoline fired generator to run the router. He lived with a tiny solar array that was 250 to 500 watts. He didn't watch much TV. His phone was cell phone that he kept on a charger. His refrigerator was a chest freezer that he replumbed to operate at 40 degrees; it used scant electricity. There was no furnace fan because he used a wood stove in his A-frame house.

Perhaps a battery backed PV system could give you the high current necessary for when you switch on the motors. Having the shop tied into grid power would be a sure thing.

I like the idea of PVs for the shop because the solar electricity would be available during the day when you are working in the shop. The grid tie would be nice because you could feed power back into the system when you were not working. You could get a net metering reimbursement and that power could be used to offset CO2 emissions, generally.

[Dover]

3. Yes, that makes sense to just use direct solar for daytime work with grid backup for other times.

I'm guessing solar would have to go way down in price and improve efficiency/battery storage, etc. to make it
sensible for a workshop.

[cbayer]

2. The problem you will run into is the draw of large power tools.

We are completely off the grid and can run most things from our solar powered battery packs. But some things, like the microwave, really put a load on the system. And other things, like an iron, space heater, water heater or most power tools, would drain the batteries in a heartbeat.

The key is to get tools with heavy duty, rechargeable batteries and keep them charged up when using the inverter.

[Dover]

4. Yes, that makes good sense to use battery charged hand tools. Of course there are other things like

tables saws, compressors, etc. that would be reliant on the grid/solar panel set up. I know I can also use
gas/diesel powered generators but would really like to get off the grid and fossil fuels in the most efficient
and cost effective way possible.

[cbayer]

5. Sounds like you are going to have to start your generator when you need

to use those specific tools.

We start and stop the generator intermittently, and sometimes for just a very brief period, when we have a very specific demand (hot water, for example). Our use of diesel is extremely low, even in the winter when the solar generation drops precipitously.