Up North and Off Grid

I've held off on writing this entry since I was afraid it might get too technical, and become either too long or just boring and useless with lack of detail. Hopefully I found some middle ground now, and I can show you how I manage and control all the energy related systems. In addition, this entry allows me to write about some of the smaller items such as a battery charger and sensors that complete the whole set-up. Please note that what I built is not something that is necessary for everyone - it's just what I did.  Perhaps the first questions to answer: what do I mean with energy management and control systems, and why do I need it? In its simplest form, energy management means monitoring the state of charge on the battery, the incoming energy from the solar panels, and perhaps some sensors for the temperature in the buffer tank. Expanding on that, we can include automation aspects: turn on the heat pump when the battery is full to use the excess solar energy, schedule heavy