We have a barn in Iowa that we are thinking of powering by solar or wind as a backup or even better during normal use. It is currently on the grid. The load would basically be a well with small pressure tank, a few lights and a space heater during winter.

The main problem is our utility coop which does not net meter. I think this means we are either switched to the grid or off it. Any other automatic switching system requires million dollar liability policy, inspections, yadda yadda. So does this mean we would need a battery bank setup? I think I could figure out the size of the bank based on how long we wanted to run if the sun was not shining. We could also add a bigger pressure tank for the well.

Thanks!

How much of the total electrical use is at night vs during the day? A resistance space heater on a battery bank is nearly unworkable unless you are thinking about a little spark and a fan on a propane or oil burner or something like that.

The heater (a Walmart oil radiator type space heater) draws a minimum of 600W and would need to be on maybe 8 hours out of 24 during winter only (Dec - Mar). I probably does make sense to come up with some other kind of heater. Thanks.