Systems
Systems that stay up when you're not there.
Connection, power and monitoring for lake homes beyond the grid's reach. Designed for this valley's winters and looked after by the same people who visit the house.
Why systems matter up the lake
Up the lake, the house runs on its own: its own power, its own water, its own connection to the world. When one of them fails and nobody's home, you find out weeks later.
We design those systems to keep running, to tell you how they're doing, and to tell us first when they're not. Then we're the ones who can get there.
We run the same kind of system on our own boat: a lithium house bank, solar at rest, and every reading watched from the helm.
Connectivity
Satellite internet changed what's possible up the lake. Getting it to work under tall timber, through a snow load and with nobody home is the part we do.
Concept image. Survey
Find clear sky
Before anything is mounted, we check the site's view of the sky through every season's canopy. On steep, treed lots that often means a mast above the trees, not a dish on the roof.
Install
Starlink, done properly
The right dish for the site and the power you have. Starlink Mini draws a fraction of the standard dish's power, which matters on a battery. Mounted for wind and snow, cabled cleanly and weatherproofed. The service is ordered under your own account.
Network
One you can trust
Wi-Fi across the property, a separate network for cameras and sensors, and remote management. A fault is found from the dock, not discovered on arrival.
What off-grid really means up here.
Off-grid isn't a lifestyle choice on the upper lake. It's the only option. A good system is designed for the worst week of winter, not the best day of summer.
01 · The sun
Short days, a deep valley
Winter sun is low and brief, and the ridges take some of it. We size batteries for the dark weeks and plan a generator for backup.
02 · The cold
Lithium needs warmth
Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries are the right choice for a remote home, but they must not be charged below freezing. Ours have built-in heating and sit in insulated enclosures, with charging that knows the battery's temperature. This is the hardest part of off-grid on this lake, and we design for it first.
03 · The data
Seen from anywhere
Battery charge, solar yield, tank levels, temperatures and generator runs. You can see them, so can we, and alarms reach a person.
The system, end to end
Built around Victron Energy equipment, with remote monitoring through Victron's VRM portal.
What an owner sees from anywhere: batteries, solar, tanks and temperatures, live from the system. Illustrative values.
Concept image. - Solar array
- Sized for December, not July
- MPPT charge control
- Gets the most from weak winter sun and won't charge cold batteries
- Inverter-charger
- Runs the house and takes generator input
- LiFePO4 battery bank
- Heated, insulated enclosure
- GX controller
- Remote view, history and alarms
- Generator
- Starts itself when the batteries run low
IN DEVELOPMENT
The watchtower.
A self-powered monitoring tower for properties with no grid and nobody home. It has its own solar, battery and satellite link, with cameras on the house, the dock and the water.
We're building it now for owners who want to see their place from anywhere, and know someone is watching with them.
Monitoring is only as good as whoever answers it. Ours answers by boat.
Concept render. The watchtower is in development. What we watch
When an alarm fires
When an alarm fires, the captain hears about it first and calls you. Then we decide together what happens next. If it needs someone there, we go by boat as soon as it's safe.
When monitoring goes quiet
If the monitoring itself goes quiet (the link drops, a battery runs low, a camera stops reporting), we treat that as an alarm too. We go and check at the first safe opportunity. That's part of the service, not an extra.
What we are and aren't
We aren't a security company, and we don't dispatch police or fire. We're the people who are likely to know first, and who can actually get there.
Monitoring is its own service
Monitoring is added to a property on top of its retainer. It's designed around what you want to see and quoted for that property: cameras, alerts, sensors, and the tower or equipment that runs them. It's a whole other level of capability, and we build it well.
Every retainer comes with a private sign-in for its owner, holding every visit report and photograph. With monitoring added, the same portal shows live cameras, comings and goings, power, tanks and sensors. You see only your property and only what you've chosen to have watched.
Illustrative. Not live data.
How we work
Licensed, permitted, inspected
Electrical work, including solar and battery systems, is done by our electrical contractor, Micah Andrie of Element Northwest. He is a licensed Washington electrical contractor, and work is permitted and inspected where the state requires it.
Designed to be serviced
We choose equipment we can reach, read remotely and repair by boat. It's labelled, documented and handed over with drawings.
Looked after, not just installed
On a retainer, your systems are checked on every visit and kept up to date. With monitoring added, they're watched between visits too.
Quoted project by project. A retainer isn't required for a system. Each project is quoted on its own, including travel, time on site and any overnight stays.
Questions owners ask
Can I get reliable internet at a boat-access property?
Usually, yes, with satellite internet and a clear view of the sky. Where trees are in the way, we mount the dish on a mast above them. We confirm this on site during the assessment.
Will my batteries survive the winter?
They will if they're kept warm and charged correctly. We design heated enclosures, temperature-aware charging and generator backup, and we can see the batteries from anywhere.
Can I see my tank levels and temperatures from home?
Yes. The system reports battery, solar, tanks and temperatures to a portal you can open on your phone, and so can we.
Who responds when an alarm goes off?
The captain is alerted first and calls you. If it needs someone there, we go by boat as soon as it's safe. We aren't a security company and don't dispatch police or fire, but we're usually the first to know.
What if the monitoring itself stops working?
We treat it like an alarm and go and check at the first safe opportunity. That's part of the service.
Is monitoring included in a retainer?
No. Monitoring is its own service, added to a property and quoted for it.
Do I need a retainer for you to install a system?
No. We install Starlink, off-grid power and monitoring as standalone projects. Each one is quoted on its own, including travel, time on site and any overnight stays. Many owners keep us on afterwards, and we hope to earn that.
Start with a property assessment.
We survey the site's sky, sun, power and access along with the house, so any system is designed from what's actually there.