Custom PreFab, Off Grid - futuristic housing!

Matt checks out the latest Nexus G-pod build in San Antonio.

Andrew Seelye tells us all about how they keep the environmental footprint low while building and the hurdles he and his team figured out while building these out-of-this-world homes.

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Huge thanks to our Show sponsors Builders FirstSource, Polywall, Huber, Rockwool & Viewrail for helping to make these videos possible! These are all trusted companies that Matt has worked with for years and trusts their products in the homes he builds. We would highly encourage you to check out their websites for more info.

[SeanBlader]

That whole setup is pretty awesome. I just want to make it known that "lithium" is currently a generic term for non-lead acid batteries, of which for those batteries lithium is always the anode or negative pole.

There are however various cathodes with the leading being the NiMnCoO2 or nickel manganese cobalt oxide, which is way too much to say so "ion" in lithium ion as the generic. These are usually used in areas where weight is important, so cars, phones, laptops, power tools, etc.

However there is an alternative that is FAR FAR better than lead-acid for static emplacements where weight savings is not as important as capacity and that's lithium iron nickel manganese aluminum, which is shortened to Lithium Iron Phosphate, LiFePo, or sometimes as just LFP. The outstanding benefits of LiFePo batteries are cycle life, or number of times you can drain them, as well as capacity, or how much wattage you can pull from the battery before it's discharged.

You can expect a cycle life of at least triple compared to lead-acid, and a 20% better capacity. Lead-acid does have 2 advantages over LiFePo, and they are absolute amperage, which is why we use them to start combustion vehicles, and they usually cost about half of a LiFePo battery. Do the math and you can get fewer LiFePo batteries less often than lead-acid for a pricier initial expense, which absolutely pays itself back when you don't have to replace them for at least 10 years. Even with over a century of research on lead-acid batteries you can expect a best case for them to last 5 years max, sometimes a LOT less if they are heavily discharged even just a few times.

Moral of the story is: ALWAYS spring for the Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries in static emplacements. They now come in a ridiculous variety of sizes and will absolutely be less expensive over their lifetime.

[billcunningham]

Love this. One of the reasons why I am a fan of the channel is seeing and learning about cool projects. And yes, I called that couch as a napping spot at first glance...

[rovinruss]

Very cool ideas. Low impact footprint for off grid is awsome

[AsHellBored]

I was helping out a guy who's house burned down the marshal fires (colorado). He had solar only. I was running a big 15A bosch hammer drill for hours and the system kept up with it. Sometimes the water pump would kick on and trip the system, but for 2 panels and 3 batteries, I was impressed.

[frankminisplitking]

Super awesome y’all! I’m excited to see more! And would love this for my ranch!!! Off grid, high quality, easily put anywhere and great quality systems! I’m excited!

[alansnyder]

Thanks for this... I signed up for the mailing list.

I really like the low-impact foundation.

[chuckdoucet]

That is a sweet setup, thanks for always providing top-notch content Matt!

[icecreammango]

I'd like to see a follow up video when the house is ready and furnished.

[dtwizz]

I love it! Murica! Found you on Instagram. This is the future baby.

[NewResults]

Super awesome project!! Kudos to Andrew and his team!

[DrivingWithJake]

Great video as always Matt! Cool ideas on a few of these things!

[eh_bailey]

Really interesting design, it would be nice to see how one comes together.

[ojindustries]

Radius standing seam have been around for decades, the changeling part is doing them with two curves and a straight run in the middle.

[Dirtos]

would have loved a detail on how the solar is attached. That connection must deal with some torque when the wind picks up.

[philipvecchio]

He's definitely right about lithium ion batteries, but lithium iron phosphate generally have more charge cycles, especially if you're going to be cycling them every day. The charge cycles of lithium iron phosphate are about 10 times longer than lead acid, but they are slightly more expensive up front, but not much.

[Screamingtut]

Matt, SLA batteries can only be used for 50% of their total Amp Hours ie. If you got 2000Ah SLA batteries you only have 1000Ah of usable power Plus they can only do about 600-700 charge cycles, Whereas liFePO4 batteries can be used for 90% of their total Amp Hours ie If you got 2000Ah liFePO4 batteries you only have 1900Ah of usable power Plus they can only do about 3000 - 4000 charge cycles.

[russelljohnston]

I've got a 20' container coming next week and in the big picture that solar set up is EXACTLY what I'm going for. Love the show. Thanks!

[mtruncale]

Would love to know how much to setup the solar container thingy!

[dovahkindragonborn]

love seeing what some high-end off-grid projects look like ... if i had money to splurge and land in the middle of nowhere, this would be a consideration

[kadmow]

Another fibreglassing trick for making radiused moulds - quarter slit pressure pipe is so useful and readily accessable.