propane will be used for standby heat, cooking, backup/standby hot water production and possibly for refridgeration.

the home will be ~1000 sq/ft.

battery bank to be ~1200 amp hour capacity, deep cycle Rolls batteries, possibly more,
configured as a 12volt system.

all lighting to be provided by compact floresent (sp), approx with all on ~150 watts, but seldom will all be on.

refridgeration will likely be a converted chest freezer, to run at ~38F, will be likely 120volt version although i may very well go to the 12vdc version if, not propane.

other common appliances, ie, smallest microwave i can find, small tv, stereo, mixers, etc.

120vac washer and dryer, which will be propane fired

dishwasher, garbage disposal and computer to round out the mix of loads

projected to be less than 4kwatt/hr/day

generation from following sources

1. thermoking refer unit, to povide mass refridgeration for ice house, pto shaft output to provide for

    a. drive for induction generator, 1200 rpm, 208/120 at 40/80 amps peak

    b. drive for 2 prestolite 140amp/12 alternators, for max output of 280amps

    c. cogeneration, by reclaiming heat from the thermoking unit, diesel engine water
       jacket, and by heat exchanger on exhaust outlet for space heating and for  
       domestic hot water production.

2. Single cylinder diesel generator, driving 1-2 additional prestolite 140amp alt's

    a. to provide top off charging and equalization charging of the battery banks,      
       will be run when ice production isn't needed or high heat loads aren't needed

3. wind generation capacity of around 1 kwatt, in a catagory 3 to 4 area

    a. probably to be used as additional capacity, and

    b. topping off and equalization charging of batteries, or

    c. when need for heat or hot water is low, and wind power is high

4. Solar panel, to be added later in an amount that will fill any gaps in production,
   or when solar makes better sense.

Currently my plan is to schedule loads as much as is feasible, ie.

   1. run washer and dryer only when the induction generator is in operation, or when wind conditions or backup generator makes more economical sense.

   2. use a load diverter relay panel with timer, to drop out the refridgerator when,

      a. the microwave in use,or

      b. the dishwasher is in use, or

      c. garbage disposal is in use, or

      d. any other kitchen appliance is needed

note this is the kitchen circuit, and will be powered by a single 1500 watt mod/sine, 12vdc input inverter.

   3. all house lighting to be powered by a single inverter, that is rated very close to the anticipated load, soas to be as efficient as possible.

   4. all entertainment, ie. tv, stereo, computer to share seperate inverter matched
      to anticipated load.

   5. exhaust fan for the bathroom, and the kitchen to be provided by seperate  
      inverter also matched to load.

it is both planned and anticipated that the thermoking cogenerator will be run approx 2 hours per day, one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. during the fall,winter and spring months, when the wasted heat is of greatest use.

the backup generator will be run as needed to top off and equalize the batteries during the same months and as needed in the summer months.

hopefully this gives a better overview of the project and its needs.

more questions or idea's are solicited

 Sometimes there are other reasons to run extra invertors that aren't obvious too. Like I plan to wire the daughters room on one inverter seperate from the rest of the house, then when she leaves on the lights and stereo I can flip a switch and shut off the whole room! Or I might give her her own battery bank and when it goes dead too bad, she'll learn to turn things off when not being used. She is getting better.

But otherwise I thought a 5k inverter was better than several smaller ones. I too am in the planning and building stage on many things here. Including my mobile tool room/truck which will have it's own setup for power and supply the house too at times.
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nothing to lose