Sunprint
Electricity: no Florida law makes you buy it
Florida has no statute that requires a home to take electric service from a utility. The state's building code even plans for homes without it: the Florida Residential Code normally wants smoke alarms wired to the house with battery backup, but lets them run on batteries alone "in buildings without commercial power."
So running a home on solar and batteries alone is legal. It just isn't free of rules:
- It still needs permits. The Florida Building Code requires a permit before anyone installs an electrical system it regulates, and off-grid panels, batteries and a generator hookup are all electrical work. Our battery backup guide covers the permit and inspection.
- You give up net metering. Florida's net metering rule, Public Service Commission Rule 25-6.065, covers customer solar that is connected to a utility's lines. Off the grid, power you can't use or store right away is simply lost. See how net metering works in Florida.
- Your city's property code may say more. Some Florida cities, Cape Coral among them, enforce the International Property Maintenance Code. Its current edition says every occupied building must have an electrical system and every home "shall be served by" a 120/240-volt electrical service of at least 60 amps. How a code officer applies that to a solar and battery home is a local call; in the Cape Coral case below, the magistrate found no electrical violation.
Sewer: the one rule with a state deadline
Florida Statute 381.00655 is the closest thing to a state hookup mandate. The owner of a working septic system must connect to a publicly owned or investor-owned sewer system within 365 days after the sewer's owner gives written notice that it's available, and the sewer owner has to warn you at least a year before the line becomes available. If your septic system needs repair to work in a sanitary way, the deadline is 90 days after written notice from the state, with at most one 90-day hardship extension.
"Available" has a specific meaning in the law. For a single-family home, it means a sewer line that can be connected to your plumbing, has the capacity to take your wastewater, isn't under a state moratorium, and runs in a public easement or right-of-way that abuts your property line.
Where no public sewer is available, a septic system is the normal answer, and a common one: about 30% of Floridians use septic, with an estimated 2.6 million systems in the state. The program moved from the Department of Health to the Department of Environmental Protection on July 1, 2021. County health departments still issue most septic permits and do the inspections; DEP says it now handles permitting in the Panhandle counties and Marion County.
Water: wells are allowed, city lines are local
Florida lets you use your own well, with a permit. Well permits come from your water management district, or the local government or county health department it delegates them to, and state law bars other local governments from running their own separate well-permit programs. The well has to be built by a water well contractor licensed through a water management district.
The Florida plumbing code lists drilled, driven, dug and bored wells, springs, streams and cisterns as private water sources, requires the water to be approved as safe to drink before it's connected to your plumbing, and says surface water and "land cisterns" can serve only if the water is properly treated. Note the code's framing, though: its private-water rule applies "where a potable public water supply is not available." If a city water line reaches your lot, check whether your local government requires you to use it. That's the point the Cape Coral homeowner lost.
What every Florida home still needs
Off grid or not, a house has to meet the Florida Building Code. These are the Residential Code sections that matter most when there's no utility behind them:
| Section | What it requires | What it means off the grid |
|---|---|---|
| R306.1, R306.2 | A toilet, a lavatory and a bathtub or shower, plus a kitchen with a sink. | Running water to all of them, so a pump your solar and batteries have to power if you're on a well. |
| R306.3 | Plumbing drains to a sanitary sewer or an approved septic system under the state's septic standards. | A permitted septic system where no public sewer is available. |
| R306.4 | An approved water supply, with hot and cold water to kitchen sinks, lavatories, tubs, showers, laundry tubs and washer outlets. | Hot water becomes a load for your solar, or a gas appliance. |
| R303.10 | Heat that can hold 68°F in habitable rooms where the winter design temperature is below 60°F. Portable space heaters don't count. | Permanent heating, even in Florida, if your area's design temperature is under 60°F. Your building department has the number. |
| R314.6 | Smoke alarms powered by the house wiring with battery backup, or by batteries alone in buildings without commercial power. | Battery-only smoke alarms are allowed. |
The Cape Coral case
Florida's best-known off-grid dispute played out in Cape Coral in 2014, and it's why "Florida made off-grid living illegal" headlines still circulate. What the ruling actually said is narrower.
Homeowner Robin Speronis ran her Cape Coral house on solar panels and batteries, with rainwater for water and a propane camping stove for cooking, according to her lawyers at the Rutherford Institute.
After a local TV interview about her lifestyle in November 2013, a city code officer issued a notice calling the house "unsafe/unfit for human habitation" because she lived there without utilities. The city cited the International Property Maintenance Code and city ordinances.
Special Magistrate Harold S. Eskin found her not guilty of violating the codes requiring electrical and sewer systems, but ruled that the codes required her to connect to the city water system. He said parts of the code "might be obsolete."
The city capped her sewer connection until she connected to water, and her lawyers filed a notice of appeal in March 2014.
It was a city code-enforcement ruling, not a state law or an appeals court decision, so it doesn't bind other cities. What it shows is where the friction was: the water hookup, not the solar power.
Where in Florida you can live off grid
There is no state list of counties that allow off-grid living, because the state leaves most of the decision to local governments and to the facts of each lot.
- Is a public sewer line available at the property line? If so, the 365-day rule applies.
- Does the city or county require a hookup to public water? Ask the local water utility or code enforcement office.
- What will the building department permit? Solar, batteries, a generator, a well and a septic system each need permits.
- What do the HOA covenants say? Florida's solar rights law, Statute 163.04, stops associations from banning solar panels. It protects the panels, not a decision to cut the utility line.
That makes a suburban lot with sewer and water mains at the street the hardest place to go fully off grid. Cutting just the power line is the part the state leaves to you. Our guide to HOA solar rules in Florida covers what 163.04 protects.
How much solar and battery it takes
An off-grid system has to cover your hardest month on its own, and in Florida that's in summer, not winter. Air conditioning pushes use up faster than the sun's output rises.
Solar needed to cover each month, average Florida home
kW of south-facing panels at a 20° tilt in Orlando, using Florida's 2024 average use for each month
Sources: EIA Form 861M, Florida residential electricity sales per customer, 2024 (EIA reports by billing month); PVWatts v8 from the National Laboratory of the Rockies, formerly NREL, Orlando, 1 kW, 14 percent system losses.
The average Florida home used about 13,250 kWh in 2024, according to EIA. In Orlando's sun, each kW of panels makes about 1,514 kWh a year, so about 8.75 kW matches the year's total. That's how a grid-tied system is sized, because net metering at Florida's big utilities carries extra credits forward from month to month. Off the grid there's nowhere to bank them. July, at 1,464 kWh used and 130 kWh made per kW, needs about 11.3 kW, 29% more panels, and much of what they make in spring goes unused.
Then come nights and cloudy days. An average Florida July day uses about 47 kWh. Storing one full July day would take three and a half batteries of 13.5 kWh, the size our battery guide uses for a single home battery. Sunshine also comes in streaks: in PVWatts' typical-year weather for Orlando, the dimmest day made 7% of an average day's output, and the dimmest three days in a row averaged about 40%. Those stretches have to be covered by more batteries, a generator or using less.
The middle path: solar and a battery, still on the grid
If what you want is a much smaller power bill and lights that stay on after a storm, a grid-tied system with a battery gets you both without the sizing problem above.
| Off the grid | Grid-tied with a battery | Grid-tied, no battery | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power in a grid outage | Yes, from your batteries | Yes, from the battery | No. Panels shut off when the grid goes down, to protect line workers |
| Credit for extra power | None | Yes, net metering | Yes, net metering |
| Panels for an average Florida home (Orlando) | About 11.3 kW, sized for July | About 8.75 kW, sized for the year | About 8.75 kW |
| Batteries | Enough for every night, plus a plan for cloudy stretches | One or more, your choice | None |
| Utility bill | None | Lower; fixed monthly charges remain | Lower; fixed monthly charges remain |
| Paperwork | Building permits | Permits plus a utility interconnection agreement | Permits plus a utility interconnection agreement |
Our battery backup guide covers costs and what a battery runs during an outage, and solar panels and hurricanes covers storm season. The calculator below estimates a grid-tied system from your bill.
Your estimate in three steps
- Enter your billYour ZIP code, your utility and last month's bill.
- See your estimateA yearly savings range based on your utility's rates and Florida sun.
- Choose what's nextAsk for a quote call if you want real pricing, or just keep the number.
See what solar could save you
It takes about a minute. You don't need a site visit, a commitment or a sales call to see your number.
Common questions
Is it legal to live off the grid in Florida?
Yes, with limits. No Florida law requires a home to buy electricity from a utility, and the Florida Residential Code allows battery-only smoke alarms in buildings without commercial power. But state law requires connecting to a public sewer line once one is available at your property, your city or county may require a hookup to public water, and off-grid solar and batteries still need building permits.
Can a Florida city make you connect to the power grid?
No state law requires a grid connection, but cities enforce their own property maintenance codes. Some, including Cape Coral, use the International Property Maintenance Code, which calls for an electrical service in every home. In Cape Coral's 2014 case, a special magistrate found the off-grid homeowner not guilty of violating the electrical and sewer requirements, but ruled she had to connect to city water.
Do I have to connect to city sewer in Florida?
If a public or investor-owned sewer line is available, yes. Florida Statute 381.00655 gives the owner of a working septic system 365 days after written notice to connect, or 90 days after the state's notice if the septic system needs repair. For a house, available means a line that can serve it runs in a public easement or right-of-way that abuts the property.
Can I use a well instead of city water in Florida?
Florida allows private wells with a permit from your water management district, built by a licensed water well contractor, and the water must be approved as safe to drink before it's connected to your plumbing. Florida's plumbing code writes its private water rule for places where public water is not available, so if a city line reaches your lot, check whether your local government requires a hookup.
What counties in Florida allow off-grid living?
There is no state list. Florida leaves most of the decision to cities and counties and to the facts of each lot: whether public sewer or water lines are available, what the local property maintenance code requires, what the building department will permit, and any HOA covenants. Ask the county or city building department and code enforcement office before you buy land or disconnect.
How much solar do you need to live off grid in Florida?
For an average Florida home, which used about 13,250 kWh in 2024 according to EIA, about 11.3 kW of south-facing panels in Orlando to cover July, the hardest month. A grid-tied system that only has to match the yearly total needs about 8.75 kW. Off grid you also need batteries for every night, about 47 kWh for an average July day, plus a plan for cloudy stretches such as a generator.
Do solar panels work in a power outage if I stay on the grid?
Not on their own. A standard grid-tied system shuts off when the grid goes down so it can't energize lines crews are working on. A battery with backup equipment keeps some or all of your home running and recharges from the panels during the day.
Related guides
- Solar battery backup in Florida
- Florida net metering explained
- Solar panels and hurricanes in Florida
- Can your HOA stop you from going solar in Florida?
- Can you install solar panels yourself in Florida?
- Is plug-in solar legal in Florida?
This page is general information about Florida law and building codes as of September 2026, not legal advice. Local codes differ, so check with your city or county before you disconnect or buy land. Sources: Florida Statutes 381.00655, connection to available sewer · Florida Statutes 381.0065, definition of available · Florida Statutes 373.308, well permits · Florida Statutes 373.323, well contractor licenses · Florida Statutes 163.04 · Florida DEP Onsite Sewage Program · Florida Building Code, Residential, 8th edition (2023), chapter 3 · Florida Building Code, Plumbing, 8th edition (2023), chapter 6 · Florida Building Code, Building, 8th edition (2023), Section 105 permits · International Property Maintenance Code 2024, chapter 6 · Florida Administrative Code Rule 25-6.065 · FPL Tier 1 interconnection agreement (PDF) · EIA Form 861M sales and revenue, Florida residential, 2024 · PVWatts v8, National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL) · The Rutherford Institute, March 18, 2014 · Salon, February 26, 2014. Reviewed September 2026.
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