[louwrentius]

Thank you!

Yes, I've looked into running a small wind turbine but from what I can tell it's not worth the money or effort.

There is a reason why they build wind turbines so large and high. At small sizes, with our wind speeds, they barely produce any energy.

I can't also just put one on my balcony as I'm not allowed to (building regulations).

If I ever want to build my dream renewable energy build, I really have to relocate :)

Regarding a shoe-string budget: it all depends on your goals. A key thing is doing everything second-hand, maybe except for the LiFePO4 batteries, unless you can find those. In the Netherlands, There's a lot of solar gear moving through our local Ebay (Marktplaats, owned by Ebay) so that's something to look out for.