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It really depends first of all on what you already have at your dacha and what your actual needs are. I've had a battery system on my plot for about five years now, and I'll be honest - it paid for itself, but not as quickly as I expected. I put it in originally so I wouldn't depend on a generator during blackouts and could have light in the greenhouse. Since then I've added light bulbs, a fridge, and a pump for the well. The battery handles things fine in summer, spring, and fall, but in winter it's only powerful enough for basic lighting and charging.
The key thing is to realistically assess your needs before you buy. If you've got people at the dacha all the time, running a fridge, pump, power tools - then one small battery definitely won't cut it, you'll need a more powerful system plus an inverter. But if it's just a weekend place where you need light, an outlet for your phone, and maybe a fridge sometimes, then it makes sense. I'd also recommend thinking about how much sun your dacha gets - on my plot in summer the battery gets direct sunlight for about eight hours a day, and that affected my choice. The downside is a good system isn't cheap, but if you don't like generator noise and want to save on fuel, it's worth it.
What exactly do you need electricity for at your dacha - for a pump, lighting, charging tools, or year-round living?
I've had a small solar panel at my dacha for four years now. I put it in mainly so I wouldn't have to haul a generator every time I came out for a weekend in summer. The battery powers LED lamps, charges tools, and lets me keep the fridge running. The main downside I've noticed is that it's pretty useless in winter, especially on cloudy days. In summer though, it works great - it generates power even when it's overcast.
If you've just got a few lights at your dacha and use tools occasionally, a solar panel pays for itself pretty quickly. The key thing is to install it properly, on the sunny side, without shade from trees. But if you need to power serious consumers year-round - a well pump, proper heating, powerful appliances - you'll either have to combine it with a generator or think about getting permanently connected to the grid, if that's possible. It all depends on what tasks you're actually trying to tackle.
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