What would the freedom feellike of not needing to be hooked up to “mains power”, or the electric grid as its known in the U.S?
Going off grid is a dream for many Americans who are sick and tired of the wastefulness of society today.
Your motivation might be about saving money, satisfaction of doing something for yourself, embracing a minimalist lifestyle, living far out in the wilderness, or doing what you can for the environment and reducing your carbon footprint.
Whatever your reasons, there are multiple off grid power solutions, making this dream possible for more and more people every day. And there is no reason why you cannot combine these solutions to make them more effective.
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The Top Off Grid Power Solutions
Solar Power
At the moment, solar power (solar photovoltaic, or “solar PV”) is the most popular option in terms of renewable energy.
What it is
Smart chemical engineers figured out which substances create electricity when sunlight hits them. This was first done back in the early 1900s It was not until the 1970s that the specialized machines, furnaces and layering technology was built large enough to make solar panels available for sale to the public.
How It Works
Sunlight hits this combination of layered minerals, and the electrons start to flow across from one layer of one type of mineral to the second layer of a different mineral. This charge of electrons can be collected and sent into a wire as electricity. The amount of electricity depends on the angle of the panel, and the amount of sun hitting the panel.
olar panels are more affordable now than at any other period in their 50 year history. Prices have dropped incredibly fast in the last 10 years. The U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab (which studies all types of renewable energy) says the installed cost has dropped from $7.53/watt in 2010 down to $2.71/watt in 2020. That is a 64% drop in price! PV panels are the most energy for your money if you have the sun exposure. You can expect at least 20 years of service, and some companies will rent you panels (called a power purchase agreement) so you don’t have to own or maintain them. Plus we are pretty sure the sun will keep shining for the next 5 billion years!
Where’s the catch?
If you are going for off-the-grid-living solar panels are a clear must have. You will want to have a solar study done to determine how much sun exposure you get at all times of the year (Winter being the least sunny in the Northern hemisphere.) Use this study to then determine how many panels you need to make the amount of electricity you need.
Of course the sun doesn’t shine at night, so you will probably also need battery storage to catch all the daytime sun and allow you to power lightbulbs at night. You may need to install twice as many panels if you are a nig user of electricity at night, or you know certain months are very cloudy. The PV panels will still produce electricity when its cloudy or if covered in a thin layer of snow, but not as much as full sunshine.
What about maintenance?
Solar panels can get dirty just like windows, so its a good idea to clean them off with a garden hose at least every other month, more if you are in a dusty region like Phoenix, AZ.
How many panels are you going to need? And what about the additional equipment? Everything depends on the efficiency of the panels you install. The higher the efficiency, the more it will contribute to the output. As for additional equipment, you require an inverter to convert the Direct current (DC) energy to Aleternating Current (AC). Everything else can be considered optional, such as a battery bank for energy storage.
Also see our reviews of the top solar generators on the market today.
Generator Power
While this option does not fall in the renewable energy department, it is always recommended to have at least one strong generator around. Firstly, a quality generator can be trusted to start up as long as there is fuel or diesel in the tank. It can also be trusted to provide a consistent output of energy.
When your rainy season comes along and harvesting solar energy is problematic, generators can be used to supplement the loss. In fact, generators are great for camping or boondocking and and emergency scenarios where you do not want to take longer than five seconds to get energy flowing, which is possible with a generator.
Granted, generators are not part of the renewable energy family, but they do not have to be used all the time. You may also be able to run them off of biofuels, either digester gas, or bio-diesel. As mentioned earlier, you are at liberty to combine all the off grid power solutions available to you.
Where’s the catch?
You may not need to use the generator very often. Like all things mechanical, generators require some level of maintenance and need to be run in order to keep them running. So there could be oil changes, or or part replacements, and a period of running the generator during the day just to make sure it still works.
Wind Power
Wind generators or turbines have been around for centuries as windmills. Today they are made of advanced materials and high-efficiency generators. A single single wind turbine can generate up to 10 kW, which is enough to power just about everything in a medium-sized house
What is it?
Wind turbines are tall staffs, towers or poles with an electrical rotor fitted with a propeller mounted on top. They come in various sizes, and number of blades, but almost always mounted very high off the ground to catch steady even wind (usually found 20 to 30 feet off the ground). tall rotor.as they are also called, can be the perfect solution if your location fits the bill..
How does it work?
The force of the wind spins the blades of the turbine. The blades are attached to a shaft that spins in the housing of the turbine. The housing has magnets arranged around but not touching the shaft. As the shaft spins it generates electricity which is carried out of the turbine by wires to your home.
What's the Catch?
Wind is not constant, so you will want to consult a wind map, or have someone measure it at your house for you. Wind power is most efficient with steady wind, not gusty wind.
Wind turbines require some maintenance just alike most things with moving parts. Make sure the brand you buy has a repair/parts/tech support in your country, and even better if in your region. This will speed ordering and delivery of spare or repair parts.
You can easily attach a battery storage system to wind power just like with solar.
Hydro Power
Hydro systems are amazing in the sense that they generate a lot of energy on a consistent basis. In fact, a hydro system is much more effective than solar or wind in terms of what it can produce.
What is it?
Have you ever seen a water wheel on an old-fashioned grain processing house (grist mill)? Hydro power might be one of the original renewable energies, used for thousands of years. Very large dams and hydro power plants like the Hoover Dam in the United States can power whole cities.
How does it work?
You basically need a strong stream of water that flows from a higher level to a lower one. Sometimes people make a small dam in a stream forcing the water to flow through at a specific place where a turbine can be inserted. In this case you are creating the “drop”, or “head” without a natural down hill slope of a stream. As the water pours through that space, it spins a turbine, the more flow (gallons per minute / liters per minute), or the more head, the more force to spin the turbine and the more electricity generated.
What’s the Catch?
Damming streams is considered illegal in many parts of the world, even on your own property. Surprised? Well the water comes from somewhere before your property, flows across your land and out the other end to someone else’s property. So you may not have the right to stop the water, or even decrease its flow. Some small to mid-szed “run-of-the-river” dams are required to have fish ladders, so that seasonal spawning of trout, salmon and otehr fish species can get back to their home grounds. This can add significant cost to a hydro installation.
The Cost of hydro has not changed too much over time. You might still consider a battery bank as some seasons or places may have low flow periods and little power would be generated.
. Maintenace consists of tending the dam structure or the turbine house and turbine. There could be periods of time where the turbine needs maintenance and of course then you would not be generating power.
Geothermal Power
The Earth's core is hot molten rock which radiates heat outward towards the Earth's surface. Some places on the planet the crust is thinner and the heat warms water to a point that it can become steam. Places like Iceland use geothermal to heat whole villages. These are impressive engineering feats but not scaled for the average home.
What it is
There is another kind of geothermal heat that uses the ground as a heat battery. It is a simple flow of heat in from the ground to the house, or, in Summer, from the house to the ground.
How it works:
In this use, trenches are dug down to below the frost line of that region in Winter, and metal or plastic tubing is laid down. The tubing runs back to the house to a manifold that feeds a heat exchanger. In the Winter the ground is used to pull heat out and put it inside the house. In the Summer the system runs in reverse to cool the house. Since the ground is always about 55’F (12’C), and people like the inside of the house to be about 68’’F (20’C), there is “extra” heat or cold available from the ground to bring into the home.
What’s the catch?
There is a fair amount of digging to lay down the pipes/tubes. It has to be located out of the way, so you won’t dig them up by accident when planting a tree or swing set. The amount of heat and cooling is limited by the rate it can be extracted from the ground or put back in (in the case of cooling). So, often this heat system is done along with high levels of insulation to the walls, floors and roofs. This type of power can not run electrical devices.
Is One Off Grid Power Solution Better Than The Other?
Yes, but it depends on what your most abundant resource is at your own home site. Is it Wind, Water, or Sun? Do you need heating and cooling? Get a professional involved early to give you a sense of what is feasible for the site conditions. Do your homework and look at how leaky your house is to heat and cold, how much electricity you currently use, versus where you might trim back. It is very possible to be “off-grid” but its a strategic move that requires some thought and planning.
Tips For Going Off The Grid
In the final part of this guide, you will get some tips for making the transformation. Of course, you are at liberty to do your own thing and follow your own ideas. But it does not hurt to have a few solid starting points.
– Assess your location and list your viable options
– Combine off grid power solutions to supplement each other
– Invest in quality equipment, given that you become very dependent on durability and performance
– Learn everything about the solution, including the possible issues
Out of all the solutions mentioned above, they are usually combined with a generator backup. Seeing as generators provide more control for immediate energy demands, don't forget to add one to your overall off grid power solution.
What would the freedom feellike of not needing to be hooked up to “mains power”, or the electric grid as its known in the U.S?
Going off grid is a dream for many Americans who are sick and tired of the wastefulness of society today.
Your motivation might be about saving money, satisfaction of doing something for yourself, embracing a minimalist lifestyle, living far out in the wilderness, or doing what you can for the environment and reducing your carbon footprint.
Whatever your reasons, there are multiple off grid power solutions, making this dream possible for more and more people every day. And there is no reason why you cannot combine these solutions to make them more effective.
The Top Off Grid Power Solutions
Solar Power
At the moment, solar power (solar photovoltaic, or “solar PV”) is the most popular option in terms of renewable energy.
What it is
Smart chemical engineers figured out which substances create electricity when sunlight hits them. This was first done back in the early 1900s It was not until the 1970s that the specialized machines, furnaces and layering technology was built large enough to make solar panels available for sale to the public.
How It Works
Sunlight hits this combination of layered minerals, and the electrons start to flow across from one layer of one type of mineral to the second layer of a different mineral. This charge of electrons can be collected and sent into a wire as electricity. The amount of electricity depends on the angle of the panel, and the amount of sun hitting the panel.
olar panels are more affordable now than at any other period in their 50 year history. Prices have dropped incredibly fast in the last 10 years. The U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab (which studies all types of renewable energy) says the installed cost has dropped from $7.53/watt in 2010 down to $2.71/watt in 2020. That is a 64% drop in price! PV panels are the most energy for your money if you have the sun exposure. You can expect at least 20 years of service, and some companies will rent you panels (called a power purchase agreement) so you don’t have to own or maintain them. Plus we are pretty sure the sun will keep shining for the next 5 billion years!
Where’s the catch?
If you are going for off-the-grid-living solar panels are a clear must have. You will want to have a solar study done to determine how much sun exposure you get at all times of the year (Winter being the least sunny in the Northern hemisphere.) Use this study to then determine how many panels you need to make the amount of electricity you need.
Of course the sun doesn’t shine at night, so you will probably also need battery storage to catch all the daytime sun and allow you to power lightbulbs at night. You may need to install twice as many panels if you are a nig user of electricity at night, or you know certain months are very cloudy. The PV panels will still produce electricity when its cloudy or if covered in a thin layer of snow, but not as much as full sunshine.
What about maintenance?
Solar panels can get dirty just like windows, so its a good idea to clean them off with a garden hose at least every other month, more if you are in a dusty region like Phoenix, AZ.
How many panels are you going to need? And what about the additional equipment? Everything depends on the efficiency of the panels you install. The higher the efficiency, the more it will contribute to the output. As for additional equipment, you require an inverter to convert the Direct current (DC) energy to Aleternating Current (AC). Everything else can be considered optional, such as a battery bank for energy storage.
Also see our reviews of the top solar generators on the market today.
Generator Power
While this option does not fall in the renewable energy department, it is always recommended to have at least one strong generator around. Firstly, a quality generator can be trusted to start up as long as there is fuel or diesel in the tank. It can also be trusted to provide a consistent output of energy.
When your rainy season comes along and harvesting solar energy is problematic, generators can be used to supplement the loss. In fact, generators are great for camping or boondocking and and emergency scenarios where you do not want to take longer than five seconds to get energy flowing, which is possible with a generator.
Granted, generators are not part of the renewable energy family, but they do not have to be used all the time. You may also be able to run them off of biofuels, either digester gas, or bio-diesel. As mentioned earlier, you are at liberty to combine all the off grid power solutions available to you.
Where’s the catch?
You may not need to use the generator very often. Like all things mechanical, generators require some level of maintenance and need to be run in order to keep them running. So there could be oil changes, or or part replacements, and a period of running the generator during the day just to make sure it still works.
Wind Power
Wind generators or turbines have been around for centuries as windmills. Today they are made of advanced materials and high-efficiency generators. A single single wind turbine can generate up to 10 kW, which is enough to power just about everything in a medium-sized house
What is it?
Wind turbines are tall staffs, towers or poles with an electrical rotor fitted with a propeller mounted on top. They come in various sizes, and number of blades, but almost always mounted very high off the ground to catch steady even wind (usually found 20 to 30 feet off the ground). tall rotor.as they are also called, can be the perfect solution if your location fits the bill..
How does it work?
The force of the wind spins the blades of the turbine. The blades are attached to a shaft that spins in the housing of the turbine. The housing has magnets arranged around but not touching the shaft. As the shaft spins it generates electricity which is carried out of the turbine by wires to your home.
What's the Catch?
Wind is not constant, so you will want to consult a wind map, or have someone measure it at your house for you. Wind power is most efficient with steady wind, not gusty wind.
Wind turbines require some maintenance just alike most things with moving parts. Make sure the brand you buy has a repair/parts/tech support in your country, and even better if in your region. This will speed ordering and delivery of spare or repair parts.
You can easily attach a battery storage system to wind power just like with solar.
Hydro Power
Hydro systems are amazing in the sense that they generate a lot of energy on a consistent basis. In fact, a hydro system is much more effective than solar or wind in terms of what it can produce.
What is it?
Have you ever seen a water wheel on an old-fashioned grain processing house (grist mill)? Hydro power might be one of the original renewable energies, used for thousands of years. Very large dams and hydro power plants like the Hoover Dam in the United States can power whole cities.
How does it work?
You basically need a strong stream of water that flows from a higher level to a lower one. Sometimes people make a small dam in a stream forcing the water to flow through at a specific place where a turbine can be inserted. In this case you are creating the “drop”, or “head” without a natural down hill slope of a stream. As the water pours through that space, it spins a turbine, the more flow (gallons per minute / liters per minute), or the more head, the more force to spin the turbine and the more electricity generated.
What’s the Catch?
Damming streams is considered illegal in many parts of the world, even on your own property. Surprised? Well the water comes from somewhere before your property, flows across your land and out the other end to someone else’s property. So you may not have the right to stop the water, or even decrease its flow. Some small to mid-szed “run-of-the-river” dams are required to have fish ladders, so that seasonal spawning of trout, salmon and otehr fish species can get back to their home grounds. This can add significant cost to a hydro installation.
The Cost of hydro has not changed too much over time. You might still consider a battery bank as some seasons or places may have low flow periods and little power would be generated.
. Maintenace consists of tending the dam structure or the turbine house and turbine. There could be periods of time where the turbine needs maintenance and of course then you would not be generating power.
Geothermal Power
The Earth's core is hot molten rock which radiates heat outward towards the Earth's surface. Some places on the planet the crust is thinner and the heat warms water to a point that it can become steam. Places like Iceland use geothermal to heat whole villages. These are impressive engineering feats but not scaled for the average home.
What it is
There is another kind of geothermal heat that uses the ground as a heat battery. It is a simple flow of heat in from the ground to the house, or, in Summer, from the house to the ground.
How it works:
In this use, trenches are dug down to below the frost line of that region in Winter, and metal or plastic tubing is laid down. The tubing runs back to the house to a manifold that feeds a heat exchanger. In the Winter the ground is used to pull heat out and put it inside the house. In the Summer the system runs in reverse to cool the house. Since the ground is always about 55’F (12’C), and people like the inside of the house to be about 68’’F (20’C), there is “extra” heat or cold available from the ground to bring into the home.
What’s the catch?
There is a fair amount of digging to lay down the pipes/tubes. It has to be located out of the way, so you won’t dig them up by accident when planting a tree or swing set. The amount of heat and cooling is limited by the rate it can be extracted from the ground or put back in (in the case of cooling). So, often this heat system is done along with high levels of insulation to the walls, floors and roofs. This type of power can not run electrical devices.
Is One Off Grid Power Solution Better Than The Other?
Yes, but it depends on what your most abundant resource is at your own home site. Is it Wind, Water, or Sun? Do you need heating and cooling? Get a professional involved early to give you a sense of what is feasible for the site conditions. Do your homework and look at how leaky your house is to heat and cold, how much electricity you currently use, versus where you might trim back. It is very possible to be “off-grid” but its a strategic move that requires some thought and planning.
Tips For Going Off The Grid
In the final part of this guide, you will get some tips for making the transformation. Of course, you are at liberty to do your own thing and follow your own ideas. But it does not hurt to have a few solid starting points.
– Assess your location and list your viable options
– Combine off grid power solutions to supplement each other
– Invest in quality equipment, given that you become very dependent on durability and performance
– Learn everything about the solution, including the possible issues
Out of all the solutions mentioned above, they are usually combined with a generator backup. Seeing as generators provide more control for immediate energy demands, don't forget to add one to your overall off grid power solution.