What does being off the grid mean? Why should you know about doing it? Who should be doing it? And many other questions could have lead you to The Off Grid Home. So let’s take a look at what an Off-Grid home is.
An off-grid home or off the grid home is a term used for those living in a self-sufficient manner without the reliance of one or (hopefully) more public utlilites. These homes do not rely on city water supply, sewer, piped in natural gas or electricity, or similar utlity services. To be a “true off-grid home” it should be able to operate without all traditional public utlity services.
Electricity that is needed to run the home is generated on-site usually through renewable alternative enerygy sources or by generators with fuel reserves. Alternative energy is seen to be the ultimate goal as solar, wind, or even water energy production is as limitless as the source used.
Water is also desired to be on-site either by well, stream, lake or any other self-replenishing water source. This source can be man-made such as ponds and cistirnes that take advantage of annual rain and snow fall.
From Wikipedia:
On 12 April 2006, USA Today reported that there were “some 180,000 families living off-grid, a figure that has jumped 33% a year for a decade,” and cited Richard Perez, publisher of Home Power magazine, as the source. Assuming the same rate of growth, there would be a quarter million off-grid households in the United States by late 2007. Because many third-world citizens have never had the chance to go on the grid, current estimates are that two billion people live off-grid worldwide.
Going off-grid can be done for altruistic reasons or to lower the environmental impact of living, as the typically limited amount of on-site renewable energy available is an incentive to reduce its use. It is often done to residential buildings only occasionally occupied, such as vacation cabins, to avoid high initial costs of traditional utility connections. Other persons choose to live in houses where the cost of outside utilities is prohibitive, or such a distance away as to be impractical. In his book “How to live off-grid” Nick Rosen lists seven reasons for going off-grid. The top two are saving money, and reducing the carbon footprint. Others include survivalists, preparing for the collapse of the oil economy and bringing life back to the countryside.
Primary infrastructure considerations for off the grid construction:
- Fresh water source
- Energy source
- Waste disposal
BlogoSquare