Copyright CLETA ARUN M.D 2021
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Table of Contents
INTRDUTORY GUIDE TO LIVING OFF TH GRD FOR STARTERS:
Gng off th grid an attractive option fr those wh wnt mr self-sufficiency nd l dependence n th currently established institutions. Creating a lf whr u r n longer dndnt n the electrical grd mn u rdu your wn wr, llt or um your wn water nd often grow ur wn fd.
While th lf is not for vrn, t is becoming nrngl ulr mr people wnt t rt their ndndn and rdu their reliance on fossil ful. Some people choose to g rtll ff the grd, still rlng somewhat n th lnkd tm that dlvr electricity and wtr t th m, whl thr rfr to be mltl lf-utnng.
WAYS TO LIVE OFF THE GRID
Thr r many dffrnt reasons l h to lv ff the grd. Sm ml wnt to save mn while thr are preparing fr th blt f a life-altering hng t ur way of lvng. Ethr w, lvng ff th grd can be a vbl option f ur lkng for a rdl change in lftl. Hr r the mt mmn w people lv off the grd.
ROUGHING IT
Gng mltl ff th grid, meaning u d not rely on th government fr ltrt, wtr, g or septic, called roughing t. Th is the least xnv option nd rur you t commit t gnfnt lifestyle hng.
If u h this tn, u will lkl nd t buld a mll hm n a of lnd tht bll a dr bn. Th mn t wll lkl hv n runnng water, lumbng or ltrt. Yu wuld nd to build n uthu for ntr needs and hv a well, rainwater catchment r rvr nearby for drnkng nd bathing.
Mt l wh rugh t grw their wn fd n thr grdn nd build a mll hmtd t mmdt their fml nd. Yu wll need to d mthng mlr f u want t b mltl ndndnt, as mt l who rough t d.
While some l wh rugh t have a gnrtr or lr nl tht rdu m ltrt, many choose t frg t all tgthr. Yu uld h t r and set wth th un nd u ltrntv kng nd rfrgrtn mthd wll.
Bfr jumng into th lifestyle, u wll need t dd f you r rd t f th hllng t forth by rughng t.
HALF-ON/HALF-OFF THE GRID
A good mrm for anyone wh dnt wnt t mltl rough it to lv half n and half ff th grd. Th means tht u dnt rl hvl n th mdrn tm but tll u th grd when ndd t lv a mr mdrn lftl.
For xml, u may tll be hkd u t th t ltrt for cooking r lghtng t nght, but avoid ung t durng the day. Yu m also be hkd u to th citys wg tm, t u a well to pump wtr nt ur hm. Evr hlf-n, hlf-ff lftl dffrnt, and it n nlud many different mbntn f lf-rln wth moderate rln n the grid.
Mn l find that living hlf-n/hlf-ff the grd llw them to lv comfortably and extremely ffrdbl. If u have hldrn or are jut testing th waters of an ff-grd lftl, th mght b a good tn for u.
If you wnt t participate in th lftl, you wll lkl want to furthr ur ndndn b growing your own fd, making ur wn lnng nd hgn products nd rng chickens r livestock.
MODERN OFF-GRID LIFESTYLE
Th modern off-grid lftl is rbbl th mt ulr tn for lvng ff th grd. It llw fr almost ll f the nvnn modern lifestyles afford, using technology to rmn self-sufficient.
Whl th ftn th mt xnv tn u frnt, t n hl you cut ur costs drtll in the lng run. Yur gl n th tutn to rl n th grid for very lttl or nothing.
If you decide to g ff-grd in this frm u wll wnt to hv a w to hrn ltrt. Th mt common way t d th b ung lr nl n your roof. Sm l l h t hrn wnd r water wr f there is a flwng wtr nearby.
Mn who lv a modern off-grid lifestyle dg a well nd tth an ltr well um to harness runnng wtr trght frm the grund. Some l lk t have a hnd rnk tn, jut n th electric wll Mn wh live a mdrn ff-grd lifestyle dig a wll nd tth n ltr wll pump t hrn runnng wtr trght from the grund. Sm also lk to hv a hnd rnk option, jut in th ltr wll um fl.
Yur ndr bthrm n run t a septic tnk instead f th wg system (lrn mr but how t tk care f a t tnk hr). Yu wll be bl t hwr nd bth normally f u r bl t um ln water nt the hu.
If you hv a mdrn ff-grd tu you huld b bl to k normally wth mdrn ln. Hwvr, mt l who lv a mdrn ff-grd lftl h t grw thr wn food, mk their wn lnng nd bathing rdut nd r ttl or hkn.
STEPS TO LIVING OFF THE GRID
If u dd living ff th grd mthng you wuld like t d u wll need t approach it as a t-b-t r t vd flng vrwhlmd.
DECIDE ON YOUR LIVING SPACE
Housing tn fr lvng ff the grd are bundnt, but most of them nlud downsizing n one frm r another. Not nl will downsizing allow fr a smaller hu nd mlr life, but lvng in a smaller house will llw u to use l nrg nd rur.
Tn houses r a popular tn fr th wh lv a mnmlt lftl r dnt hv a large fml. A tiny home n run n very mnml nrg and tll gv you a mfrtbl l t t, sleep nd k. Most r vn outfitted with little bthrm.
Tiny hm can come n many different forms, from high-tech prefabricated mdl lk th fturd n R or built b WhlHu t mll, br-bn dr hd.
Fr a mr DIY rh, u can h t build a mll lg cabin, an Erthh or a urt. Yu n rll g fn r minimal u wnt, but there r tons of benefits to kng ur hm mll. A mll hm llw you t get off the grd ftr nd rmn ready n case f n mrgn situation.
Those wh nd a mr spacious home n h t build a u bn or multi-room frmhu. Th are more rtl for l who r doing the hlf-n, hlf-ff lifestyle r mdrn off-grid, as t difficult to rough it wth a lrg hu to maintain.
Lrgr homes r morecostly t build nd maintain, but f u n afford it thr r m absolutely tunnng tn vlbl. If u r hnd nd n build ur wn ff th grid farmhouse, it n be an tn t keep lrgr hm ffrdbl.
HARVEST WATER
On u have your house bult r urhd, mk ur you hv a w to hrvt wtr. A w mentioned bfr, hrvtng water wll lkl involve drllng a well and setting u a system t brng the runnng water to ur hu. Anthr option t hrvt rnwtr n lrg thmnt ntnr t provide wtr for you nd your fml.
Yu will nd to set u a t tm to deal wth ur wt unless you r going t rugh it wth an uthu.
HARNESS ELECTRICITY
Setting u a way t harness electricity a crucial t t lvng off the grd. Th three most ulr tn are lr nl, a wind turbine, r a hydroelectric power gnrtr. Th h have thr r and n.
Slr Pnl: Solar wr is n f the mt popular and widely vlbl tn when t comes to ff-grd nrg. This tn hrn th un energy b photovoltaic lr nl plus n nvrtr nd bttr t store t. Sn unlght a rnwbl resource, solar nl create an bundn of energy nd they rur vr lttl mntnn. Th mjr dwnd to solar nl is th ntl t, which can b ut high. Dndng n th size f your hu, it n l take a large numbr of solar nl t wr th ntr living r.
Wind Turbn: If u lv n n r tht has a hgh average wnd d, generating ltrt from rdntl-zd wnd turbn nthr grt tn fr off-grid nrg. A 400-wtt wnd turbn bg enough t power a few ln, a 900-wtt turbn should be nugh fr a tn house or small bn nd a 10,000-wtt turbn should b enough t wr a lrgr dwllng. Th bggt dwnd t a wnd turbn is th need for a constant brz. Whl the un is likely to hn almost every d, the wnd n b mr fickle. If the wind dnt blow, nrg nt gnrtd. Wnd turbn l hv moving parts whh means th require more mntnn than lr panels.
Mr-hdr Eltrt: One of th lr-knwn off-grid energy tm, mr-hdr ltrt u a ur or running wtr, like a trm or mll wtrfll, to generate electricity. The nrg ud b wtr flwng from a hghr elevation t a lwr elevation turn a turbn nd creates ltrt.
Th n b one f the mt cost-effective tn nd it n wr between 10 nd 100 tm mr wr thn solar or wnd for th m mntr nvtmnt. If th wtr source is constantly flwng you can hv n nrg tm tht run 24 hur a day, year-round.
Th mn dwnd is tht u nd a source f runnng wtr n ur rrt to hv a micro-hydro ltrt tm.
GROW YOUR OWN FOOD
Growing ur own fd n be n f th easiest w t bm ndndnt from the tm. Whl thr are m ntl t ufrnt and m nvtmnt of tm required, t can be extremely rwrdng t t fd u have grwn yourself.
