#1. Lets first stop and determine what OFF THE GRID actually means.
The term off-the-grid (OTG) or off-grid refers to living in a self-sufficient manner without reliance on one or more public utilities such as water, electricity or sewage.
Off-the-grid homes are autonomous; they do not rely on municipal water supply, sewer, natural gas, electrical power grid, or similar utility services. A true off-grid house is able to operate completely independently of all traditional public utility services.
Hydro, solar and wind power generation is often the route taken by off-the-grid people. (You will need a river if you want hydro power. An undershoot water wheel can produce a decent amount of electricity with zero environmental impact, overshoot makes more electricity but will effect the wildlife.)
Being connected to the electrical grid via a grid-tie system is more expensive due to the extra hardware costs (such as a grid-tie inverter) especially when old car batteries that can no longer supply enough current to start a car are reused.
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.
But if energy usage is not reduced, then it will be tricky to get the necessary electricity without having an environmental impact. Solar panels, wind mills take up space but don't produce enough power alone... but large numbers can compensate and that means more space (and thus environmental impact).
Living off the grid works best when its done in combination with lowered needs for electricity. Using a woodstove for heat. Candles and windows for lights. Minimal electrical appliances and all energy efficient appliances.
Finding and buying a green "off the grid" house is possible to do however. There is a whole market for buildings that are off the grid so that the hard part has already been done.
Websites like http://www.greenhomesforsale.com/off-the-grid-homes.php have lists of homes, descriptions, photos and prices. Other websites that specialize in off the grid homes also exist. Just Google it.
Welcome to Project Gridless!
Hello! Project Gridless is dedicated to off the grid living, foraging / hunting / gardening for food, traditional survival skills and modern tips for alternative energy. Please Follow, Subscribe or Like.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts during the Last Year
-
This list is mostly for my personal reference, with respect to dating old Bear bows. They are sorted by the years released. If you know of a...
-
Okay so " Outdoor Boys " is a YouTube channel created by Luke (last name unknown) and frequently featuring his sons and his wife. ...
-
Whenever Russia and the USA look like they're on the verge of a nuclear apocalypse it is a good time to check your bug out bag for anyt...
-
Wood Homemade Bow Press So awhile back in October I made a note of writing a post titled " How to Make a Homemade Bow Press "....
-
Let's pretend for a moment that you have an off grid home and have easy access to cranberries and raspberries. Plus, let's pretend y...
-
Back in the 1980s and earlier, when we looked at the sun it looked distinctly yellow. Why? The reason the sun looks yellow to us on Earth is...
-
The story in the video below took place in Siberia (Russia) over a decade ago, but it is an unusual story in which a local hunter injured a ...
-
Having recently reviewed the contents of my Bug Out Bag, I have purchased two additional items in order to round out the contents of the bag...
-
" The Girl in the Red Hoodie " is an unusual book and I felt I should mention it on here because the characters in the book end up...
-
The following post is a sequel to my older post: Horses - Off grid care and maintenance for Equines In the previous post I covered such topi...
Search This Blog
Learn more about archery in Toronto by visiting the Toronto Public Archery Range Facebook page
or by joining the Canadian Toxophilite Society.
This Week's Popular Posts
-
Okay so " Outdoor Boys " is a YouTube channel created by Luke (last name unknown) and frequently featuring his sons and his wife. ...
-
Wood Homemade Bow Press So awhile back in October I made a note of writing a post titled " How to Make a Homemade Bow Press "....
-
This list is mostly for my personal reference, with respect to dating old Bear bows. They are sorted by the years released. If you know of a...
-
Here is a list of laws for bow hunting in Ontario. #1. You must be over 16 years of age and have a valid Ontario Outdoors Card. #2. You ...
-
Within the sport of archery there are people who make their own bows and their own arrows. Such is the norm with many sports, there is alw...
-
Now because there are many types of bows I have decided to limit this particular list to ONE PIECE recurve bows. In the future I may do a 2n...
-
Okay so to find the year of my "new" recurve bow, a vintage Ben Pearson Renegade , I needed to do some in-depth research. During...
-
For years now I have been pootahing the idea of going bear hunting because I felt that bear hunting is mostly for people who are interested ...
-
So I was repairing a compound bow for a client, in this case the Bear Cruzer shown below, and I decided it was an excellent opportunity to c...
-
Similar to flintknapping (the skill of carving flint arrowheads and similar objects by chipping away at flint, obsidian, glass and simila...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments containing links will not be approved. Contact lilithgallery@gmail.com if you want advertising.