In the growing tiny house movement, there is an eco-friendly, sustainable living trend that goes along with it - the idea of living off the grid. Freeing oneself from the everyday utilities that make conventional modern lifestyle work - electricity, water, waste disposal and heating.
Living off the grid simply means having a self-sustaining home that is independent from outside utilities. We always think about doomsday "preppers" and "survivalists" when it comes to this but the real goal of living off the grid is simply to live healthier and leave a smaller environmental footprint. Although it will cost you almost nothing for the duration of your off-the-grid living days, the initial cost can be staggering as you need to invest a lot of money just to set things up.
Electricity
There are many options as far as electricity needs is concern depending on where you live and the services available. Bear in mind that utility bills will vary widely but an average individual may spend about 54% of their utility just for electricity. You can save a lot of money if you trim down your power cost.
Here's how you can do it:
a. Solar
Even though solar power can only produce about 7 kilowatts of power a day (more in sunnier and dry days), the technology continues to improve every year. For a professionally installed 24-volt system, including a back-up generator, the total cost is estimated at $38,000. However, costs are expected to go down as solar panel use increases as more energy-efficient panels that are mass-produced in China are now widely available.
b. Wind
As a backup to your solar panels, you can utilize wind turbines or windmills especially during down times - cloudy and stormy days. Expect to invest about $11,000 just to set it up.
c. Hydropower
If you're close to a powerful river, why not add a water-powered generator? The cost can range from $6,470 to $55,400.
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| This infographic shows the costs associated in setting your own power source |
When you go off the grid, you need to have a good and clean water system. Unless if you live near a fresh water source, you might as well dig a well. As for dirty septic water? You may have to consider septic tanks, the tried and true method. Combined, you expect to spend about $12,000 for both.
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| Choose an efficient water system |
Once you have electricity and water, you need to sort out your heat source not only to stay warm in the winter but for cooking, heating your water and many other tasks. Wood is relatively inexpensive and easy to find yet you have to manually do the hard work just to cut it to smaller pieces. A complete instillation of a wood oven will run about $3,700 and a years' worth of fuel (if purchased) will average about $300. While this may seem like a natural option, the downsides of wood include the amount of heat produced, the space needed for storage and time needed to use it. Propane heat burns cleaner than wood, uses less space and costs about the same per a year.
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| What's your preference? Wood or propane? |
I think a lot of people think living off the grid means that they need to hole themselves up somewhere in the mountains. Although it's likely that people in the mountains ARE "living off the grid", the term really isn't all that scary in real life. Having good storage solutions and energy producing installations are more important in this case!
ReplyDeleteI think the cost of this living would be the same as what they are telling me about philippine house design and cost. Hmmmm, I think I'll go and pursue my dream house.
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