Living Off The Grid

Successful off-grid living means constantly monitoring and adjusting the energy efficiency of your home’s systems and of your personal habits. You’re living on battery power, constantly playing the balancing game between power consumption and power generation. That means a life of watching the electrical “fuel” gauge.

When you made the decision to power your home from renewable energy resources like home solar power or a residential wind turbine, you most likely conducted an energy audit, determining how much power you used on a monthly basis. Sadly, bad habits are like creeping vines; sometimes they grow back more quickly than we can cut them down. In order to hold yourself accountable, keep records of your energy use and constantly look for ways to improve.

- Categorize your electrical needs as “essential” and “non-essential” and note how frequently each item is used.

- Invest in a measuring device like P3 International’s Kill-a-Watt to get and to keep a real understanding of your energy needs. Monitoring use by device often leads to the decision to upgrade or to replace equipment, plus, simple awareness tends to change your personal energy habits.

- Label every device or appliance that you measure so the numbers are always in front of you, affecting your decision to use the item at any given time.

- Always understand the math involved in energy conversion calculations. Generators and inverters are rated in watts, not amps, but many appliances supply their rated energy consumption in amps. Multiply amps times voltage to get wattage. A 12 amp vacuum cleaner times 120 volts needs 1,440 watts to run.

- Be aware that some devices require a greater number of watts to start up than they need to operate. Always make your calculations with the higher number.

- Don’t let phantom energy use creep into your daily habits. A device like the Kill-a-Watt will help you to identify systems that draw power even when they’re turned off.

- Don’t be fooled by the absence of a stand-by light. Anything with a remote control “listens” for a signal when it’s turned off and therefore continues to draw power. Always unplug these devices when they’re not in use.

- Have you fully explored the potential of mechanical power created by crank, dynamo, and kinetic energy? Things like hand-crank flashlights, radios, and cell-phone chargers? These applications will help take some of the load off your home power system if used regularly, but more importantly you’ll have them around in case of a power outage emergency.

- Have you investigated pedal power? There are kits to allow stationary bikes to run small home appliances like blenders and toasters. This merges your work-out and your home energy needs, for better fitness and a higher level of efficiency.

- Don’t run major systems simultaneously, for instance washing one load of clothes while drying another. Do each task separately and spread major chores out over the work week to more evenly distribute daily demand, thus allowing the system to recover in between.

- Have a back-up generator to power big-energy consumption tasks that are only performed intermittently.

Undoubtedly living off grid has already led you to investigate alternative means of cooking, like propane stoves and solar ovens, but don’t forget that propane and kerosene-powered refrigerators are also available. The same goes for alternative lighting. Kerosene lamps and candles may be more old-school than what you had in mind, but would using those light sources a couple of nights a week be a burden, or potentially a fun, nostalgic evening for you and your family?

The most important things about off-grid energy efficiency are accountability and diligence. Keep constant records of your energy use and compare them against your system performance. There’s always a way to shave off a few more kWh per month, extending the life of your renewable energy resources for the things that truly are essential.