Off-Grid 101 Archives - Living Off the Grid: Free Yourself

Land

Hawaii treehouse to escape ‘The Matrix’

Robert Breton left his home in California and moved to Hawaii to ‘escape the Matrix’

He bought a plot of land for $29,850 (£24,215) and built his own two-storey home over a period of two years. He also built a greenhouse and an outhouse.

The self-proclaimed Tarzan has quit his job to live in a treehouse in the jungle in order to “escape the matrix and get in touch with nature”.

Breton, 35, originally from California, moved to Hawaii and built a treehouse with his bare hands, revealing how he “achieved his dream” on TikTok and YouTube. It’s situated just 5.5ft off the ground, is 20ft tall, 14ft by 14ft and features a functioning sink, mini fridge, shelves, a futon, and a loft that holds the “sleeping quarters”.

Breton uses two solar panels attached outside the house to provide electricity for all his tech, including his phone, his laptop and his TV.

He is also growing his own food and living entirely from rainwater, which he collects off the roof into a large 300-gallon tank, where it gets filtered and sent to faucets inside the home.

The greenhouse is where he grows his own fruits and vegetables, including green beans, broccoli, beets, lettuce, and carrots.

It means he rarely has to take the hour-long walk down to the nearest town to pick up grains and other supplements.

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The outhouse is where he has the bathroom, with a functioning sink, washer, toilet and shower — all using collected rainwater.

Breton makes money from a supplement company he founded along with his social media accounts which have gathered a big following.

He urges others to follow in his footsteps of living off the grid and quit their 9-5 jobs.

Viewers were quick to flock to the comments and share their desire to do the same, with one writing: “One day, that is gonna be me.”

A second quipped: “Beautiful and so peaceful. I hope that one day I will be like you”, while a third added: “Omg dude for real how much would it be to get a similar home to this!”

Others however slammed Breton for his off the grid lifestyle which contradicts his use of a phone and social media.

One wrote: “Not really taking a break from the matrix if you’re posting online about it are ya.”

A second added: “‘Off grid’ means no cellphones, my dude.”

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July 2, 2023 No Comments

Off-Grid 101

Be off-grid ready – Power yourself up with this battery-panel combo

If you want to Work From Anywhere, and you need to make sure you never run out of power, then this pairing will allow you a couple of days heavy usage to charge a laptop and cellphone (*assuming 4 hours of daylight solar charging per day).

The first is a BLUETTI Portable Power Station AC200MAX,for under $1900 at time of writing. A 2048Wh LiFePO4 Lithium Battery, weighing about 60lbs (Expandable to 8192Wh w/ 4 2200W AC Outlets (4800W Peak), 30A. Find it at https://amzn.to/3Evf8zK in the USA, and the same kit about £2000 in the UK

Amazon is offering the Renogy 400W Monocrystalline Solar Off-Grid RV Kit for just $514.42 shipped in the US. https://amzn.to/3GlXoYW and £700 in the UK. In the UK you might prefer to go with this 200W Portable Solar Panel Suitcase for £349. It will not give you the power of the 400W of the RV kit, but its cheaper, lighter, and if you sometimes charge your battery from the mains and just use the panel in an emergency, it would be a cheaper solution.

the US deal is down from a normal rate of $600 or more at Amazon, and today’s deal marks the best US panel price that we’ve tracked so far in 2022. This kit has the ability to output up to 1,600Wh per day with just four hours of sunlight availability. You can install the system on top of an RV, home, boat, or anywhere really. Included in the package is four 100W solar panels, a 30A PWM LCD charge controller, mounting brackets, cables, and much more so you can get up and going with off-grid power as soon as it arrives. So, if you’re looking for a way to power your office – whether off-grid or during a blackout, then the above are a solid choice.

Check out more of our UK recommendations here

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Now retrieving the rating.

$192.98 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

🔌【Multiple Charging Ports】: 2* Pure Sine Wave AC outlets (110V 350W ), 2* USB-A ports (5V, 3.1A total),1* USB-C port , 2* DC Outputs(12V 8A; 24V 3A) and 1* 12V DC car port to charge your devices, and 1 * 10W wireless charging pad are also equipped. 🔋... read more

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November 13, 2022 No Comments

Resources

Seven Ways to Beat the Blackout this Winter

Homeware stores report a 60% year on year increase in website searches like hot water bottle, candle and flashlight. These are baby steps. You don’t need to become an off-grid survivalist to learn a few of our tricks. This head torch (In the UK – https://amzn.to/3ATUbfG) for example – may look a tad eccentric, but its more convenient during a blackout than candles or a handheld flashlight – you are walking around in your own pool of light!
Batteries last a month of daily use, wich is fortunate since the UK National Grid warned lights could go out on “those deepest, darkest evenings in January and February” because of reduced gas imports from Europe. In the US, major cities are finding that extreme weather can easily disrupt their utility supply, randomly and with increasing regularity.

Both American and British grid-tied households are apprehensive about what to expect. The ideas and products in this list will help you take back control of your power bill, and save money from reduced energy consumption.

1. Work and comms
Top of the list for the WFA generation is a reliable internet connection and long battery life. If you have a laptop make sure its low-energy – (the latest HP https://amzn.to/3XLHhdN, or Apple 13” Macbook https://amzn.to/3ipApSS, both last over 13 hours of use). Mobile phones with a good battery life include the Android Asus https://amzn.to/3UgKO0I and this Apple https://amzn.to/3OP0SFy

You can connect the laptop via your mobile phone’s personal wifi hotspot. Alternatively, buy a data dongle that plugs into your laptop (and feeds off its battery) to connect it to the internet via the mobile phone network- best for international is the Huwai https://amzn.to/3Fd03mO – A mifi dongle does the same thing, plus allows several devices to wirelessly use the connection. Both these options require a data plan from a mobile phone provider.

2. Uninterruptible power supply
For your home broadband connection, Most most modern gas boilers need a permanent electricity supply, so if your power goes down then so does your central heating you need an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), which has a battery. A mid-range model can keep a typical 12V router seamlessly connected for a day, and a hot water pump in the evening. An APC UPS by Schneider Electric https://amzn.to/3EO6jQK for around £380 promises to keep a router and smartphone charger running for almost a day The more devices you plug in the shorter the UPS will last.

3. Battery pack

Either get yourself a big battery or a small one that fits in your purse or pocket – dont bother with the ones in between

Small portable battery packs charge your mobile phone, (like this one from Anker – https://amzn.to/3ucfDsB )when you are on the go, but are less handy in a blackout. Just make sure the power pack itself stays charged.

Big batteries like Bluetti and Jackery can set …

January 30, 2022 No Comments

Care-and-Cleaning-of-Natural-Stone—16pages.pdf

AGuide
to the Care & Cleaning
of Natural Stone
Apublication from the Marble Institute of America Marble Institute of America
28901 Clemens Road, Suite 100 • Cleveland, Ohio 44145 Phone: 4402509222 • Fax: 4402509223 www.marbleinstitute.com
©2004 Marble Institute of America
The Marble Institute of America (MIA) is the leading
resource for
information and education for the natural
stone industry.
MIA Members, numbering over 1,200
worldwide, include marble, granite, limestone, sand
stone, and
other natural stone producers and quarriers,
fabricators,
installers, distributors, and contractors.
The association’s mission is to promote the use
of natural stone and be the authoritative source of
information on standards of workmanship and practice
and suitable application of stone products. MIA publishes
a
monthly newsletter, markets a range of
technical publications and consumer pamphlets on
natural stone, sponsors business and technical meet
ings and seminars on industryrelated topics, and pro
vides educational programming for architects
and con
struction specification professionals. MIA also
honors
outstanding natural stone projects worldwide through
its annual Pinnacle Awards competition.
For more information,
contact MIA at 4402509222,
email MIAinfo@marbleinstitute.com,
or visit www.marbleinstitute.com.
About the Marble Institute of America
Fur ther Reading
Suggestions
ASTM International. ASTM C151 5: Cleaning of Exterior
Dimension Stone,
Vertical and Horizontal Surfaces, New
or Existing. West Conshohocken: ASTM Int ernational.
Cleaning Masonry Review of the Literature,
by Grimm, Clayford T., P.E.Construction Research Center,
U
niversity of Texas at Arlington, 1988.
Cleaning Stone and Masonry, Clifton, James R., Editor,
AS TM Special Technical Publication 935, American
Socie

ty for Testing and Materials, 1983.
Keeping It Clean, by Grimmer, Anne E.,
U

.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service,
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988.
“Cleaning of Masonry Interiors of Public Buildings,” Cleaning
Stone and Masonr

y, by Roth, J.W.,
AS

TM STP 935, 1986. “Chemical Cleaning of Historical Structures A Practical
Approach,”
Cleaning Stone and Masonry, by Rudder, T.H.,
AS

TM STP 935, 1986.
“A Case Study of the Cleaning of Marble at the Schenectady,
New York, City Hall,” Cleaning Stone and Masonry,
by Waite, J.C. and R.J. Chen, ASTM STP 935, 1
986.
“A Macrosteriogrammetric Technique for Measuring Surface
Er osion Losses on Stone,” Cleaning Stone and Masonr y,
by Winkler, E.M., ASTM STP 935, 1986.
Stain Removal Guide for Stone and Masonry, by Hueston,
F

rederick M., NTC Enterprises Inc.
Historic Stone & Tile Restoration Manual,
b y Hueston,
Frederick M., NTC Enterprises Inc., 1998.
Stone Maintenance Manual for Professional Cleaning
Contractors, byHuest
on, Frederick M., NTC Enterprises Inc.,
1996. Contents
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Know Your Stone . . …

January 28, 2022 No Comments

Reinventing writing, paper, printing presses after fall of civilization

After the initial trauma of the coronavirus lockdown, one can imagine the ease with which civilization might disintegrate in the face of disaster. In a real end of world scenario, we can safely assume that many of the things we take for granted — wireless networks, smartphones, the Internet and other forms of instant communication — will be lost.

For the survivors, then, they will have no choice but to fall back on the more traditional forms of communication — such as the simple pen and paper. But paper is an extremely perishable material. A combination of time, wildfires, humidity and other factors will quickly deplete whatever stocks of paper are left behind.

Civilizations are built on the accumulated knowledge of writers. To avoid a regression, it will be necessary for the survivors of the hypothetical collapse to return the real fruits of the Earth. They will need to learn how to recreate paper from scratch.

Paper from the raw Earth

Chinese civilization was the first to develop paper, perhaps more than a thousand years before it appeared in Europe. But the ancient Chinese did not use the same type of paper that is widely used in society today. In fact, modern smooth and white paper is actually a very recent invention, dating only back to the late nineteenth century.

Before then, paper was mostly made out of tattered and recycled linen fragments. Linen itself is a type of fabric made from the fibres of flax plants. But in principle, paper can be constructed out of any plant that is fibrous in nature. Including from hemp, some types of coarse grass, even nettles.

Modern paper is uniquely light and strong, however, because it is made from fibres that consist mainly of cellulose. This chemical is actually present in all plants. The problem is, it is very difficult and labour intensive to remove cellulose from other plant chemicals. Traditionally, a process known as ‘retting’ would be required. Whereby plant stems are crushed and left to soak in stagnant water for a few weeks. During which the structure is broken down and decomposed by microorganisms. But even after the stalks are softened, the cellulose usually has to be ‘beaten’ out of them by force.

Modern paper — made from tree trunks — is made from a type of cellulose that is intertwined with a very strong chemical called lignin. Fortunately, there is a way to separate the two with minimal effort — by implementing a chemical process known as hydrolysis.

Reinventing modern paper

Hydrolysis is a molecular operation that is used for a variety of reasons across the industrialised world, and making modern paper is no exception. It involves chopping up wood into small pieces and placing it into a vat of boiling alkaline solution for a few hours. The corrosive alkali will soon begin to break down the chemical bonds …

August 19, 2020 No Comments

Off-Grid 101

Iowa Land Rental Prices Up

An authoritative annual survey of cash rental rates for Iowa farmland, a bellwether for the national market, shows cost per acre have increased, but by no more than the rate of inflation. However, farmland rental prices for the lower quality land are up the fastest, suggesting someone has found a way to make use of low-grade farmland.

You can rent out your farmland here.

This is the fourth successive year of relatively stable rates at levels around 18% lower than the historical peak reached in 2013 at $270 per acre. The survey was carried out in early spring so the effect of the lockdown may yet change results later in the year.
In comparison, corn and soybean prices received by farmers in Iowa declined by 49% and 45%, respectively, since mid-2013. So the underlying value of the land could be said to have increased, while yields per acre are falling in cash terms.

The 2020 Iowa cash rental rate survey was conducted this spring by Iowa State University. Iowans supplied 1,592 responses, reporting typical cash rental rates in their counties for land producing corn, soybeans, hay, oats and pasture. Of these responses, 43% came from farmers, 32% from landowners, 13% from professional farm managers and real estate agents, 6% from agricultural lenders, and 6% from other professions and respondents who chose not to report their status. Respondents indicated being familiar with a total of 1.6 million cash-rented acres across the state.

Different regions experienced different changes in cash rents: from a 4.6% increase in Crop Reporting District (CRD) 3 to a 2.4% drop in CRD 9. Northern and central Iowa (CRD 1 to 6) have, on average, 21% higher cash rents than southern Iowa (CRD 7 to 9). The chart accompanying this article compares the results for 2020.

Results available by county

The survey compares farmland rental prices for each district by the quality of land — high, medium and low. Not all land qualities have seen their average cash rents increase proportionately. Looking at statewide averages, high-quality land experienced a 0.4% increase, from $256 per acre in 2019 to $257 in 2020. Medium-quality land experienced a 1.4% increase, from $220 per acre in 2019 to $223 in 2020. Low-quality land experienced a 2.7% increase, from $183 per acre in 2018 to $188 in 2020.

Average cash rents in Iowa, in $ per acre (nominal)

Detailed results by county and crop are provided on the ISU Ag Decision Maker article Cash Rental Rates for Iowa 2020 Survey, C2-10. There was considerable variability across counties in year-to-year changes, as is typical of survey data, but 59 counties experienced increases in average rents for corn and soybeans. The report also shows typical rents for alfalfa, grass hay, oats, pasture, cornstalk grazing and hunting rights in each district.

Some renegotiations expected

Federal government payments from the Market Facilitation Program and expectations of higher …

April 25, 2020 1 Comment

Digital detox weekend

We’re on our way to West Virginia for a low-tech weekend at promisingly-named Lost River State Park – just across the Virginia border in Mathias, West Virginia. Its chosen not only because the park sounds beautiful, with lots of hiking trails, but because the cellphone service is spotty at best there. Plus, we’ve been told that the cabin we’ll be staying in has no WiFi, which will prevent the intrusions of work, school, social obligations, politics.

A husband, wife and two teenage kids agree cellphones stay in airplane mode, only to be used for music listening or photo taking. No grown-ups obsessively checking their work emails, reading headlines or scrolling through Twitter, and no kids texting friends, watching inexplicable YouTube videos or trying to capture Pokémon. If all goes according to plan, this weekend will be about connecting with one another instead. Because sometimes it seems awfully hard to juggle both digital and family interactions – without compromising something meaningful.

“The average American checks their phone 80 times a day while on vacation,” says Tiffany Shlain, author of “24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week.” “You look at your phone,” she says, “and there’s going to be something that stresses you out, whether it’s an email, a text, a news headline – something that’s going to take you out of being in that moment.”

Right now, Dante B, 14, isn’t very pleased to be in this particular moment. In the back seat I hear him mumbling, “I don’t like this. I just don’t like this whole thing.”

After stopping for burgers at the laid-back Lost River Grill, about 15 minutes outside the park, we head 5 miles down a winding road through the woods to the entrance and administrative building. An envelope with our key and instructions is taped to the front door. We’re in a Legacy cabin, one of 15 in the park that were constructed in the 1930s with a wooden frame and logs by the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps. It’s perfect: two bedrooms, a little living room and a bathroom. The fully equipped kitchen has a breadbox on the table where we all agree to stash our phones whenever we’re in the cabin. I read through the short welcome note in the envelope indicating “a pay phone on the front porch of the Administration building for your convenience.” And handwritten in pen at the bottom: a WiFi password. (Turns out they’d wired up the place two weeks before our arrival, says Samuel England, chief of the West Virginia State Parks system, when I call him after the trip to ask about the surprising amenity. “People feel like they need to stay connected when they’re on vacation,” he explains.) But I make no mention of it to my family.

That night we play the board games we’ve packed – a few that had been stored, unused, …

October 6, 2019 1 Comment

Off-Grid 101

No 1 destination on AirBnB, final few days left unbooked – Yes, its off-grid

Hurry! AirBnB has just announced the world’s most popular getaway — its an off-grid mushroom-shaped shed located in 10 acres of woodlands in Coastal California

The Mushroom Dome Cabin in the woods near Aptos, USA, still has a few free days left this year.

The abode is just a 10-minute walk from the beach, located on 10 acres of land – and is fully booked until November this year. Except for these slots (correct at time of writing, but it wont last).

April 21, 22, Sept. 2, 17, & 23 are the only days open before Oct. Since they book so far in advance, you can also check their other listing, the Hummingbird Haven.

With a geodesic dome loft & a large deck in the trees, you’ll feel like you’re in a tree house in the woods. They have been listing with airbnb since July ’09 and have hundreds of five star reviews!

The one-bedroom treehouse-style cabin has a geodesic dome loft, kitchen facilities, shower and a compost toilet.

Close to Monterey Bay, Big Sur and the Forest Nisene Marks State Park, this is the ideal place to stop off on your Californian road trip.

You’ve got to plan ahead if you want to stay in the Mushroom.Bookings start from £157 per night, and you need to book at least nine months in advance.

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April 2, 2019 No Comments

Why Off-grid Housing is the Future

Green living has gone beyond being a fad and has become an essential part of modern life. So much so that people nowadays are looking to live off the grid to pursue sustainable lifestyles, geared towards less consumption and making less of an impact on the environment.

Off-grid living has become a survival mechanism for people who acknowledge that there are issues more important than political squabbling to address. We all know what these are – the climate crisis and the rise of populism

This has led many people into adopting greener lifestyles and many of them look towards off-grid housing as an important factor for making this transition. In fact, the prevalence of off-grid housing will likely lead towards better adaptability, especially as more people are looking for better ways to safeguard the environment from ecological doom.

And no doubt, off-grid housing will reduce risks and will most probably define how people could be living in the future.

That said, let’s look at a few important advantages that off-grid housing could provide for us in the coming years:

1. Reduction of energy costs
Energy consumption has spiked recently as urban centers continue to grow to envelop the countryside with suburban developments. In fact, the continued rise in demand would cause energy consumption to rise even higher. At least with living off-grid, you get to escape from high electricity bills and successfully live a more frugal lifestyle.

2. Numerous options for customization
Living off the grid does require some modifications your home design. This leaves ample room for creativity as you pick the most essential features you might need for pursuing an off-grid lifestyle. You could experiment with plenty of conventional floorplans, but most off-grid homes are already designed keeping both functionality and comfort in mind. You just have to pick the right contractors who can handle such eco-friendly concepts.

3. Being located far from urban centers
On-grid living entails locations away form urban centers where crime rates are consistently on the rise and frequent traffic accidents, or vandalism, will have you searching for ICBC glass express, each time you need to replace your car’s windshield. Off-grid housing is typically located a long way of urban centers.

4. Promotion of health and wellness
Living off-grid doesn’t only impact your energy consumption, it can also improve your family’s health. Off-grid housing is made from organic materials that do not contain the traces of carcinogens typically found in standard homes. That said, off-grid housing allows you to secure your family’s health for the better.

Living off-grid has a plethora of benefits for people who want to live simple, eco-friendly lives. It’s only a matter of investing in such a property that could very well change the housing landscape. And considering the need to adapt in the midst of an impending climate disaster, off-grid housing could be the “new normal” in …

August 24, 2018 1 Comment

Food

Be Our Guest – Food Preserving Part 2

In Part I, I covered canning and smoking as food preservation methods. This article takes a look at refrigeration and dehydration.

Freezing and refrigeration is the easy way to preserve food compared to some other methods. The only problem is, once frozen or cooled it has to stay that way until consumption.

Before the wonders of electricity and modern technology, how did people do this?

On farms and in small villages it was common to have a spring house which would provide natural refrigeration. A stone building with troughs dug into the ground on which the house stood would be built over a natural spring. Water from the spring would flow through the troughs and jugs of milk or other produce could be placed in the channels. These would then be kept cool as the water flowed around them. Ledges and hooks would also be provided in the spring house, to hang meat and vegetables in a cooler environment.

If the house wasn’t built over a natural spring, water could be redirected from a nearby creek. Initially some spring houses were made of wood, however this was prone to rotting. Stone therefore is the better material, not only does it hold the cold better but it won’t decompose or decay with time.

Fancy building your own spring house? You can find out more at Bright Hub.

Another option which was used before electricity and still used today is root cellars.

These underground rooms stay cool in the summer but above freezing in the winter – perfect for fruits, vegetables and canned goods. The cool temperatures prevent bacterial growth and the humidity prevents withering. Ideally the cellar will have temperatures between 30 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, have low levels of sunshine, good insulation from materials such as straw or soil and be easily accessible.

Root cellars come in a variety of forms from walk in rooms to putting trash cans in the ground to create a “mini” cellar. If you’re on a tight budget, take a look at this video by the Walden Effect, who made a root cellar out of an old refrigerator.

Speaking of refrigerators, if you want to be a bit more tech-centric, then there are various options for off-grid cold food storage.

Propane fridges have been a staple for many RV owners and in off-grid homes. Some models can run off propane, DC or AC, making them more flexible. Although these appliances are good for keeping food cold and frozen with ample storage, they do require some maintenance and if they break down can be expensive to repair. Not only this, propane may be unavailable or very expensive to get hold of in certain areas and some propane fridge models can be extremely “fuel hungry” – not exactly the most economical option. There is also an initial investment of over $1,000. Take the Dometic …

February 12, 2017 No Comments

Food

Be Our Guest: Food Preservation Part I

Charcutier Sean Cannon is opening his first restaurant, Nape, in London this month. Born and bred in Norfolk, Sean told the Guardian how growing up in a self-sustaining community influenced his cooking. His best kept secret – preserving.

“Whether it’s killing an animal and having lots of fresh meat, or early summer and everything is ripe, knowing what to do with a glut is key.” Cannon said.

If you live off-grid you’ll know that preserving food for future use is essential. Not only does it provide food security, but also allows you to taste sweet summer berries in the winter. By doing this age old tradition, it also stops more modern thoughts and concerns of “what is actually in my food?” If you do the preparing and the preservation, you know exactly what has gone into the food you will be eating.

There are many ways to preserve food including canning, freezing, dehydrating and smoking.

Canning is a valuable and low-tech way to preserve food. There are two main methods for this, either water bath canning or pressure canning. It is worth noting that water bath canning should only be done for acidic fruits, such as berries and apples. If canning other produce such as meats and vegetables, pressure canning should be used; otherwise there is a high risk of food poisoning.

The basic process is to heat water in your canner (or large pan if water bath canning). This should not be filled to the top; 3-5 inches should be left for your jars of food. Jars should have lids secured and be placed carefully into the canner, being careful not to knock other jars, as they could crack or break under the high temperatures. The jars should be immersed in the canner with the water just covering the lids. The canner lid should be locked in place if pressure canning and the jars left for as long as needed according to the recipe. After the required time, the canner should be allowed to depressurise if using a pressure canner, before the jars are removed. Heat protection and necessary precautions should be taken to ensure you do not burn yourself. The jars should then be left to cool and seal for a minimum of 12 but ideally 24 hours. The sound of popping and pinging will mark your canning success!

Canning is so popular because of the wide variety of foods that can be preserved this way and the length of time they will remain edible for. Plus there’s no worry of keeping food frozen or cool!

Canning does however come with an initial start-up cost. If you’re only looking to preserve fruits and jams, then water bath canning in a large pan is of course an economical way to go. However, if you’re looking to preserve a wider variety of foods which includes meat and vegetables, …

February 9, 2017 No Comments

Tech 101: All about Batteries

New to off-grid living? Thinking about going off-grid? Have years of experience? Bet you’ve thought about batteries.

Having a back-up store of energy for those cloudy still days, when your renewable energy system isn’t exactly on top form, is a grand idea. But navigating through the types of battery and which is most suitable can seem like a bit of a minefield. Actually, quite a huge minefield.

Way back when…

Initially when off-grid living took off, people turned to car batteries for their storage needs. However, being designed to give out a large current in a short burst, they couldn’t take the strain of being used for longer periods. This usually ended in a burnt out battery after only a year or two of use (if you were very lucky). but a few folk DID get lucky and begged or bought old Fork-lift truck batteries – and found them to be ideal.

Enter Deep-cycle Lead Acid batteries

Designed for a steady current output over long periods and with several hundred discharge- recharge cycles over its lifetime, these are perfect for partnering with renewable energy.

There are several different types of lead acid batteries which can be used off-grid. The most commonly used in conjunction with solar and wind power are: golf cart batteries, L16 batteries and industrial batteries. All of these are flooded with electrolyte which evaporates during charging, meaning maintenance is required. This extends to checking electrolyte level a minimum of once per month and topping up with distilled water when needed.

Golf cart batteries are good for those completely new to off-grid living, who have a small scale renewables system. The upfront cost of these units is low, meaning if first timers make any mistakes and ruin a battery, the financial loss is minimized. Lasting 4-5 years, these batteries have a reasonable lifespan. They are durable, and can withstand undercharging without too much impact on their storage capacity – reducing the chance you will be scratching our head and saying: “hmm this battery doesn’t seem to hold its charge as long as it used to”.

Batteries can be scaled up in a bank, depending on the amount of storage required. A set of four 6 volt, 225 amp batteries in sequence can hold 4kWh, increase this number and you could potentially have a bank capable of storing up to 16kWh. With prices starting below $100 for one unit, this is by far the most economical option for those with small scale electricity needs.

If you want to step it up from a golf cart battery, then L16 batteries may be the way to go. Even though the units are twice as heavy at 120lbs! They can power small to medium set ups and have a lifespan of up to 8 years. There are also 2 volt models available, allowing for greater storage capacity if a …

February 7, 2017 1 Comment

Off-Grid 101

Before the wonders of electricity and modern technology, how did people do this?

Another option which was used before electricity and still used today is root cellars.

Speaking of refrigerators, if you want to be a bit more tech-centric, then there are various options for off-grid cold food storage.

There are many ways to preserve food including canning, freezing, dehydrating and smoking.

Canning is so popular because of the wide variety of foods that can be preserved this way and the length of time they will remain edible for. Plus there’s no worry of keeping food frozen or cool!

Way back when…

Enter Deep-cycle Lead Acid batteries

How We Went Off-Grid

20 x 8 Ft. Outdoor Storage Shed, Desert Sand

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