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Innovative Tech For Living Off The Grid

Think smart devices and modern tech, what comes to mind is traceable, trackable and invasive devices that infringe our privacy. Not all tech is lousy tech though.  While the decision to go off-grid usually requires individuals to sacrifice a significant level of daily convenience, some innovations have been created to appease notable areas of living.

If you have made plans to go off the grid, it is highly likely that you are in search of devices that will keep your home powered, and add some level of convenience to your daily life without keeping you locked to the grid. This means you can ultimately enjoy the decision to go off-grid without having to sacrifice too many everyday luxuries, and with power solutions available from companies like Lion Energy, you can run more powered devices that bring convenience without compromise..

Admittedly it’s no easy task to look through the options and scrutinise the privacy policies and assurances. Still, to our mind, the only genuinely trustworthy devices are those without a connection to the web or any service that permits communication or traceable exchange. With that in mind, we bring you our top picks for great gear when living off-grid.

Small Solar Power Kit

There is something romantic about the idea of heating water and cooking food over an open flame. However, there is also an inherent risk for yourself and the environment around you. Wildfires are destructive, very difficult to put out once they spread and, obviously, dangerous. Therefore, the option of cooking and heating water with fire as a sole solution is not entirely practical, mainly because a small solar panel and battery combo can produce sufficient power to make use of a kettle and hotplate.

Given that you do decide to add additional tech to your kit, having a clean, renewable energy source with which to charge them is an excellent way to go. Using rechargeable lighting solutions are also preferable to using any fueled lighting, given the energy source is clean. Suppose your budget is welcoming to the idea of renewable energy. In that case, it is also a great idea to consider investing in solar panels and a battery backup system that will store unused power. Larger systems are quite pricey, although, starting small and building up your usage of solar energy is a plausible approach that most individuals opt for.

Custom Smart Media Player

For many, a WiFi-only tablet switched to aeroplane mode is enough, but some of us want to take our security and privacy a little further. A Raspberry Pi-based touch screen device is the perfect alternative. It is also a great way to familiarise yourself to custom hardware assembly, opening up a multitude of options for devices built to spec.

 

It may sound intimidating, but remember that you could order them premade as well. The thing about a setup like this …

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7 green building trends for 2010

From web-based displays that track energy usage in real time, to the downsizing of the American home, here are the key trends that will affect the way we build new homes in 2010.

1)      “Rightsizing” of homes. A larger home no longer translates into greater equity. Given that the forecast for home valuation remains conservative, that energy prices are expected to rise over time, and the US Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates mid-year, homeowners will likely feel more

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Phone charging big bucks

The provision of off-grid charging services such as solar mobile phones or external solar chargers could bring mobile operators a market opportunity of $2.3 billion in emerging markets, according to research commissioned by the GSMA’s Green Power for Mobile (GPM) programme.

The provision of off-grid charging services such as solar mobile phones or external solar chargers could bring mobile operators a market opportunity of USD 2.3 billion in emerging markets, according to research commissioned by the GSMA’s Green Power for Mobile (GPM) programme. The market opportunity was calculated by taking the 485 million mobile users without access to the electricity grid, at an average ARPU of USD 4 (GSMA estimate, based on Wireless Intelligence data) and an increase of 10 percent, on an annual basis. The report identifies a range of charging choices available that, if implemented effectively, are expected to extend service availability and could boost average revenues per user by 10-14 percent. The research has found that there is significant interest in off-grid services. About 60 percent of interviewed mobile operators already have or are exploring off-grid charging initiativesThe provision of off-grid charging services such as solar mobile phones or external solar chargers could bring mobile operators a market opportunity of USD 2.3 billion in emerging markets, according to research commissioned by the GSMA’s Green Power for Mobile (GPM) programme.
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