How to Take the First Step Towards Off Grid Living
As energy costs continue to increase, off grid living becomes appealing to more and more people. It is now entirely possible to disconnect from the power grid and make all of your own energy. If you size the system appropriately, you can use solar panels or wind turbines to produce all of your own power. By producing some of your own electricity, you can take at least a small step towards off grid living.
Let’s start by talking about solar power. Solar panels are a great option for supplying power to many homes and can work in all parts of the world, even in remote areas or places with a harsh environment. Some hardware and plenty of sun are the only requirements. It is actually pretty easy to build your own solar panel. To see the best guide I’ve found, visit GreenDIYEnergy Review. You can build a solar power system that is as large or small as required and it can even be portable if your living arrangements are mobile. Solar panels need very little maintenance, are tough and will last 20 or more years if taken care of.
A basic system includes some number of solar panels which are wired together. In order to produce maximum power, solar panels in the northern hemisphere should be pointed due south. Some solar power systems use panels that rotate so they always point directly at the sun, though with more recent solar panels this is less important than it was with older panels. With modern solar panels, as long as they are pointed due south and at the proper vertical angle, stationary panels will work almost as well as ones driven by motors. Another great resource for how to build a solar panel is Build your own Solar Panel.
Since solar cells produce Direct Current (DC), the electricity produced by solar cells can be used to power any DC appliance or to charge batteries. Using batteries allows for storing electricity to be used when the sun isn’t shining.
A power inverter can be used to convert the DC electricity from solar panels into the AC electricity that standard appliances around your house require. A power inverter can convert DC electricity coming from either the solar panels or batteries in AC electricity.
A wind turbine can also be used to generate the power that will enable you to begin living off grid. Wind turbines can be mounted on a tower, a pole or sometimes even the roof of your house. They are very efficient and fairly small. One advantage of a wind turbine over solar panels is they can generate power all day and all night as well. As long as the wind is blowing, a wind turbine can produce electricity. For a great guide to building your own wind turbine, check out Earth 4 Energy Review
It is possible to combine both solar panels and a wind generator in one system. Both solar panels and wind turbines generate DC electricity so you can use the same batteries and power inverter with both. At night the wind turbine can produce power as long as there is a breeze and on calm, sunny days the solar panels can take over and generate electricity.
Using either or both of these systems can provide enough electricity to enable you to pull the plug and start living off grid. They can allow you to take your first step toward complete off grid living.
Living Off Grid
Off grid living is becoming more appealing to many people as the cost of energy continues to rise. You can now very easily unplug from the power grid and produce 100% of your own energy. By utilizing wind turbines or solar panels, many homeowners are generating their own power, assuming their system is sized correctly. By producing some of your own electricity, you can take at least a small step towards off grid living.
We will discuss solar power first. Even in remote or harsh places, solar panels can be a great option for supplying power. The only thing you need is some hardware and lots of sun. For the do-it-yourselfer, the best guide to building a diy solar panel is GreenDIYEnergy. You can put together a solar power system that is as large or small as required and it can even be portable if your living arrangements are mobile. Solar panels are tough, require very little maintenance and can last up to 20 years if properly cared for.
A basic system includes some number of solar panels which are wired together. In order to produce maximum power, solar panels in the northern hemisphere should be pointed due south. With older solar panels, it was more important that they point directly at the sun and many solar power systems used motors to rotate the panels so they always pointed directly at the sun, however with more modern panels this is less important.With more modern solar panels, it is less important that they point directly at the sun, but older solar power systems often had motors to rotate the panels as the sun moved across the sky. As long as modern solar panels are pointed directly south and are at the right vertical angle, stationary panels will work just fine. For an article about how to build your own solar panel, check out Build Solar Panel.
Solar cells produce DC electricity which can be used to charge batteries or provide power to any device than uses DC electricity. Charging batteries can be useful to provide power when the sun isn’t shining, like at night after the sun goes down.
In order to provide power to standard AC appliances, you will need to use a power inverter. A power inverter can be used to do the DC to AC conversion on power coming from either the solar panels or from batteries.
A wind turbine can also be used to generate the power that will enable you to begin living off grid. You can mount a modern wind turbine on a pole or tower, or perhaps even on the roof of your home. These modern wind turbines are fairly small and quite efficient. If you want to generate power at night as well as during the day, wind turbines can do this which is an advantage over solar panels. As long as the wind is blowing, a wind turbine can produce electricity. For information about making a diy wind generator, take a look at Earth4Energy.
Some people use a wind turbine together with solar panels. Both solar panels and wind turbines generate DC electricity so you can use the same batteries and power inverter with both. If it is overcast and windy the wind turbine can generate power and if is it a sunny, calm day the solar panels will provide power.
IF you want to pull the plug and begin an off grid lifestyle, either of these systems can generate enough power to allow you to do so. They will let you take your first step towards completely pulling the plug.
