The state of the world currently has many people who dream of living a simpler life outside of civilization. While it may seem romantic to live on the land and be self-sufficient, it's not for everyone. There are many challenges to be aware of. Last but not least, you should try to be as energy efficient as possible while making sure you are comfortable.
If you are in the early stages of researching what you need to know about grid life, this article will help. I'm going to go over the basics you need to understand before you go out on a mission and go into the country.
1 – heating
No matter where you want to live, at some point you need to heat your home. In some areas it can be much of the year. While you might want to be completely environmentally friendly, the chances of using 100% renewable energy aren't very realistic. You should make an effort to use solar energy to heat your home, but also have a backup plan. Gas oil suppliers can fill a tank for you no matter how rural your home is. You can use wood as well, but this can get quite expensive unless you are harvesting trees from your own property.
2 – hot water
Getting hot water for bathing and washing up is less of a luxury than you think. Indeed, it is quite necessary. So this part can be a little tricky. Again, solar is a great option as you can put panels on the roof that heat the water in special cylinders that continuously supply hot water. In this case, if the sun isn't shining, you'll need to make a backup. In almost every off-grid scenario you need a backup. You should have a propane tank filled, for example, to be able to supply a small instantaneous water heater without a tank with electricity.
3 – water supply
Clean drinking water is also a challenge outside the power grid. You don't have the luxury of being on a public water supply with fresh water at the touch of a button. Instead, you'll need to dig a well on your property or use a system to pull water from a nearby lake and then filter it before you drink it.
4 – lighting
Once again, solar comes to the rescue. With so many advances in photovoltaic technology, you can get a lot of electricity from solar energy. Since running a generator is wasteful and only really good in emergency situations, you need to make sure you have solar and battery storage to always have enough power to power your lights and appliances. If you have electricity running outside of your home, you can set up a very efficient and effective watermill that generates electricity 24 hours a day.
