![]() ![]() This was a lesson for us that it’s always good to have more than one source of power. “The first major thing for us to think about was energy where was it going to come from and would it sustain us year round in the UK? We decided to go all solar, we had a dream of all our appliances being powered by renewable energy, but we struggled during our first winter and had to use a backup generator, so over the summer we will install a 500watt wind turbine to help when it’s cloudy. To work out how much energy you would get from different kinds of Photovoltaics (PV) systems in any place in the world use Photovoltaic Geographical Information System ( PVGIS) - a website that gives you information about solar radiation and PhotoVoltaic (PV) system performance.” This is why in the UK you can’t really rely on solar power solely and need additional power. How you generate your energy will vary with the site and the resources available.Ĭlearly solar power is a particularly reliable source of power in sunny, warm climates that get prolonged periods of sunshine as David Hilton, expert in renewables and energy efficiency points out: “South Africa, where I’m from, has the same solar resource in winter as the UK gets in the summer. Once you know how much electricity you need, each day and across the whole year, you can then decide of how you will generate it and how big the battery system needs to be. Work out how you will generate your energy ![]() Having this information will help you make an informed decision. ![]() An energy expert will also help you do all the calculations, working out precisely how much energy you will need, how it can be generated and what it will all cost. “Past electricity bills are the only practical means to work out annual and average daily consumption,” says Tim Pullen. If you are going off-grid you need to know how much energy you will need because you will have to provide it all yourself. So, if that hasn’t burst your off grid living bubble and you fit into Tim’s third category – someone who has a remote plot of land where shared resources won’t reach, read on… There are three kinds of people that want to try off grid living: those that believe it will be cheaper and less CO2 damaging than using grid power (they are wrong, it is not), those that foresee Armageddon and see it as essential to survival (they are wrong too – hopefully) and those that are remote with no access to the grid (they are right, in that they have no choice).” It is you, and only you, that pays for the generation system, the maintenance and is responsible for fixing any break down. Tim Pullen, an expert in sustainable building and energy efficiency, agrees that off grid living is about being autonomous: “It means you are on your own – no back-up. In fact, living in a dense city is probably the most sustainable thing you can do.” The more people live together and share resources, the more efficient everything is. Do you have romantic notions of this lifestyle, where you have freedom and control over your life and a deeper connection to the environment? Or do you want to be a bastion of sustainable living? If it’s the latter, Piers Taylor, Architect and TV Presenter, would encourage you otherwise, “ask yourself the question: ‘do I want to be sustainable or do I want to autonomous?’ If it’s to be sustainable you’d be better off sharing your resources with others. ![]()
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