Energy Saving Tips – Living Off Grid

By admin at 26 September, 2009, 8:39 pm

When you live off the grid without an electricity provider you need to be creative in your use of energy. when using renewable energy like solar, wind or water on a small scale these tips will help your energy go further and last longer.

1) Turn off electrical appliances

2) Do not use electricity to heat water for washing, cooking and cleaning

Unplug them when not in use. This is common sense but becomes essential when your living off grid, each appliance left on will add to the combined drain on your energy method and will weaken your battery bank charge. Check your energy meter, charge controller when you have unplugged all appliances and confirm there is no electrical load left. This is also great for safety as appliances cannot short from a spill or water when we not plugged in.

Using electricity to heat water is very inefficient and most of the energy goes into the pan and the surrounding air, that’s why it takes so long to boil. when you are living off grid, take a look at some alternative methods of heating water like solar water heating. You might be surprised to learn that the sun can heat water effectively even on an over cast day using some type of lens or concentrator, something like a magnifying glass. Even the use of a wood burning stove might be more efficient assuming you have a decent supply of wood in your off grid destination.

3) Refrigeration Mass

4) Pick low power appliances

A refrigerator two of things you will still probably need to run in your off grid home so you will need to make it as efficient as possible! Even if you have selected the most efficient low power fridge or freezer you can buy there is still a way to increase its efficiency further; Using refrigerator mass items. Simply take a used soda bottle or similar container and fill it with water, and place it into your fridge or freezer. Because the liquid will retain its chilled better than air, and won’t escape when the appliance is opened it is more efficient to fill airspace with bottles of water and let them freeze. This will mean that the appliance stays colder and spends like time and energy and cooling the appliance further.

Even though most low energy products cost a small extra and may lack cutting edge performance what we save in the medium term should not be overlooked. An example is LED lights which have a far higher lifetime and use up to 80% less energy than traditional lights.

Some appliances are low power to start with, items such as cell phones and cameras are never a sizable power drain and do not need such extra attention to details as other appliances. The dissimilarity in power consumption between a low energy model as well as a conventional energy design can be seen most clearly in appliances such as laptops and desktops, refrigerators and more.

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