More households are taking a serious look at how their daily consumption affects the environment and are looking for solutions to lessen their environmental footprint. For particularly devoted households, the most impactful solution may be to take their home partially or completely off the grid.
Know Your Energy Consumption
Solar power is a great alternative to municipally supplied electricity, but before you remove your home from the city grid entirely you have to understand what your power needs really are. In addition to obvious sources of electric consumption such as lighting systems and personal electronics like computers and TVs, take a look at what it takes to keep the less obvious but even more systems like water heating, air conditioning, and appliances running. If you’re unsure whether solar can fully supply your needs, contact energy industry professionals Sugar Land TX to discuss what other options you may have.
Formulating your back-up plan for power in the event that your primary source isn’t able to generate adequate power for your needs or if something causes that system to fail is critical to the success of your off-the-grid lifestyle. Generators are a common and easily accessible option for backup power, just make sure you understand how to turn them on and what kind of fuel they need to function.
Make Smart Appliance Choices
Appliances like your refrigerator, stove, and washer and dryer are all major energy hogs. If your appliances are older, there’s a chance that they’re not designed to run efficiently enough to be compatible with an off-grid power system.
Your water heating and HVAC systems also draw significant amounts of power to keep your home comfortable and, in some areas, safely habitable. While more energy-efficient models of these appliances are available, the physical construction of your home may not allow them to function as well as they ought to.
Going off the grid is a complicated process; you can’t just install solar panels on the roof and assume you’re good to go. Make sure you understand everything off-grid living entails before you flip the switch.
