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"Living Off The Grid"What if you were able to generate enough of your own electricity to fulfill all your domestic energy needs and also save any surplus generated power for future consumption? Sounds impossible? Well, not any more, it isn't. You can actually achieve all of the above if you know the secrets of living off the grid. Living off the grid simply means that you don't have to depend on a conventional energy supplier for meeting your household electricity demands. What's more, by installing a back up battery system you can actually store any spare energy that you may not need to use immediately. If you are presently not living off the grid, then you are dependent upon the nationwide electricity grid and all your power needs are being met by power stations that are powered by either coal, natural gas, nuclear power or hydroelectric with a small percentage of renewables such as industrial wind power or tidal energy schemes. Living off the grid involves using an alternative energy power system which frees you from the constraints and costs of the conventional power company. The best way of achieving this is by harnessing the power of renewable energy sources. Solar energy is probably most widely known alternative in this respect. Placing solar panels in a suitable position on your home should be considered a first step in becoming energy independent. These solar cells convert the sunlight into useful amounts of electrical energy that can be used immediately or stored in batteries for later use. Not only are solar panels non-polluting after they have been manufactured, but they cut down your energy bill as well, the savings being dependent on the total amount and intensity of light that falls on them. Such is the potential of solar energy that some European countries intend to make solar roof panels a requirement for all new homes. If solar energy is not suitable for your circumstances, you can always look at residential small scale wind power as a practical alternative. Wind energy, although not as popular as its solar counterpart, is nevertheless steadily gaining in popularity. The one major problem with wind power is it's lack of consistency as no one can accurately predict wind speeds on any given day. There are other problems also including the size of the device (planning permission may be required under some circumstances). Don't let this put you off, though. If you are seriously considering living off the grid then you need to seriously consider using both solar energy and wind power in your setup. When there is not enough wind to turn your wind turbine but the sun is shining, use the solar panels to produce electricity and when the wind is up use the turbine to produce some electricity to use or store for a later date.
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