Off-the-grid

Off-the-grid or off-grid is a characteristic of buildings and a lifestyle[1] designed in an independent manner without reliance on one or more public utilities.

The term "off-the-grid" traditionally refers to not being connected to the electrical grid, but can also include other utilities like water, gas, and sewer systems, and can scale from residential homes to small communities.

Generally, an off-grid building must be able to supply energy and potable water for itself, as well as manage food, waste and wastewater.

When off the grid, such as in Africa where 55% people of do not have access to electricity,[7] buildings and homes must take advantage of the renewable energy sources around them, because it is the most abundant and allows for self-sufficiency.

This solves intermittency issues caused by the non-constant production of renewables and allows for variations in building loads.

These combine traditional renewables like solar PV, and wind, micro-hydro, batteries or even diesel generators.

Both the Soviet Union and the United States employed numerous such devices on earth and almost every deep space probe reaching beyond the orbit of Mars (and even some in the inner solar system) has had an RTG to provide power where solar panels no longer deliver sufficient electricity per unit of mass.

For net metering, to sell back to the grid, an inverter would still be needed, and also to use the grid-as-a-backup, if still using a grid-tied electrical system.

[34] A UV system uses bulbs that emit ultraviolet light into filtered water to kill all types of viruses, bacteria, and protozoa.

[35] A less typical approach, this involves applying a current to water that has a small salt solution added to disinfect biological contaminants.

Water softening systems introduce sodium and potassium ions which make the hard minerals precipitate.

Hybrid energy systems also provide communities with a sustainable way to live without the dependence and cost of being connected to public infrastructure which can be unreliable in developing countries.

Generally, isolated concerns of environmental impacts are the use diesel generators, which produce greenhouse gases, batteries, which use many resources to make and can be hazardous, and pollution in natural environments from solid waste and wastewater.

"[41] Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada lists the following environmental concerns for these off-grid communities: The environmental impacts of the systems used in off-grid buildings must also be considered due to embodied energy, embodied carbon, choice and source of materials, which can contribute to world issues such as climate change, air, water, and soil pollution, resource depletion and more.

Using renewable energy, an on-site water source, sustainable agriculture and vertical farming techniques is paramount in taking a community off the grid.

A recent concept design by Eric Wichman shows a multi-family community, which combines all of these technologies into one self-sufficient neighborhood.

It is often done to residential buildings only occasionally occupied, such as vacation cabins, to avoid high initial costs of traditional utility connections.

[44] Electricity provides opportunities for improved productivity, learning, and hygienic end-uses in the home, such as cooking without the use of polluting biomass fuel sources, yet as of 2016, 20 percent of people worldwide lived without it.

[45] Bridging the gap from the current under-provision of grid electricity to universal access has been projected to require US$17 trillion and 30 years even on a rigorous timetable.

[46] Researchers have argued that a lack of centralized energy infrastructure can result in low resilience to damage to productivity and property from changing climates and severe weather.

[44] Decentralized, off-grid energy systems can constitute a sustainable interim alternative to extending national grids to rural customers.

[46][48] To counteract this possibility, off-grid systems should reflect the cultural structures, values, and mores of host communities.

[45][49] Off-grid electrical systems can power individual residences or a community linked in a shared arrangement known as a micro-grid.

Land labs provide an outdoor classroom environment for students to learn about off-grid technology and methods.

Within a land lab, students can learn about permaculture, photovoltaics, rainwater catchment, animal husbandry, composting, market gardening, biochar systems, methane digesters, rocket mass heaters, horticulture, ecology, and countless other off-grid concepts.