Off grid Living - modern feasibility.

[TeeDee]

Not necessarily just this video but it did make me rethink how now , with the relative modern advantages of many many bespoke , ready to go , kit , design and support ( Starlink, PV solar array and battery , gshp , grey water recycling ) , more modern insulation and build technologies and generally what just seems to be more of a well serviced 'modular kit' themed approach to off grid living as opposed to living out of a Yurt or a grubby caravan ( not that there is anything wrong with that )

Is Off Grid living now a more easy to achieve possibility than it was 10/15 years ago?

How feasible is it ?

Thoughts ?

 

[Chris]

Solar's a real game changer in my opinion.

I think it's feasible, but the barrier to entry is the need for a big wedge of cash up front. Not only for the land, and the material to build your home, but also for the initial outlay on solar panels and such.

This guy spent about £190k doing it, if I recall correctly? And he had specialist help from friends with the carpentry and building the house.

I don't think my wife would fancy it, but sometimes it's a very tempting idea.

 

[British Red]

It's extremely possible to live a comfortable modern life off grid these days but there is an up front outlay. PV, wind turbine, micro hydro, battery storage, satellite broadband, internet working, meeting, shopping and conferencing all play a part.

Sadly society appears to be planned around grey little urban dwellers who are determined to trap everyone on the hamster wheel

 

[TeeDee]

Solar's a real game changer in my opinion.

I think it's feasible, but the barrier to entry is the need for a big wedge of cash up front. Not only for the land, and the material to build your home, but also for the initial outlay on solar panels and such.

This guy spent about £190k doing it, if I recall correctly? And he had specialist help from friends with the carpentry and building the house.

I don't think my wife would fancy it, but sometimes it's a very tempting idea.

Agreed its a whack of capital to be found upfront.

Around my way 190k may get you a nice 1 bed flat? A modest Two bed house with shoe box rooms and gardens where you can't even swing the proverbial unhappy feline.

I guess my angle was many people have a large amount of equity tied up in houses that maybe they are less than happy with - rather than looking to nudge themselves up the property ladder ( at great cost ) - if the possibility of levering that equity to something quite different.

 

[Jared]

Another channel of a family going off grid in Scotland.

Beyond the Workbench

Off Grid Scotland, eco living, natural living, We have bought 50 acres in the highlands of Scotland and will be building our off grid eco home using renewable energy to power our eco home that we will be designing and building using natural materials. We will be living in an off grid caravan...

www.youtube.com

Using micro hydro power, initally used starlink but reverted to 4g

 

[British Red]

I guess my angle was many people have a large amount of equity tied up in houses that maybe they are less than happy with - rather than looking to nudge themselves up the property ladder ( at great cost ) - if the possibility of levering that equity to something quite different.

Owning your own property with minimal outgoings, particularly if you can provide heating & food can be a life changing experience.

I know

 

[slowworm]

I would look at it slightly differently and wonder how much of the kit is really needed. For example, I knew someone who was proud of his solar PV as he could do his tumble drying for 'free' (ignoring the £1,000s spent on the panels even after a grant) whereas we have just used a humble washing line for years.

As for costs you also need to looking to everyday costs such as council tax. It has a large element of land tax in it, so if you buying several acres to build a house be aware that the council tax valuation will put you in a higher band than if the house sits in a small plot. (So, when purchasing the land see if you could separate out the house plot from the rest of the land).

 

[TeeDee]

I would look at it slightly differently and wonder how much of the kit is really needed. For example, I knew someone who was proud of his solar PV as he could do his tumble drying for 'free' (ignoring the £1,000s spent on the panels even after a grant) whereas we have just used a humble washing line for years.

As for costs you also need to looking to everyday costs such as council tax. It has a large element of land tax in it, so if you buying several acres to build a house be aware that the council tax valuation will put you in a higher band than if the house sits in a small plot. (So, when purchasing the land see if you could separate out the house plot from the rest of the land).

Thats a fair comment and good observation.
We tend to focus on creating more overly complicated ways of energy production as opposed to minimizing the requirements of that energy production.

I deal with a lot of customers that want Heat Pumps for the most ill fitting structures ( old churches , drafty cottages etc ) that seem more intent on getting the Heat Pump ( I guess because its gucci tech ) as opposed to addressing the basics of insulation.

 

[TLM]

We tend to focus on creating more overly complicated ways of energy production as opposed to minimizing the requirements of that energy production.

This sentence explains some of the worst mistakes made in many cases. It is not a question of producing huge amounts of electricity it is how to use as little as possible and still achieve your needs.

 

[Chris]

This is quite a useful video in terms of planning.

 

[Chris]

Just watched this as another approach. Quite interesting.

 

[haptalaon]

Was talking to some American friends & they mentioned the concept of 'the landed poor', which we really don't and can't have here. ie people who basically have nothing and have no prospects but who can still get hold of a couple of acres of land, so if the worst happens they can live on it in a cardboard box and shoot rabbits.

In the UK that first hurdle of getting the land is too huge to even think about, as well as the restrictions which then come with how you use it.

So I think advances in technology don't really change that underlying social relationship. The big issue of feasibility was always economic, followed by the difficulty of getting permissions, insurance etc, and the latter is something one has close to no control over.

Arguably, we could see more of this sort of thing as a result of technological advances. The kind of person who can buy 50 acres is unlikely to be the kind of person who wants to live in a yurt, wear nettle and use a compost toilet until they die - that's the cruel paradox of homesteading in the UK. but the ability to put in Internet and work from home alongside real home comforts makes this achievable and attractive to, say, the wealthy & wacky of tech subcultures.

 

[British Red]

Was talking to some American friends & they mentioned the concept of 'the landed poor', which we really don't and can't have here. ie people who basically have nothing and have no prospects but who can still get hold of a couple of acres of land, so if the worst happens they can live on it in a cardboard box and shoot rabbits.

In the UK that first hurdle of getting the land is too huge to even think about, as well as the restrictions which then come with how you use it.

So I think advances in technology don't really change that underlying social relationship. The big issue of feasibility was always economic, followed by the difficulty of getting permissions, insurance etc, and the latter is something one has close to no control over.

The problem in the UK is that there is already a tiny amount of land per person - vastly under an acre a person but if you discount lakes, shops, roads etc. there is under half an acre per person. The number of people is rising by almost a million per year but they aren't making more land.

In the USA there are still places 30 miles from mains services. There are also places in the USA that fine you for leaving your garage door open, leaving the bins out for an hour or planting vegetables in your garden.

The more over populated we become, the less individual freedom is possible. When we pack people in, no-one wants someone with inadequate sanitation right next door.

 

[Tengu]

How secret is that mansion?

 

[Glow_worm]

There has been a huge shift in mindset and acceptance in the last 10 years or so.

When I was setting up to live in a caravan in a 200 acre wood for a while, the responses were 'how will you manage without electricity', 'how will you do your washing' etc etc.

Now, restoring a very derelict cottage without services other than water, when mentioning mains electricity is unaffordable to connect to, the response from everybody has been 'You'll just go off grid, won't you, with solar and batteries'. No mains drainage? 'Just get composting toilets'.

It's now not just socially acceptable, it's desirable. Possibly the 'yoootoob' influence? No idea, I don't watch videos of people living simply, because I'm too busy living simply!

But as mentioned previously, if you've got the budget, you can live a mainstream lifestyle off grid now very easily.

If you haven't got the budget, as ever, you'll spend the best years of your life working to afford the place and be past your best by the time you've managed to set up your dream existence of long hours of hard work in all weathers.