Off-Grid Essentials: How to Live Sustainably and Comfortably

The off-grid lifestyle is perfect for people wanting to live away from the hustle and bustle of towns and cities. Plus, it’s also a great way to live closer to nature and be more sustainable.

To live off-grid in comfort, you’ll need more than just land and a roof over your head. Here, we will discuss the off-grid essentials you’ll need to live your dream life away from the city.

Kinder ways to stay cosy

Whether you’re living in an off-grid home or not, we all want our homes to be warm and toasty, so you’ll need access to an efficient and reliable source of heating. Off-grid gas comes in the form of liquefied petroleum gas, otherwise known as LPG, and is available in either a bulk tank or gas bottles.

LPG produces 20% less carbon than traditional heating oil. So, if your off-grid home is currently using heating oil, an oil to gas conversion means you’ll be reducing your carbon footprint in the process. Here are two ways you can use LPG and warm your off-grid home.

Hot water and cooking

Living off the grid doesn’t mean going without warm water. After all, you’re living away from cities and towns, not camping in the Great British countryside. LPG will reliably provide your home with hot water and the ability to cook your favourite meals.

Gas fires

Gas fires running on LPG can be more effective than a centralised heating system for heating your off-grid home, as they’re better suited to warming one room at a time. So, you’ll only be heating the places you need most. This means you’ll be keeping warm all-year round whilst reducing your carbon footprint – and who doesn’t want that?

Sustainable sources of electricity

Some off-grid homes aren’t connected to electricity grids. If you’re planning on binge-watching a new Netflix series or are eager to follow your football team on television, you will have to consider other sources of power. Here are some sustainable options to choose from.

Solar

Solar panels are photovoltaic panels. They create electricity by harnessing the power of the sun. This is a simple way to create sustainable electricity in your off-grid home. All you’ll need to do is position the panels so that they get a good amount of sunlight, and they’ll do the rest. Although, you should compensate for cloudy days and have an alternative in place as a back-up, just in case.

Wind

Wind energy is also a sustainable source of electricity. This utilises wind as a natural resource to power your home. Setting up wind turbines can be cheaper than buying solar panels, so it might be easier for people looking to power their off-grid home on a budget. However, it can be less reliable than solar, and the winds where you live might not be strong enough to generate all of the electricity you’ll need.

Eco-friendly waste disposal

There’s no way around it – you will need to dispose of your waste. This may be the last thing you want to think about, but if you’re an off-grid homeowner wanting to live sustainably, you don’t really have a choice.

Poor disposal of waste can lead to a number of environmental issues, from an accumulation of methane gas to polluting a water source. To avoid this, you can think ahead and install environmentally friendly waste disposal systems, such as a septic tank.

These are some of the things you need to think about before moving off-grid. Once you’ve considered these off-grid essentials, you may be ready to start your sustainable living adventure. Where will you settle?