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9 Issues to Know About Off-Grid Homesteading

Hoca

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16.5 acres and a complete lotta chutzpah.


That’s what we began with once we started this off-grid homesteading journey again in 2015.

It took us over two years to construct it by hand. We’ve been dwelling in it for 5 and counting, and I can actually say I wouldn’t commerce it for something. We’ve constructed one thing great and I really feel blessed to have the ability to name this place dwelling.

64D64918-0DDB-423B-A8F3-20FEA673C92F-scaled.jpg

The entrance of our off-grid cordwood home after a rain in 2022.

Nevertheless it’s not a mattress of roses.

Most folk who’re actively looking for to off-grid homestead know this at the back of their minds, however nonetheless. It’s one factor to look at YouTube movies of fellows organising their photo voltaic panels and fairly one other to do it your self.

In the event you’re pushed by the thought of homesteading and dwelling off the grid, listed here are NINE issues it’s essential know earlier than you dive in.

9-Things-to-Know-About-Living-Off-Grid-Pin3.jpeg

9 Issues to Know About Off-Grid Homesteading​

1. It’s a number of work.​


Properly after all. You most likely learn that and rolled your eyes as a result of, I imply, you KNOW it’s going to be exhausting work. That is perhaps one purpose why you’re interested in it. The concept of constructing one thing significant with your individual arms. Getting your fingers deep into the filth. Sweating it out when you protect the harvest.

All of these issues are nice. I don’t like to sit down down and am often happiest when my arms are coated in filth. However there will likely be occasions that may check you.

Instances if you’re unrolling PEX tubing at 3 am to have it prepared for an 8 am inspection. Instances if you’re frantically making an attempt to stack the massive pile of firewood you simply completed splitting earlier than the rain hits. Or occasions when your energy immediately cuts out and also you’re the one one who can troubleshoot it.

There are moments that make me ponder what life could be like if we had stayed in suburbia. I’ll suppose, “Man, it might be nice if I may simply have the warmth on as a substitute of getting to construct a fireplace within the wooden range.” Or, “Certain could be good to have an enormous electrical fridge and A/C with out worrying about how a lot energy we’re utilizing.”

But when I replicate actually, off-grid is a good way to dwell. It simply isn’t immediate or straightforward.

Associated: What resides off-grid anyway?


2. Shopping for land or an current homestead could be a irritating course of.​


In the event you don’t have already got uncooked land or an current dwelling, tiny dwelling, or small cabin, shopping for property could be daunting. Land costs and the housing market writ giant have been in a continuing state of flux and uncertainty. Possibly it makes you marvel if that is even a very good time to attempt to purchase property.

Then once more, possibly the fixed flux and uncertainty on the planet is precisely why you wish to go off-grid within the first place. Maybe preparedness is high of thoughts for you.

If that’s the case, there are lots of issues it’s essential know before you purchase your individual land. For starters, uncooked land purchases sometimes require a a lot greater down fee in the event you aren’t shopping for it outright for money. You might also should cope with surveys, environmental research, soil testing, easements, or verifying the possession of water, mineral, or timber rights.

Shopping for land is a big matter by itself, so I invite you to take a look at these associated posts:

I additionally invite you to take a look at The Homestead Land Purchaser’s Guidebook for a complete walkthrough of the land-buying course of.


The Homestead Land Buyer's Guidebook

3. Sustaining your property can get costly.​


From the surface, this complete off-grid homesteading factor would possibly look fairly quaint. As in the event you don’t want some huge cash to make it work. Simply give up your day job and keep dwelling and dwell off the land, proper?

That’s technically doable, however it isn’t the norm.

A small solar energy setup can run $5,000-10,000 on the low finish.
Even then, you’ll nonetheless probably must pay for a generator and ongoing gas prices to run it when there isn’t sufficient solar to maintain the batteries full.

Associated: How a lot solar energy do I want?

For water, you’re a number of thousand {dollars} for a cistern with a pump for rainwater catchment. Identical in the event you select to dig a properly and run a line from there.

Don’t neglect the septic system and the price of pumping it each 3-5 years.

Lengthy driveway like ours? You’ll probably spend a number of thousand {dollars} each few years when it wants new rock. Oh, and don’t neglect the tractor and grader blade to take care of the driveway within the meantime. You’ll have ongoing gas and upkeep prices on that too.

We would not have energy and water payments, however we have now different bills that we wouldn’t have if we had been nonetheless dwelling on the town. Take into account it in your price range as you’re planning.

You possibly can seize our free PDF planning and budgeting sheets right here:

4. Take into account your meals sources.​

variety of green plants

Photograph by . ▃ on Pexels.com

One factor many off-grid homesteaders usually aspire to do is develop as a lot of their very own meals as doable. Even in the event you’re a seasoned gardener and have numerous expertise with rising and preservation, having a plan on your meals is crucial.

  • Will your land be capable of accommodate the dimensions and kind of vegetable gardens you wish to develop?
  • Are there current fruit timber or room to plant some?
  • Do you might have a plan for perennial meals you possibly can plant, similar to asparagus or berries?
  • Will you might have the house and sources for any livestock it’s possible you’ll wish to preserve?
  • For any meals you’ll NOT be rising by yourself, do you might have a plan for methods to get it?
  • Are there any grocery shops close by?
  • Have you ever recognized native farmers, co-ops, herd shares, milk shares, and many others. from whom you will get meat and dairy?
  • Can you forage for wild edibles in your land?

Accessing wholesome meals is important proper together with this subsequent level:

5. Plan your water sources.​

rainwater drops on a puddle


Water is an more and more crucial useful resource. In lots of components of the world, local weather change and extended excessive warmth are altering the best way lots of people entry and handle their water. That’s true even (or generally particularly) for these with metropolis water.

Having a clear, dependable water provide is paramount to any life-style however is particularly necessary on an off-grid property.

Associated: How Our Household Makes use of a Huge Berkey to Make Our Rainwater Protected to Drink


Our property is positioned within the Ohio River Valley area with a yearly precipitation of roughly 42 inches. Relying on the climate patterns, rainwater harvesting alone is sufficient to maintain us while not having to haul additional water. However once we DO must haul water, we have now plan in place for methods to do it. We have now a big tank on a trailer that we take to the closest water filling station. (Fortunately it’s lower than a mile from our home…we received critically fortunate with that and we all know it).

However most of you received’t have a water filling station that’s gloriously near your home. You might even be in an space experiencing excessive drought. What then? Do you might have a plan for methods to get water? Have you ever investigated the water rights of your explicit state, county, or township? As a result of it varies and is important to know.

Associated: How We Use Roughly 1/tenth the Water That Most American Houses Use

As for us, we all know we have now an enough provide of recent water, however are at all times in search of methods to enhance this.
We hope so as to add a pond within the subsequent few years for backup water and to be ready in case of a hearth. Designing and digging a pond is one other expense of off-grid dwelling that many won’t consider. Our excavator doesn’t work free of charge, in any case, and farm ponds aren’t simply holes within the floor. There’s a science to it, and his information doesn’t come low cost.

6. Photo voltaic and Wind energy nonetheless value cash.​

cordwood shed with a set of nine solar panels on the left and six to the right

Mark and our son engaged on our photo voltaic panel challenge in 2020.

As I discussed earlier than, photo voltaic vitality will not be low cost or essentially free. In the event you select to put in an off-grid system, the elements alone value a major sum of money. It isn’t simply photo voltaic panels, after all. You additionally want batteries, an inverter, and a cost controller on the very least.

Associated: What We Ran on Our Small 1.14 kW Photo voltaic Energy System

Say you select so as to add wind or hydropower to that. There could be a important value in no matter wind turbine or hydro turbine you select, to not point out any additional elements they could require.

There are different gadgets you will get too, like remotes, shows, or battery displays. And there are quite a few configurations that, in the event you aren’t properly versed within the expertise, can get fairly sophisticated and develop dearer the deeper you get into your challenge. Purpose to maintain these prices decrease by planning your challenge with an precise photo voltaic skilled.

Associated: Learn how to Get Began With Dwelling Photo voltaic

I listing a number of firms that we labored with and beloved in our free Newbie’s Information to Going Photo voltaic, which you will get under:


However upon getting a photo voltaic, wind, or hydro system in place, it doesn’t simply preserve working advert infinitum.​


Relying on the battery expertise you select, you’re going to wish to put aside cash to switch that battery financial institution each few years.

Some battery varieties, like flooded lead acid batteries, are likely to final so much longer however require much more upkeep to maintain them working safely. Others, just like the sealed lead-acid AGM batteries we at the moment have, require virtually no upkeep however don’t final as lengthy. Lithium batteries could outlast both of these, however they’ve completely different upkeep necessities and can nonetheless should be changed sooner or later.

Associated: How We Went From 1.14 to three.26 kW of Photo voltaic Energy

The purpose is that this: you won’t should pay payments to the facility firm if you dwell off the grid, however your energy nonetheless isn’t “free”.
Nonetheless, there are such a lot of good issues about not being tied to {the electrical} grid that it is perhaps price it so that you can pursue it. There may be a number of freedom in with the ability to provide your individual energy. I like not having energy outages throughout storms or rolling blackouts throughout excessive utilization. However on the flipside, there’s this subsequent level:

7. When your energy goes out, there’s no energy firm to rescue you.​


Certain, our energy doesn’t exit throughout storms prefer it did again on the town. However generally, issues simply occur. Almost certainly is that we ran the voltage of our battery financial institution all the way down to its cutoff level and the system shut itself off. Resolution: go run the generator to cost the batteries again up.

Typically although, you may need one thing weirder occur. Maybe a wire received bumped someplace. Or possibly a element is malfunctioning.

If for some purpose the facility DOES exit, we’re those who’ve to repair that. There isn’t some photo voltaic man we will name to come back take a look at our system for us. Most photo voltaic firms in our area solely take care of grid-tied residential installs or giant industrial or business techniques. They received’t even name you again in the event you’re a small fish like us. So what must you do?

I like to recommend beginning with certainly one of Heatspring’s free online courses to get began. Or you could possibly go overkill like we did and take a course to grow to be a NABCEP licensed photo voltaic installer (additionally by Heatspring).


My husband, Mark, really did this once we had been making ready to construct our photo voltaic shed and increase our photo voltaic system again in 2020. This was partly to appease {the electrical} inspector who needed an authorized installer to place the system in. Mark additionally needed to have a deeper information of methods to design and implement a very good off-grid solar energy system. In spite of everything, if the one individuals who can repair it are us, then we should be as ready and knowledgable as doable.

He took two lessons by Heatspring and sat the certification examination, however you don’t essentially should go this far. You possibly can take any of Heatspring’s free online courses to get began. You possibly can at all times pursue the deeper protection of a paid class after that if it’s essential.

Both manner, sustaining your energy system is a stage of self-reliance it’s essential be prepared for in the event you select to dwell off the grid.

8. There are numerous alternative ways to off-grid homestead.​


Persons are interested in an off-grid life-style for a great deal of completely different causes. For some, it’s about being self-reliant and never depending on the system or public utilities to handle your wants. For others, it’s about being linked to the land, working towards sustainable agriculture and meals preservation. Others could also be extra within the sustainable dwelling a part of it. They be ok with preserving our pure sources and utilizing solar energy as a substitute of being linked to an influence plant that burns fossil fuels.

Ours began out as a sensible necessity since we’re too removed from the street to succeed in the facility grid, a water supply, or native waste administration. However we at all times had an itch to do issues which are more healthy and extra environmentally aware. We additionally like to have the ability to present for ourselves with out counting on anybody else too closely.

Associated: What even IS an Unintended Hippy anyway??

Briefly, our motivations had been a combination, proceed to evolve, and on the entire, we actually take pleasure in dwelling this fashion.

The good factor is you possibly can create a doable off-grid homestead mainly anyplace.
You don’t want a lot land and you’ll preserve it small with out a lot work in the event you solely have slightly cash to start out with. Heck, you don’t even have to start out by being off-grid. You possibly can have a homestead life-style in an condo and even in a journey trailer.

There isn’t a proper or incorrect strategy to homestead; it’s a matter of non-public choice. What you make of it’s as much as your mindset and practices.

That leads me to the final level:

9. Off-grid homesteading will change you as an individual.​

woman standing in a window frame next to cordwood wall

Me again in 2016 after finishing a piece of cordwood masonry in our off-grid dwelling

I really feel like a completely completely different particular person if I look again at my writings from earlier than we began homesteading.

There are such a lot of issues I’ve realized since 2014 once we first began in search of land. I take into consideration what I realized from strolling properties and going by the acquisition course of for the parcel we now have. What I realized from bodily constructing this home from the bottom up. The abilities I’ve realized from gardening to soapmaking to bread baking and extra.

I take into consideration all of the wonderful of us within the on-line homesteading house who’ve grow to be my best mates, and the way I by no means would have met them had I not taken this big leap of religion.

Typically I ponder if I ever would have bothered studying about permaculture, solar energy, and even homeschooling.

How probably would I’ve been to remain in a system that wasn’t actually serving me?


I’m unsure I can ever know the reply to that, however I DO know this: even for the overwhelming majority of people who find themselves NOT dwelling off the grid like we do, the homesteading house is giant and rising.

I see extra of us now than ever on Instagram sharing nice details about gardening, permaculture, meals preservation, sustainability, zero-waste, self-reliance, and numerous heritage abilities.

Possibly I might have stumbled into this life-style anyway given its growing prevalence. I don’t know.

However I do know that if I wasn’t actively dwelling in a house the place I had to consider my water and energy consumption every day, these self-sufficiency Reels would most likely hit otherwise.

This life-style has modified me and can most likely change you too if you’re daring sufficient to pursue it.

Might it change us all for the higher.

Able to be taught extra?​


Study extra about our authentic cordwood homestead challenge here. And you should definitely be a part of us on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram for extra homesteading goodies that don’t essentially make it to the weblog. Thanks for studying!
 
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