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When it comes to making load decisions, off-grid people without large resources always target potency. Here’s some specific guidance on common appliances, drawn from my 30 years of off-grid living experience.
Fridge / refrigerator : Set your sights on extraordinary energy efficiency here, since this is sometimes the biggest electric load in an off the grid home. Chillers and freezers cycle off and on steadily, and need to run with no regard for sun and windyou cant flex your use to house the adaptations in weather. Using specialty DC appliances may be a good option in some cases, and getting correct numbers on energy use
before you buy any refrigeration hardware is the best idea. Gear up to spend more up front for better overall savings over the long term. At least one ultraefficient fridge is available too in an AC configuration for approximately the same cost.
Lighting : Off-grid homes of sensible design have no incandescent lights. Compact fluorescent lights ( CFL ) and LEDs predominate. Try a spread of CFL and LED options, since quality, color rendition, and light output varies.
clothing washing / drying : Horizontal-axis ( often frontloading ) machines use less electricity ( and less water, requiring less water heating and pump operation ) than top-loading vertical-axis machines. Take a look at your machine for phantom loads and employ a timer or switch when mandatory. Off-grid homes won’t typically use an electric dryer, and if solar energy ( a clothesline ) cant be used, a propane dryer is an option.
Motor loads : In the old days, engineers switched the majority of the woodshop motors to DC, a clever decision in those days of ineffective inverters. Today, it is smart to select prime quality, infrequently variable-speed AC motors ; whether for pool pumps, heat-pump motors, shop tools, oranything else that’s motor-driven. The bottom line is found with your watt meter, which will tell you how much energy is being used.
Computing / office electronics : A single word gives you the center of the guidance herelaptops. These often use half or less what a desktop machine uses, and they also incorporate a battery, so during periods of very low replaceable input, you can still use your personal computer for awhile. Peripheralsprinters,
Routers, modems, backup drives, scanners, etc.often are phantom loads, so put them on individual switches and turn them on only when needed. These peripherals do not usually must be on for long periods, so ultra-efficiency won’t be as critical as for the computer itself.
Solar hot water systems : For off-gridders, solar hot water systems reduce the need for propanemaking hot water with solar power is not an intellectual option. Often its wise to make the electric portion ( for the solar pumps ) separate from your principal system to reduce the unpredictable load on the primary electric system. Off-griders like PV-direct systems that utilize a dedicated PV module to run the SHW system pumps.
Get more information about living off the grid, and learn more about home energy consumption.
