Month: August 2019

The ability to live off-grid is a popular choice for those who wish to move away from the hustle and bustle of big city life. And, for those who’ve lived off-grid for many years, because of farming or living in a remote part of Britain, it is now becoming far easier and more fuel-efficient, making it a cost-effective option.

So, what does it mean to live off-grid?

To live off-grid means to live remotely from the support of a mains infrastructure. As such, you need standalone power, or alternative provisions to be self-sufficient, and be without the reliance on one or more public utility. Your source of power can be taken from dedicated renewables such as biomass boilers, ground and air source heat pumps or solar water heating along with surplus wind or PV electricity to complement them. According to The Energy Saving Trust; installing a more energy-efficient “off-grid” system can work out to be cheaper than connecting to the mains power. Particularly if you have incorporated a renewable energy source into your plans instead of diesel because the “topping up” of most renewable energy can be sourced naturally and free of charge until you start processing it.

Nature’s fuelling options

There are a number of options available to you when considering a renewable system, in which to create power; the most commonly used are wind, water or solar but there are others. You could look into ground or air source heat pumps, but with the ground source option, there is a process of ground testing which needs carrying out to confirm whether exceptionally deep boreholes can be drilled for this purpose. Other choices are incorporating a biomass boiler or renewable fuel (diesel) generator.

In a recent case study, we demonstrated how our client, Terry Moore, and his wife had lived on their farm in Oxfordshire for over 30 years, relying on an old generator for years. The generator was powering the batteries that were supplying their home and farm with the off-grid electricity that it needed, but to use it efficiently they had to manually switch it on and off as and when they needed it.

So, when the time came to build themselves a new house, it was evident that they needed a power system that served them 24 hrs a day without the regular manual controlling. After an initial consultation period and discussing their future needs and wants, we brought together a solution that gave them 24-hour electricity without the need for manual intervention, by using a diesel-fuelled generator to keep the batteries charged and incorporating a wind turbine to provide supplementary green energy.

In another case study, we demonstrated how one of our bespoke off-grid systems needed to pump water from a borehole and supply water to his polo, livery and stud yard in a remote part of the country. By linking 30 solar panels to a 48 battery UPS system, we enabled the farm to be fully sustainable and energy-efficient, offering them a complete solution available nowhere else.

Being cleaner like our neighbouring countries

By signing the 2015 Paris Agreement, the UK has pledged to prevent global warming and cut its emissions by 80% by 2050. For this to happen, around 75% of our electricity must come from clean sources by 2030. At the moment, according to Greenmatch, the UK have to reach a target of 15% for renewable energy consumption by 2020 (in 2015 we were at 8.2%).

Opting for off-grid or grid-backed power can steer people towards sustainable resources and it can be more cost-effective to get the right equipment in place than try and connect to mains. Also, the process for becoming greener and getting your systems set up can be a lot quicker than you may think – as many of our customers have discovered. But, why should you try and be greener? Well aside from the massive implications on climate control, the whole industry for manufacturing the equipment has managed to reduce the outlay costs. For photovoltaic panels alone, costs reduced by 80% between 2009 and 2015, and across Europe over one million jobs were created in 2014. Two significant effects! And, why shouldn’t we rise to the challenge of competing with our neighbouring countries to create a low carbon future? Sweden is aiming to be the world’s first fossil-free nation by 2040 and Costa Rica has produced 85% of its electricity from hydro, geothermal, solar and wind over the past four years. What’s more, last October, Scotland generated 98% of its electricity needs through wind power so we have the know-how and ability to strive ahead.

Want to find out more about our off-grid power systems? Contact us to find out more.

As a nation, if we can hit a new power milestone as we did in May of this year; generating electricity for a whole fortnight without the use of coal since the industrial revolution, then what are we capable of in the future?

In April this year, the futurism.com reported that more electricity was generated from wind, solar, hydro, biomass and geothermal sources than any coal-fired plant. And in 2018, the UK generated 28% more renewable energy through solar and wind power. 

The top ten climate change leaders

The energy we use is changing, with more organisations and governments pushing renewable power sources. Below is a list of the top ten climate change leaders.

Created by Greenmatch

The United Kingdom is 25th on the list with renewable energy consumption in 2015 of 8.2% and a target for 2020 of 15% but a steep 75% for 2050. This could be improved vastly if we were to put a variety of efforts in place with the domestic and commercial sectors. By incorporating renewable energy sources into our daily needs via photovoltaic panels, ground or air source heat pumps and for those with more land around them; wind turbines, we’d see a significant improvement in these figures.

It’s important to note that we have seen incredible changes in our energy production in recent years. Since 1882 coal has been our main source for power, yet by 2018 it made up just 5% of our electricity generation – Over a 40% decline!

As explained in The Guardian, “Renewable sources with no direct carbon emissions, such as solar and wind power, accounted for 28% of electricity generation in 2018, according to the power company Drax. The British record for solar power has also been beaten this month. On 14 May the country generated 25% of its power from the sun.”

Interestingly, when looking at which countries produce the highest amount of clean energy, Germany comes out on top, utilising wind, biofuel and photovoltaic. Its renewable energy production is 40% greater than its closest rival; Italy.

Living off-grid is becoming a more realistic proposition than ever. A variety of complementary ways to generate your own power combine to generate all the electricity you’ll need. Traditionally, the complex nature and cost of generating your own power put many people off. However, the equipment needed to live off the grid has been developing at a staggering rate in recent years, increasing its popularity exponentially, which has also driven down prices.

Now, living off the grid is not just a viable option for many remote homes and businesses, but it’s the most cost-effective solution.

Renewable Energy

Fact: Renewable energy sources currently generate about 25% of the planet’s energy.

Solar is progressing

While they require very little maintenance, the amount of energy that can be stored, the geographic variations in solar exposure and the high initial costs have meant solar off-grid power has largely remained a small part of the solution, rather than a stand-alone answer. However, solar panels are constantly evolving and the battery capacity is increasing with each new generation, so while it’s currently a solution that typically requires a longer period of time to recoup your initial cost, it’s currently considerably cheaper than it was a decade ago.

Solar Fact: On average, a solar off-grid power system is installed every 4 minutes.

Wind turbines

Residential off-grid wind turbines are an increasingly popular option for people with the required topographical location and regional average wind speeds to make them worthwhile. The obvious downside to a wind turbine is the need for a breeze, which isn’t usually a problem in the UK. Turbines are available in a variety of sizes, from 4-foot 400-watt through to 23-foot 10kw.

Wind Turbine Fact: Wind turbine installations are growing at 10% per annum and can currently account for 5% of the global electricity demand.

Micro-hydro electricity

If you have a constant source of running water on your land, such as a stream, you can use it to generate a constant stream of electricity. Because these systems often produce a consistent supply of electricity, fewer batteries are needed. While this can be a great solution with a lower capital investment, it does require specific elements that would exclude many potential users.

Micro Hydro Fact: Micro-hydro is being used to bring power to remote areas in developing countries, creating the possibility to use computers, cell phones, and have electric light.

Cut your consumption

It isn’t just devices aimed at generating electricity that make off-grid living easier, it’s also the advancements made in devices that require little or no energy. There is a range of products worth researching if you’re living off-grid, from composting toilets to solar-powered cooking equipment. Investing a bit of time researching the solutions that could work for you will save you plenty of energy in the long run.

Always have a backup

No matter how energy aware we are, there are always times when the sun stops shining and the wind stops blowing. There are also equipment failures and servicing to content with. Not having electricity for a few hours can be a massive inconvenience, but if you’re living somewhere remote it could be for days. This is why people who live off-grid always back up their renewable efforts with a generator or a grid-backed hybrid system. Modern generators are very efficient and can often be programmed to automatically pick up the slack when your renewable sources are not quite producing enough electricity.