“Off grid living” is a metaphorical lifestyle. A practical metaphor, though, as you are not connected with the utility grid! More metaphorically so if you tend to think of society as the social grid. Off the grid living
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Living off the grid is a lifestyle for the free minded and self sufficient. It is an autonomous style of living; not being dependent on any one for the needs of life. A 2006 estimate showed that in the US, over the last decade the number of families living off the grid has increased by 33%. Current worldwide estimate suggests more than 1.7 billion people worldwide are converting to this awesome lifestyle.
Off grid living changes nothing except for benefitting us, as solar energy is used in power generation, distillation, heating spaces or cooling them and other used like sterilization of medicines, surgical instruments, clothes and others.
There are passive and active solar technologies used to capture and distribute the solar energy. The active techniques are the thermal collectors which collect the heat and distribute it via conducting medium like water and oil; photovoltaics are the other active technique of harnessing the suns energy, keeping our environment clean.
Off the grid living encourages the use of passive methods of harnessing the suns energy are mostly practiced in architecture where the orientation of the structure is in alignment to the sun. The materials used are indigenous and have light dispersing and have a thermal mass to maximize the use of heat and light of the sun and induce good ventilation. The solar cells are one of the greatest discoveries in the 19th century it has the potential to reduce the carbon foot print by humans by close to 65%.
Yet the greed for making money and our own illiteracy in environmental awareness has not allowed this discovery to make its impact today. There are many Do-It-Yourself projects which teach how to set up our own energy set up in these times of economic and environmental crisis. Off the grid living will give us stand alone energy setups will not only help reduce the users electricity bills but also abstain for partaking in the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere due to the burning of coal, a non-renewable fossil fuel. Off
the grid
Three engineers were building transistors in the 1950s they discovered that if you use silicon in a certain way a photovoltaic cell was made. The solar cells did not obscure into oblivion due to the Satellite industry, as these served as a source of unlimited energy in space. As necessity is the mother of invention many inventions using solar and other renewable sources of energy were made during the 70s and 80s.
Today Off the grid living is encouraged and driven by the necessity the centuries-old practices are being studied and reprised and we have the double glazed windows to face the sunward side of the building, the use of skylights, insulated walls are all directed towards saving energy. Scientists are using the photovoltaic cells to make cars which run on solar-made electricity just like our satellites. The further development has been solar nanotechnology which is inspired by trying to understand photosynthesis.
Then there are solar paints and roof shingles which help in building energy efficient home designs. Imagine if the buildings could double as power plants, being covered with Powerglass, a layer of photovoltaic polymer applied in a layer over these high-rises which generates power for the building. The cost of these technologies is sustainable as they work out to be cheaper in the long run. Off grid living off the grid
Once inspired by off the grid living you begin to use these easily installable technologies you will realise the point which is being made here. The good news is that the change is imminent and sweeping in as people all over the world are waking up to these very obvious answers to many of their energy problems. It is also a struggle to break free of the dependency on non-renewable energy sources called the fossil fuels. The motto for this revolution is “free energy for all!”
Don’t you think it’s time the power companies start paying YOU for a change? We do!
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