Living off the grid today is much easier than it was 15 years ago when Jane and I first started out. There are still many challenges but off grid living in today’s world means better renewable energy equipment and thankfully much better communication equipment.
Let’s deal with renewable energy equipment advances first. I hate to admit it, but big business has helped spur on this revolution in quality and pricing of solar panels, wind generators, inverters and batteries. Today it is possible to buy a solar panel that is nearly twice as efficient and half of the price (stated in $ per watt of power output). Thank you to all of those hard working people who have worked to make solar panels affordable. Living off the grid is much more cost effective now.
- Much simpler systems for living off the grid
- solar panel advances
- wind power efficiency improvements
- overall technology improved
