Off-Grid Electrification Barriers & Challenges

Cost

• The cost of creating a completely off-grid living arrangement is prohibitive for some people. Electrification means that you are aiming for off-grid living with electricity to use in your home. This means you need to install an electricity generating system capable of creating enough power to run your entire home independent of the main power grid. Solar panels or wind turbines can accomplish this, but the initial cost of setup could range into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Continuous Power

• The problem with living without backup access to the power grid is that the source of electricity for off-grid living is not always consistent. Several overcast days in a row or a week of dead-calm air quickly deprives a home of its power source. A large storage capacity for electricity and a backup fuel-burning generator is needed to ensure that power is always available when needed.

Energy Awareness

• When you are tied into the power grid, you don't need to worry about the consumption of every tool, light or appliance in your house. It might raise your power bill and be less green, but you know that when you plug it in, it is going to work. When living off-grid, you need to use your appliances as efficiently as possible, and buy products that run efficiently. The better you become at this, the fewer problems you will have with supplying adequate energy to your home.

Knowledge

• One of the largest barriers to off-grid electrification is having the knowledge necessary to pull it all off. In daily life, most people utilize electricity in more ways than they ever think about. Not only does living off-grid require understanding the use of electricity, it also requires knowledge of how power systems work in the home. A person needs to acquire more than basic electrical knowledge in order to set up and maintain a home that is independent of the power grid.