The greatest wealth is to live content with little. – Plato
Transitioning to off-grid living is easier when one does it gradually. What it comes down to is accepting limits.
By and large, humans don’t like limits and especially don’t like being told to accept them. And yet, there’s a couple non-alternative facts that one must deal with sooner or later: 1) our objective world is finite and has natural, physical limits; and 2) our subjective world is also finite – death is inevitable. I think it’s worth asking why we spend most of our lives in denial of these things until circumstances force us to pay attention. Some cultures teach about these facts, most don’t. We can see where that’s got us.
As we breach geophysical and ecological limits, I think it’s important to understand and acknowledge what we’ve done. Not that doing so will stabilize or restore anything (it won’t), but it may just help us get along with each other as conditions worsen. It may also help us reconsider our lifestyles. A practical approach for dealing with this scary stuff is called collapse acceptance which is a central theme of Deep Adaptation. I’m particularly fond of this piece by Jem Bendell which gives us “permission” to do things we might otherwise not consider . . . like living off-grid.
Rejecting the lie of limitless-ness, we acknowledge limits, and ultimately embrace them. I find it very comforting to imagine our pale blue dot protected by an astonishingly thin layer of atmosphere that protects and nurtures us. Images from space tell us this is so. Sunlight and water literally fall from the sky free for us to use – within limits. Let’s define them . . .
It seems reasonable to ask how much solar energy one has available. Of course, this depends on where you live. I asked ChatGPT – “How much solar energy does Taos, New Mexico receive annually?”:
Taos, New Mexico, receives a significant amount of solar energy due to its high elevation and clear skies. The area averages about 6.5 to 7.0 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of solar energy per square meter per day, which amounts to approximately 2,400 to 2,550 kWh per square meter annually. This makes it an ideal location for solar energy generation, as it ranks among the highest in the U.S. for solar potential.
The region benefits from over 300 sunny days per year, contributing to its ability to harness solar energy efficiently. The combination of clear skies, high elevation, and strong solar irradiance makes Taos and surrounding areas attractive for both residential and commercial solar installations.
Same for water: “How much precipitation does Taos, New Mexico receive annually?”:
Taos, New Mexico, receives an average of 12 to 14 inches of precipitation annually. This includes both rainfall and snowfall, with most of the precipitation occurring during the summer months as monsoon rains, and a significant portion of the winter moisture coming in the form of snow.
The distribution of precipitation varies slightly depending on the location within the Taos region, with higher elevations in the nearby mountains receiving more moisture than the valley floor.
With that information and an estimate of electric usage (kWh), any solar designer can tell you the exact solar array size (kW) needed to collect that energy. And with an estimate of the available collection area (roof surfaces, solar panels) a cistern can be sized to collect that water.
So why not just skip the solar designer and get right to the bottom line: “How big of a solar system (solar panels and batteries) does one person reasonably need to live off-grid near Taos, New Mexico?”
For one person living off-grid near Taos, a reasonable solar system would include 4-6 solar panels (1.5-2 kW capacity), with 10-20 kWh of battery storage. The cost of such a system might range from $12,000 to $20,000, depending on the equipment and installation specifics. This setup should comfortably provide enough power for daily needs with a buffer for storage.
In my opinion, ChatGPT gives a poor answer (although I’m amused by its reuse of the word “reasonable”), but it does roughly agree with what most solar companies will try to sell to you. Of course, the reason for this is that the AI was “trained” in a capitalist economy and collects its information from websites and possibly other sources that assume a high-consumption Western lifestyle and almost certainly don’t have much actual experience living off-grid. Further, equipment prices gleaned from the web are almost certainly retail and somewhat out-of-date. This might be my answer instead:
For one person living off-grid near Taos, a reasonable solar system would include 8-12 solar panels (3-4 kW capacity), with 5-10 kWh of battery storage. The cost of such a system should be around $8,000 to $12,000, depending on the equipment and installation specifics. This setup should comfortably provide enough power for daily needs with a buffer for storage.
Without going into details about why my specification is so different, let’s just say it comes from consideration of “reasonable” needs and actual personal experience. Even lower costs are easily possible. One can have a similar dialogue about water. It’s fun to ask ChatGPT about stuff – if you realize its limitations.
I started by saying that transitioning to off-grid is easiest if it’s done gradually. Consider it a game. How low can you make your monthly bills for electricity and water? Over 20 years, I found that most people can cut them in half (50%) without a great deal of effort. Halving them again (to 25%) is a bit more challenging, but not too difficult. Reducing them to 10% is an order-of-magnitude change and requires some ingenuity without feeling like sacrifice. In my view, that’s a “reasonable” goal for wannabe off-gridders. If you can get close to that, you’re ready.