Being connected to the grid is a convenience; being dependent on the grid is a vulnerability.

We live during an amazing time in human history.  Access to the energy that can provide for our basic needs is the most decentralized and egalitarian it has been since human beings relied on fire for all of our heating, cooking, and lighting.  Humans of the developed world are now fully capable of harnessing the power of the sun! 

Solar power is free energy that rains down from the sky.  This might not happen all day every day, but certainly this phenomenon occurs many days if not most.  Any time the sun is shining on us we have access to free energy, we just need the right technology to capture it.  That technology has never been cheaper or more readily available than it is today.

Indeed, it is an amazing time in human history.  However, we haven’t been conditioned to take responsibility for our own energy needs.  People have become dependent on the services of Corporations and Governments to provide for that most basic need.  We’re dependent on them to access and extract fuel sources, produce the energy, and deliver it to us via an infrastructure of pipes and wires.  While this may seem like a convenience, this service model is susceptible to extreme price volatility and that infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to failure.  Simultaneously, the modern lifestyle of the developed world is one of constant and compulsive energy consumption.  Is your phone on?  Do you have a refrigerator keeping food cold?  Are there lights on around you? 

While this predicament might seem daunting, there is nothing to fear.  Anyone can reduce their dependency on a centralized energy grid.  Off-grid technologies exist at all different scales, from solar-powered LED lanterns used by backpackers trekking across the Pacific Crest Trail, to portable power stations used by van-life nomads, to a rooftop solar array of 17 panels and a 3.8 kW battery installed on a single-family home in Southern California which can reduce grid dependency to less than 10%.  All of these solutions combine some form of solar power generation with battery storage to deliver energy off-grid.

These tools are easily accessible, but the strategies and processes for utilizing them in everyday life require a shift in how we approach our energy needs.  It’s a shift from compulsive consumption and wasteful abundance to mindfulness and essentialism.  What are your basic energy needs and how long can you sustain those off-grid?  12 hours?  3 days?  1 month?  Let’s find out. 

The Off-Grid Solutions service area from McArthur Independent Consulting (MIC OGS) is dedicated to helping individuals, households, and small businesses reduce their dependency on the grid.  With an integrated approach of strategies, processes, and tools MIC OGS can help you become more self-reliant, sustainable, and resilient to disruptions in the lifestyle and services you are accustomed to. 

The transition to a society that is powered by renewable energy needs to take a “bottoms-up” approach just as much, if not more than, a “top-down” approach.  People must take responsibility for their basic energy needs as much as they can.  Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo.  Free yourself of dependency on the grid. Be independent.