Originally Published: 2020-01-03
In today’s modern world we all have cellphones, electric lights and televisions. Yes, we still have and use all of those but our habits around them have changed greatly.
Television
Let’s start with TV watching. With a huge number of channels available for any of the major cable and satellite providers getting lost in TV land is easy. Besides cost of the service, other considerations come into play when you go off grid. A lot of time the only choices are satellite and they may charge a premium as well. Most importantly however is the energy use, decoders, TV’s and DVD players all use it. During the short days of winter it is fairly easy to consume a lot of watts to catch an episode of your favourite show.
Like the old saying goes, “A watt saved is a watt earned”, well its something like that 🙂 . Bottom line is watching TV can be very expensive from an electrically standpoint. A way to save some watts is to watch publicly broadcasted TV with a good old fashioned antenna. In my area we can get up to three channels depending on weather conditions and solar cycles, once I even got five channels! However with Solar Minimum upon us watching free TV is pretty much not an option.
Another option is to change the TV habit and do other things like my wife enjoys crocheting and reading. I like reading and have recently started making soap and candles. We hope to make enough stuff to get a table at next year’s Christmas Craft fairs and make some money to put back into the land and projects. Equally important we now have more time just to talk.
CellPhone Charging
On grid we used to plug in our phones as we slept so they would be fully charged for morning. We did this after nine PM when the rates became cheaper.
Off grid nighttime is the worst time to charge phones as that electricity comes right out of the battery bank. Ideally we would charge in the middle of the afternoon when excess power was to be had, but that meant not using or taking the phones with us around the property. The solution is easy, just change the habit.
During the day we charge USB portable chargers and at night we charge the phones from those. Doing a simple search at Amazon for “USB Portable Chargers” will yield a huge array of options (https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=usb+portable+chargers&ref=nb_sb_noss_1).
Lights
Get into the habit of turning off all the lights that aren’t being used. Don’t leave the kitchen light on when you are watching TV in the living room not only does it save you money on your hydro but is a good preparation for off grid. You should always try to save a watt when you can. Of course at night you need light, but there are options here as well keeping in mind two hard rules. If what you are working on involves safety don’t skimp on light and always use what you need but ask yourself do I need it.
Another alternative is similar to the portable USB chargers I mentioned earlier. Mike at SolarTech showed me these USB chargeable light bulbs that last for hours. I own four they have hook so can attach pretty much anywhere. https://www.solartechcanada.net/store/p385/USB_Rechargeable_12_Watt_LED_Light_Bulb_%286_Hrs_one_charge%29.html
For about the first three hours they light 1/2 my tiny home and generate so much light that reading and everything else is really fairly normal. For about another three hours you get enough light to walk around. These lights are great for the same reason as the cellphone chargers above; charge them during the day and use them at night. Even on-gridders should consider getting a couple of these as they are great for emergencies when the power is out. One model comes with its own solar panel to charge it with.
Summary
Going off grid changes some of the old habits. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing and can result in more personal time. Using less electricity during the short winter days especially at night is important for things like heating. Make sure you never skimp on light when using tools and anything else that may be dangerous.