Living Off The Grid

You’ve probably heard the phrase, ‘Living off the grid’. Depending on the person speaking, the meaning can be different. Some people mean not having an internet connection as living off the grid.

People often say they were living off the grid when they couldn’t get online for a day, even an hour. This is a far cry from how millions of people around the world actually live off the grid.

All too often, it’s simply a way of life for people. Perhaps due to poverty, living in remote areas or because of limited or poor quality of electricity supplied. Whether it is by choice or necessity, there are ways to incorporate renewable sources to power your lives and still remain off the grid.

Let’s take a closer look at what it means to live off the grid and how you can manage your lives with alternative methods that are safe, inexpensive and environmentally friendly.

What is Living Off The Grid?

Usually, the term living off the grid refers to the electricity grid. People may choose to not use the electricity supplied in their area due to cost, cleaner living or lifestyle choices. Many people throughout the world don’t have access to the main source of electricity and need to find other means.

This way of life isn’t restricted to poor or remote areas. Some people, who live in urban areas, choose to live off the grid, or partially off the grid. It is usually based on the amount of money they save by using alternative methods.

How Do I Live Off The Grid?

Living off the grid doesn’t mean you live without power. It means you live with alternative sources for power. It means you live with alternative ways to get power, water, food and light.

Depending on where you live, you may be able to grow your own food, access your own water with a well and use alternative sources for lights. These may be shared within your community or just your if you live remotely on a farm.

You can use rainwater for bathing, washing clothes and drinking, if filtered. Growing fruit and vegetables in your garden, keeping livestock and using what is available in your area for means of building a home, making food and clothing and transportation.

Alternatives

There are several ways to access resources when you are living off the grid. Again, depending on where you live and what is accessible and affordable to you, these resources may vary.

Kerosene: This is a fossil fuel that many people use as the main fuel source. It can be used in lamps, stoves, generators, heaters and even as fuel for transportation vehicles.

It can be expensive to buy, depending on where you are and messy to use. While it is more environmentally friendly than coal or wood, it does emit poisonous fumes that can harm you.

There is always a risk when using gas, as it is highly flammable and can cause damages to you or your home. It has the advantage of having a long shelf life, is easy to use, but it best used outside of the home.

Candles: Candles are inexpensive and usually readily available. They are very useful for lighting but can cause fires and burn quickly, so always need to be replaced.

Coal: This is another fossil fuel and not always available in many areas. It is inexpensive to use, but it is expensive to extract from the earth. It also has a negative impact on the environment, both to retrieve and to burn it.

Mining coal causes harm, injury and even death to the miners, pollutes the air, water and land and destroys habitats where the coal is being mined from.

Wood: While wood is a renewable source for fuel, it takes much longer to produce. Trees being destroyed greatly outweighs the trees being planted. It doesn’t burn clean, can give off toxic gasses and requires safe, dry and large storage space. It isn’t always available in areas as a fuel source.

Batteries: Batteries are not always easy to come by, they don’t always last long and can be expensive. If they are not rechargeable, they are a menace to the environment.

While they work fine for a small lamp, radio or flashlight, they are not convenient for larger appliances and can be heavy, leak and you may not have access to them when you need them.

Natural Gas: Fossil fuel, again, not easy to access. Not always available for those in remote areas or those who live off the grid. While the gas itself may be cheaper, it’s expensive to harvest, transport and its impact on the environment is dangerous.

In the past decade or so, there have been massive efforts in place to move away from using fossil fuels and move toward using renewable and safer alternatives for energy.

By switching to renewable and natural sources for energy, people are able to save money and save the environment, as well.

Wind: wind is a powerful alternative for energy. These wind turbines are powered by airflow and connected to an electric power transmitter or generator.

These can be on land or offshore. They work while the wind is present and store energy to use for heating, electricity and lights. It is clean, inexpensive, renewable and available everywhere.

Water or Hydro Power: Using the flow of water to produce energy has been around for centuries. Water flows through a turbine, which contains a series of wheels that spin when the water hits them. The power is captured and used as electricity.

Solar Power: This is another resource that has been in use for centuries. Sunlight is captured and converted into usable energy. There are several methods of harnessing solar energy and it is ever-evolving.

Are There Benefits to Living Off The Grid?

The short answer is, Yes. Living off the grid may not be a choice but there are still some great advantages of doing so.

1. Use fewer resources
2. Less damage and harm to the environment
3. Save money
4. It can be a much healthier way to live
5. Share resources, knowledge and experiences with your community
6. Self-sufficient lifestyle means you don’t rely on other resources and systems
7. Producing your own energy means you know how much you have and need

When you are living off the grid, you have the ability to produce your own kind of energy. When using natural and renewable resources, you can produce more than you need. This means you always have an energy supply, you have resources to share and you have access to energy for your everyday life.

Living Off The Grid In Nigeria

For many people, living off the grid in Nigeria is simply a way of life. In fact, about 90 million people live entirely off the electricity grid. Even a small amount of electricity would eliminate the need for gas, kerosene, diesel and other non-renewable resources.

In some remote areas, people have to travel to a larger town or centre just to recharge their phones. If they don’t have supplies, they often live in the dark, where gas and other fuels are expensive, hard to attain or simply have run out.

But with the advances in generating power from natural resources, electricity is a reality for millions of people. While wind, water and solar are all possible, we will take a closer look at solar energy systems.

Lumos Solar Energy Systems

Lumos provides an energy option that is available to everyone. While millions of people don’t have electricity, they do have a cellphone. Lumos connects the need for electricity with the cellphone system to make it easy to get power and still remain off the grid.

This simple system is providing clean power to people and eliminating the need for other fossil fuels or expensive resources. Its cost is manageable, safeand secure.

How Lumos Works

Customers can obtain the Lumos system at their local store for a small, one-time commitment fee. This package contains a solar panel that is placed on the roof of your home or business. There is a Lumos Box to place inside the house which has outlets you can plug your appliances, phone or lights directly in to. It also has a DC/AC convertor two bright LED light bulbs as a gift.

For a proper installation and to get the most out of it, it is recommended to use a Lumos professional installer to install the panel. Once installed and connected, the panel simply charges on the roof with the sunlight hitting it and stores all the energy in the battery. It takes about six hours to fully charge.

When the battery is charged, you can use the power that is stored inside to charge your phone, plug in lights, a fan, a small television and other small appliances, like laptops, radio and other.

How Do I Pay?

You can easily make payments through your mobile phone. No need to travel anywhere, it’s convenient and safe. The Lumos solar energy system is designed to be affordable to all.

You make a small payment in instalments, just like you pay for your minutes on your phone. While you are paying for the power you use, you are also paying for the service and support we provide you the all period.

There are no extra fees or charges involved and once you have had the system for five years, it is yours outright. As long as you are on the lease, Lumos will take care of any and all problems you may encounter.

At any time there is a problem, you just need to call the service provider and they will take care of everything for you. The system is very easy to run and problems are often minimal.

Security

The system you buy is yours alone. It has a security system built in to make sure no one else can use your system or steal it. The system is locked from our main support office and is tracked to you and your usage. If it is stolen, please call us to make sure it is locked and report to your local police office.

If you encounter any problems, perhaps you are not getting power but you made the payment, simply call your local office for assistance.

Affordable Solar Power

There are many advantages using the Lumos solar power system. Your power source is always there. Once the battery is fully charged, you can use it day or night.

It continued to charge as long as the sun shines on the panel. Even with rain or limited sunlight, the panels will still charge. If there is a lot of rain, you may need to conserve the power that is stored in order to make it last.

Using solar power can eliminate or greatly reduce the need for other fuels and energy sources. No more mess, no more having to travel and transport your fuel back home.

It’s clean, renewable and always there. The overall cost is significantly cheaper than what you have been paying for kerosene, gas and other fuels. This won’t spill, you don’t need to burn it and it doesn’t cause harmful or poisonous fumes when used.

Joining Lumos

If you want a clean, steady and safe power supply, simply join us. For a pay a one-time sign-up fee and monthly payments you will get your complete Lumos solar energy system.

Once the unit is fully charged, you can make easy payments with your mobile phone. Once the payment is received, the system unlocks and you have access to clean power for your home.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us today or ask at your local store. They have the systems there and can explain everything you need to know about starting your Lumos solar energy system.