| RSS Web Feed for Renewable Energy UK |  | REUK Shop | Directory | Bookmark Site | About Us  

How to Live Off Grid by Nick Rosen



How To Live Off Grid By Nick Rosen

A review of How to Live Off Grid - Journeys Outside the System by Nick Rosen

general | energy efficiency | shopping
Printer Friendly Version Print Article     

How to Live Off-Grid by Nick Rosen

In How to Live Off-Grid, Nick Rosen investigates the possibilities and difficulties of living an off-grid lifestyle with no mains water and no mains power. It is not a typical How To guide to off-gridding although the book is packed with useful information. Instead the main focus of the book is on real people living an off-grid life - their motivations, their struggles, their problems, and their solutions.

In the 120 page Chapter 4: Meet the People, Nick Rosen tells the story of his own journey around the UK in his newly purchased off-grid camper van meeting off-gridders from all walks of life who are living off-grid with varying levels of success and for a range of different reasons.

These short stories give a fascinating look into the often difficult world of the off-gridder: seemingly a constant struggle against council planners, neighbours, and the elements. Living an off-grid existence is rarely easy, but is shown to be hugely fulfilling.

The rest of the book comprises chapters on generating power, obtaining water, and building shelter. In addition a chapter entitled We Were All Off Grid Once tells the story of how we ended up on-grid in the first place and looks into the main motivations for people to move off-grid today.

Live in a Yurt

Of most interest to the majority of REUK.co.uk visitors is the Chapter 8: Get Serious Energy for Life. This is a good if basic introduction to domestic renewable energy generation. Solar (including solar water heating), wind, and hydro are all covered as are batteries, power inverters and generators.

The importance of water to any off-gridder is also covered with a few pages on rainwater harvesting, greywater, compost toilets, and natural springs and bore holes. There is an excellent full page illustration (p233) of the complete power and water system used by one of the off-gridders visited by the author.

How to Live Off-Grid is information packed and very easy and entertaining to read. The real world practicalities of living off-grid in the UK today are well covered in this unique and well researched book.

Nick Rosen


Nick Rosen, author of How to Live Off-Grid

The author of How to Live Off-Grid, Nick Rosen, is a journalist and broadcaster currently based in London. He is also the editor of the Off-Grid.net website on which extracts from the book can be read and further information about Off-Grid living found.

Buy a Copy of the Book

Click here to buy a copy of How to Live Off-Grid by Nick Rosen from Amazon.co.uk. RRP is £12.99 however it is usually available at 30% off at £9.09.
Article Last Modified: 08:43, 29th Sep 2007

Comment on this Article

If you have any comments on this article, please email them to neil@reuk.co.uk.


Recommended Related Articles

People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:

12 Volt Deep Cycle Batteries for Solar
Buy deep cycle 12V batteries for small scale solar powered projects
Article Last Modified: 16:27, 12th Nov 2008
storage | shopping

fit PC2 Ultra Low Power PC
Find out more about the amazing fit-PC2 low power robust desktop PC
Article Last Modified: 17:10, 12th May 2009
energy efficiency | shopping | news

Cavity Wall Insulation
Find out about the benefits of cavity wall insulation
Article Last Modified: 10:27, 31st Mar 2009
energy efficiency | heating | general

Fuel Cells
Introduction to Fuel Cell technology and its benefits and disadvantages
Article Last Modified: 12:20, 21st Apr 2006
transport | electronics

Grid Tie Inverters
Find out more about Grid Tie Inverters - connect your RE system to the grid
Article Last Modified: 16:36, 2nd Jan 2007
general | wind | solar | electronics

Solar Water Heating Pump Controller
Build an electronic pump controller for a solar water heating system
Article Last Modified: 11:33, 9th Jul 2007
water | solar | electronics

Combined Heat and Power
Find out more about domestic (micro) combined heat and power systems
Article Last Modified: 10:27, 31st Mar 2009
heating | energy efficiency | biomass | general

Compare Heat Pump to Condensing Boiler
Should you choose a condensing boiler or an air source / ground source heat pump
Article Last Modified: 16:13, 29th Jan 2009
geothermal | energy efficiency | heating

UK Biodiesel Processor Equipment
Find a supplier of Biodiesel equipment in the UK
Article Last Modified: 09:54, 21st Dec 2006
biomass | transport

PVC Wind Turbine Blades
Learn how to make your own PVC wind turbine blades
Article Last Modified: 15:16, 19th Aug 2008
wind

© 2006-2010 REUK - All Rights Reserved
Page Last Updated on 6th February 2010 at 11:36:54am

Latest
Articles


Feed in Tariff
Find out more about feed in tariffs - the amount you can be paid for exporting renewable electricity to the National Grid
solar
11:36, 6th Feb 2010

LM2940 12V 1A Low Dropout Regulator
Find out how to use an LM2940 to efficiently regulate voltage
electric circuit
09:07, 30th Jan 2010

Amperor 12 Volt LCD TFT Stabiliser
A 12V regulator for use with flat screen televisions and more
shopping
09:03, 30th Jan 2010

Water Two Greywater Diverter Review
The REUK review of the Water Two greywater diverter.
water
14:41, 6th Jan 2010

Wattson Energy Meter
Find out more about the Wattson Energy Meter from DIY Kyoto
shopping
09:37, 5th Jan 2010

Pharox 240V LED Lightbulbs
New 240V LED lightbulbs which can be used in place of standard incandescents
lighting
09:41, 4th Jan 2010

Three Gorges Dam
Learn about the world's largest dam and hydro electric project
hydro
08:49, 4th Jan 2010

Freeloader Pico
Buy the new economical Freeloader Pico solar charger
solar
12:37, 8th Dec 2009



REUK Shop

Popular Items


REUK SUPER TIMER
User programmable 12V powered 10A rated repeating relay timer. 1 second to 99 hours ON and OFF times
£19.99 each.
Complete Circuits



SOLAR PUMP CONTROLLER WITH RELAY
Solar water heating system microprocessor controlled circuit with fitted 10A relay
£25.99 each.
Complete Circuits



12 VOLT 5 WATT SOLAR PANEL
Waterproof 12 Volt 5 Watt Solar Panel with aluminium frame - 290mm x 205mm x 17mm with fitted 5m leads
£33.99 each.
Solar Power



300 WATT POWER INVERTER
Convert 12V DC battery power into 230 AC to power portable televisions, computers, video recorders etc. 300 Watt power rating - peak power 600 Watts
£29.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



CONVERTED PROGRAMMABLE DIGITAL TIMER RELAY
Mains powered programmable timer converted to low voltage with relay board
£21.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



12 VOLT REGULATOR
Supply a fixed 12.0 Volt DC to your devices (up to 1 Amp output)
£4.99 each.
Complete Circuits



MR16 CERAMIC BULB HOLDER
Bulb holder for 12 Volt LED spotlight bulbs
£1.39 each.
Energy Efficient Lighting