Cole Bennett
August 24, 2025
Battery storage is what makes solar power usable outside daylight hours, and the chemistry, sizing, and maintenance choices made here affect both system reliability and total cost of ownership more than almost any other off-grid solar decision. A properly sized LiFePO4 battery bank in a temperature-moderate …
Cole Bennett
August 24, 2025
Homesteading — producing a meaningful share of a household’s own food and other needs — overlaps with off-grid living but isn’t identical to it; a homestead can be grid-connected, and an off-grid property doesn’t automatically produce food. This guide focuses specifically on the food-production and land-use …
Cole Bennett
August 23, 2025
Off-grid systems can be built at drastically different price points for similar function — the gap between the cheapest workable version of a system and the premium version is often 2-4x, which makes deliberate cost-reduction choices, not just budget scale, a major lever on total project …
Cole Bennett
August 22, 2025
Simple Living Alaska is a YouTube channel following Eric and Arielle’s off-grid homestead in Alaska, documenting the realities of building and maintaining a self-sufficient life in one of the more physically demanding climates for off-grid living in the United States. Who’s Behind It, and How Big …
Cole Bennett
August 20, 2025
Installing an off-grid solar system follows a fairly fixed sequence: calculate actual load, size each component to that load, then wire and install in the correct order. Skipping the load calculation and sizing components by guess or by budget alone is the most common cause of …
Cole Bennett
August 18, 2025
Off-grid construction in Alaska deals with conditions few other U.S. regions face at the same scale: sustained sub-zero temperatures, permafrost in northern regions, extreme seasonal daylight variation, and limited road access to much of the state’s rural land. Site Selection Access matters more in Alaska than …
Cole Bennett
August 18, 2025
Raw off-grid land is unimproved — no power, water, septic, or road access already in place — which makes evaluation before purchase more important than for a developed property. The gaps that aren’t obvious on a walkthrough are the ones that turn into the largest post-purchase …
Cole Bennett
July 31, 2025
Full independence from the power grid usually happens in stages, not overnight. A number of low-cost changes reduce grid reliance well before any large solar investment, and they build the habits and skills a full off-grid electrical system will eventually require. Efficiency First Reducing consumption is …
