Off the Grid in Style

Nestled in an obscure corner of rural Canada, at the end of miles of dusty, single-lane dirt roads, you’ll find the most striking combination of luxury and isolation you’re likely to see.  In most ways the house and grounds are just what you’d expect to find in the swankiest upscale, waterfront neighbourhoods. A curved cedar gate opens up to reveal a large, luxurious home as you wind down the driveway. A heated swimming pool, multi-car garage, spacious outbuildings, marine docking facilities, impeccably manicured lawns,  luxurious art and furnishings, and state-of-the-art heating and cooling systems are all part of the lavish appointments. And just like other modern residences, this one’s free from overhead power lines, though not because the supply cables are buried. Despite being equipped with every modern convenience and feature, this home is completely self-sufficient electrically. It has to be. The nearest hydro pole is miles away.

This remarkable place is the retirement home of a European business magnate and his wife. They spend the better part of every year on this side of the Atlantic, surrounded by the quiet beauty and comfort they love.  And after promising to keep their identity and location a secret, I was given free reign to tour their home, camera in hand, questions at the ready. My main interest was seeing first-hand what a modern, full-featured, self-contained electrical system looks like, and the kind of home it could power. In the end, I was treated to something even more: the chance to see a place that expanded my understanding of the possibilities.  

Most people pursue alternative sources of electrical power for reasons of simplicity or environmental sustainability. But sometimes there’s just no alternative to generating your own power when your property of choice is miles away from any utility.  That’s the premise behind the home here, and it’s an encouraging example of what’s possible when people think outside the box.

There’s no technical reason why anybody needs to be connected to the power grid. The attraction for most of us is mainly simplicity and up-front cost savings. You hook up your panel to the system, and then pay your hydro bill every month.  And despite rising prices, utility-generated electricity is still a very good deal compared with most alternatives.  But when cost is no object, and location is all that matters, it can lead to some very interesting and innovative hardware combinations. And seeing these first-hand proved to be one of the most fascinating parts of my visit.

There are two halves to any self-contained, off-the-grid electrical system: the production side and the storage side. And in the case of the secluded installation I toured, storage is handled by a bank of deep-cycle, lead-acid batteries housed in a ventilated storage box in the basement. This reservoir holds the electrical energy produced by a medley of three production technologies. Most obvious of these is a twin-bladed windmill that towers above neighbouring trees next to the driveway. It produces the bulk of household energy because the installation is located in one of the most reliably windy spots in the country, within a few dozen metres of a large expanse of ocean-like shoreline. This windmill feeds DC power to the batteries that’s then converted to standard alternating house current via a piece of equipment called an ‘inverter’. It’s this power that’s fed to the rest of the house to operate all the usual electrical appliances and entertainment equipment.

 But no matter where you live, it’s not windy all the time, and that’s where the other parts of the production system come into play.  Next in line are a series of photovoltaic panels that also feed DC current into to batteries. As a last resort, when sun and wind have been scarce for a while, a diesel generator is available to top up the batteries when the other systems can’t keep pace.

The thing that impressed me most about my visit to the house off the grid wasn’t just the high-quality hardware I saw, or the care and innovation taken to install it to standards of excellence usually reserved for industrial installations. Besides all this, there’s the reminder that there are many ways to make things happen. The realm of possibility extends far beyond what’s usually put forth as practical.  It’s always good to be reminded that dreams are worthwhile, even when they’re way off the beaten track.