The appeal of off-grid homes has grown in part because utilities have become less reliable. As climate change-related natural disasters have become more frequent, California, Texas, Louisiana and other states have experienced longer power outages.
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Californians are also upset that electricity rates continue to rise, and state politicians have proposed lowering incentives to install solar panels in grid-connected homes. Off-grid solar and battery systems are expensive to install, but once the systems are up and running, they tend to require modest maintenance and homeowners will no longer pay for electricity.
Research organization RMI, formerly known as the Rocky Mountain Institute, predicts that by 2031, most California homeowners will save money by going off grid as the cost of solar panels and batteries declines and utility rates fall. The group predicts that in the coming decades, this phenomenon will increasingly occur in less sunny regions, such as the northeast.
David Hochschild, chairman of the California Energy Commission, the regulator, said the state’s residents tend to be the first to adopt electricity, noting that even former governor Jerry Brown lives in a self-contained home. But Mr. Hochschild added that he was not convinced that this approach makes sense for most people. “We’re building 100,000 new homes a year in California and I’m guessing 99.99% of them are connected to the grid,” he said.
Some energy experts fear that people who go offline could unwittingly harm efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is because excess electricity produced by rooftop solar panels will no longer be fed into the grid, where it can replace electricity from coal-fired or gas-fired power plants. “We don’t need everyone to cut the cord and go it alone,” said Mark Dyson, senior director of RMI’s carbon-free power business.
Solar panels and view
Pepe Cancino moved from Santa Monica to Nevada County in 2020 after he and his wife Diane lost their jobs during the pandemic. They bought five acres of land with breathtaking views of the snow-capped mountains. Mr. Cancino, 42, a former domestic health worker, picked up a chainsaw and an ax and began learning how to build a house and generate his own energy.
When they finish their two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom home this fall, the family, including their 15-year-old daughter, will generate electricity and use the well for water.