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Going Off-Grid with Solar Power

If you’re looking to go off-grid with solar power, this blog post is for you. Join me with Tag from Grid Down as he shares his story and the best way to go off-grid for you and your homestead.

Grid Down solar power components.

Why Go Off-Grid

It’s been a journey for Carolyn and me to take our family completely off-grid. We’re not there yet, but continue to take strides to go off-grid one system at a time.

So far, we’ve gone “off-grid” with our schooling by homeschooling our children. We’ve gone off-grid with our food system by growing a year’s worth of food in our garden and raising a year’s worth of meat with our livestock. We’ve implemented watering systems to get off the water grid. More recently we’ve even done our part to get off the medical grid with Direct Primary Care and learn how to use medicinal herbs at home.

Though we have backups in case of a power outage, the next big step for our homestead is implementing strategies to take us off the power grid. I was encouraged by my interview with Tag as he encouraged me to just start! We don’t need to wait until the perfect system (and the funds) are there, we can tiptoe in, if you will, and start building the freedom from the power grid.

A man in a black hat with a pond in the background.

About Tag

Tag and his wife Bee live on an off-grid homestead in the beautiful Midwest. Through their efforts and those of their community, they are pursuing a life away from the system. Their journey focuses on food, energy and financial independence.

Tag says he’s “a recovering financial executive.” He spent 23 years of his life running financial holding companies. When he was forced to mandate the vaccine for all his employees, he instead chose to exit the system and live a Life Done Free as well as start a Freesteading movement (more on this below).

Solar panels on the roof of multiple barns and outbuildings.

Homesteader vs. Freesteader

Tag started his journey as a prepper and grew to be a homesteader. Essentially, he went from storing beans, bullets and bandaids to storing his food in the seed and on the hoof, his energy in the sun and in the tree, and works with nature to make those systems sustainable.

According to Tag, a freesteader is a homesteader who seeks to get rid of all the external systems that hold stroke over us and keep us prisoner. He believes it’s the next level of going from prepper to homesteader to freesteader.

It is the process of becoming less dependent on the people who don’t have our best interests at heart.

He now lives in a community with 60 other homesteaders on 1800 acres. It’s a community built by like-minded homesteaders who have come together because of their goal to live freely, away from the “systems” of modern life. Tag has also created an online community at Freesteading.com.

Rainwater collection buckets.

The Value of Essentials

Tag made a great point in that we don’t know the value of things until we have to produce them, find them or resource them ourselves.

For example, we don’t recognize the value of water until we have to haul every drop. We don’t recognize the value of food until we raise every bite. We don’t recognize the value of energy until we have to produce every watt.

In working to produce “every watt,” Tag saw that there was a need in the solar power community so he started Grid Down.

Grid Down solar power components.

What is Grid Down

Grid Down was created to help his community to go off-grid. The intention was never to sell to the public. Because Tag is an entrepreneur by trade, he wanted to put the “easy button” on solar.

When you buy a Grid Down system, they ask you multiple questions about your specific needs. They then assemble it the way it should be assembled in their factory, take it all back down and send it to you. It comes with every cable, nut, bolt and screw you’ll need to get it set up.

Simply by solving his own issues for the community, he stumbled on a business. Grid Down has a 25-year warranty on their systems; they come in various sizes and packages and are extremely user-friendly.

Two men standing by Grid Down solar power components.

What Makes Grid Down Different?

When it comes to going off-grid with power, what makes Grid Down different than other companies? Tag shares that he designed it with that “easy button” in mind, a long warranty (25-years), it’s modular, includes EMP, solar flare and lightning protection, and includes a free installer class and free shipping.

Grid Down solar power components.

What Option Is Best?

Tag recommends that whether you buy a solar-power option that will power all your needs or a smaller option that will power just your refrigerator, it’s best to just get started.

He’s seen setups that are all separate with systems to power each individual power item in a home (think dishwasher, refrigerator, lights, etc). This creates great redundancy. As the saying goes, “Two is one, and one is none.” This can be an affordable way to tiptoe into an off-grid lifestyle.

Tag shares his system on his chicken and turkey barn. With a $500 investment, he put four panels on the roof, powered by one car battery, which runs the water pumps, lights and the watering system, which all runs by itself.

Or, if you want to go all-in, Grid Down also offers systems that will provide 300 amps on a good “green day” with plenty of sun.

There’s no right or wrong answer, it’s all a matter of getting free.

A large garden under snow with trees and mountains in the background.

Low Sunlight Areas

Where we live in the far north of Idaho, we have about 75% cloud cover during the winter months. I asked Tag about how an off-grid solar system would work if we didn’t have the sunlight to provide our energy needs.

His answer is that the solar panels are what capture the light. Solar panels will capture energy from the moonlight, they’ll just capture it much slower than from the sun on a cloudless day. If you need to capture more energy, you can simply add more panels.

Dollar bills rolled up and planted in soil.

Financing Options

If you consider that you’re paying a monthly fee to the power company each month, you could turn that into a monthly payment toward going completely off-grid with your power.

Grid Down offers financing options, and for our Homesteading Family family, Tag has offered 7% off on any Grid Down purchase with coupon code “HomesteadingFamily.”

You can also get 7% off at EMP Shield with coupon code “HomesteadingFamily.”

Where to Find Tag

If you’d like to learn more, you can find Tag, Grid Down or Freesteading information at the following places:

Overhead view of a garden.
A man and wife smiling.

Welcome to Homesteading Family!

Josh and Carolyn bring you practical knowledge on how to Grow, Cook, Preserve and Thrive on your homestead, whether you are in a city apartment or on 40 acres in the country. If you want to increase your self-sufficiency and health be sure to subscribe for helpful videos on gardening, preserving, herbal medicine, traditional cooking and more.

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